The Broken Luna, Now His Regret novel Chapter 23

23 Chapter 23 COLLISION COURSE

23 Chapter 23 COLLISION COURSE

The air in Principal Hayes’s office crackled with supernatural tension so thick Mira could taste it–ozone and fury and the metallic tang of barely restrained violence.

Kieran stood in the doorway, his massive frame blocking the exit, eyes blazing pure gold as his wolf surged dangerously close to the surface. His gaze locked on Valeblack Silverstone standing protectively behind Mira, and something feral twisted across his features.

“Get.Away. From. My. Mate.” Each word dripped with Alpha command, power rolling off him in waves that made the fluorescent lights flicker.

Valeblack didn’t flinch. Instead, he stepped slightly closer to Mira, one hand resting on her shoulder in casual possession that made Kieran’s jaw clench hard enough to crack teeth.

“Your *estranged* mate,” Valeblack corrected smoothly, his cultured voice a stark contrast to Kieran’s growl. “Who called me for help when your daughter was in crisis. Where were you, Alpha Ravencrest?”

“Daddy!” Brielle’s tear–stained face lit up with desperate relief. She tried to launch herself from the chair, but Principal Hayes gently held her back.

“Mr. Ravencrest, Ms. Whitmore, perhaps we should-” the principal began nervously, clearly sensing the supernatural powder keg about to explode in her office.

“How did you even know to come here?” Mira found her voice, stepping out from behind Valeblack even as the mate bond screamed at her to run to Kieran, to soothe the rage radiating from him. “I didn’t call you.”

“The school has me listed as emergency contact too.” Kieran’s eyes never left

Valeblack. “I was in a meeting when they called. I came immediately.” His voice

dropped to something lethal. “Unlike some people who apparently think my daughter’s emergency is the perfect opportunity for a romantic drive.”

Valeblack’s mercury eyes cooled. “I drove Dr. Whitmore because she was too

emotionally compromised to drive safely. Something you’d understand if you knew

anything about caring for your mate’s wellbeing.”

The temperature in the room plummeted.

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Kieran moved with supernatural speed, crossing the space between them before Mira could blink. He grabbed Valeblack’s collar, slamming him against the wall hard enough to crack the plaster. Principal Hayes gasped. Brielle screamed.

“Don’t you dare,” Kieran snarled, his face inches from Valeblack’s. “Don’t you dare presume to lecture me about my mate when you’re just another predator circling wounded prey.”

“Kieran!” Mira grabbed his arm, feeling the coiled violence beneath his skin. Through the mate bond, his wolf’s fury crashed into her—jealous, possessive, barely controlled. “Let him go. Now.”

“Oh, I know all about you, Silverstone.” Kieran’s smile was vicious. “Dr. Morgana Pierce Dr. Selena Cross. Dr. Isabelle Monroe. Should I continue? Or would you like to explain your pattern of fucking vulnerable healers before discarding them to my mate yourself?”

Valeblack’s expression didn’t change, but something flickered in those mercury eyes. “Ancient history. And consensual relationships between adults.”

“Predatory relationships with women you had power over.” Kieran’s grip tightened. “Women you recruited when they were at their most vulnerable. Sound familiar?”

Mira’s stomach dropped. She looked at Valeblack, searching his face. “Is that true?”

Before Valeblack could answer, Brielle’s wail cut through everything.

“STOP IT! Stop fighting! I hate this! I hate ALL of you!”

The little girl was sobbing so hard she couldn’t breathe, her small body shaking violently. Dr. Hartley, the child psychologist, had appeared at some point and was trying to calm her, but Brielle was beyond reach.

Kieran released Valeblack immediately, dropping to his knees beside his daughter.

“Baby girl, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry-”

“No!” Brielle shoved him away with surprising strength. “You’re supposed to love Mommy! You’re supposed to be together! But you made her sad and now she’s with HIM and everything’s WRONG!”

She turned her tear–stained face to Mira, and the accusation there was devastating. “I hit Tommy because he said you were bad. But maybe he’s right. Maybe you ARE bad because you’re making everything broken!”

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The words hit Mira like physical blows. Through the mate bond, she felt Kieran’s anguish mirror her own–their daughter, destroyed by their failures.

“Brielle, sweetheart-” Mira reached for her.

“I want to go home.” Brielle’s voice was small, defeated. “To Daddy’s house. I want Miss Astrid and my princess room and I want everything to be like before.”

Before. When Mira had been absent, broken, slowly dying inside while Kieran built a replacement family.

“Miss Astrid isn’t at Daddy’s house anymore,” Kieran said gently, his own voice thick with emotion. “She moved away. It’s just me now.”

“Then I want to stay with you! Not Mommy!” Brielle buried her face in Kieran’s chest. “She’s the one who left. She’s the one who ruined everything.”

The principal cleared her throat awkwardly. “Perhaps we should reconvene tomorrow when everyone’s calmer. Brielle needs to go home and rest. The school counselor recommends an emergency session with Dr. Hartley tonight if possible.”

Valeblack spoke quietly. “I’ll wait outside.” He met Mira’s eyes, something unreadable in his expression. “We can talk later. About everything.”

After he left, Principal Hayes excused herself, leaving Mira and Kieran alone with their devastated daughter and the therapist.

Dr. Hartley knelt beside Brielle. “Sweetie, do you know what your mommy and daddy need to do right now?”

Brielle shook her head, still clinging to Kieran.

“They need to work together to help you feel safe. Can they do that?”

A tiny nod.

|_ Dr. Hartley looked between Mira and Kieran. “I’m recommending emergency family

therapy. Tonight. All three of you. This level of distress in a four–year–old isn’t sustainable.”

“Of course,” Mira said immediately. “Whatever she needs.”

“Anything,” Kieran agreed.

Through the mate bond, for just a moment, they were united–two parents willing to do anything to heal their broken child.

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But as Brielle’s sobs finally quieted and Dr. Hartley led her to a private room, Kieran turned to Mira with eyes still burning gold.

“We need to talk. About Silverstone. About his offer. About what I saw between you two.” His voice was rough. “About how the mate bond nearly brought me to my knees when you kissed him.”

Mira’s breath caught. He’d *felt* that through the bond?

“I don’t owe you explanations about—”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Kieran interrupted. “I know that. But Mira, please. That man is dangerous. His pattern, his history–I have evidence. Just… just look at it before you make any decisions. For your sake, not mine.”

Before Mira could respond, her phone buzzed. Valeblack’s name flashed on screen

with a text:

*I understand if you need space after what Kieran revealed. But for what it’s worth, everything I said to you today was true. You deserve better than a mate who only realized your worth after losing you. Think about Crystalfall. Think about what YOU want, not what everyone else needs from you.*

Mira looked up at Kieran, then down at the message, then toward the room where Brielle was being consoled.

Three directions pulling her apart.

The mate bond burning.

Her daughter breaking.

And Valeblack offering an escape that might be another cage.

“Family therapy,” she said finally. “Tonight. We focus on Brielle. Everything else… everything else can wait.”

Kieran nodded, but his eyes promised this conversation wasn’t over.

As Mira walked toward the therapy room, her phone buzzed again. Another message,

this one from an unknown number with a New York area code:

*Enjoying your new romance? Such a pretty picture–you and the silver–haired savior. Kieran must be devastated. Good. But Mira, darling, you should ask yourself: why would a man like Valeblack Silverstone pursue a woman like you right now? What does

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he REALLY want? xx*

No signature. But Mira knew exactly who’d sent it.

Astrid.

And suddenly, surrounded by the wreckage of her family, with two men circling like wolves and secrets multiplying in the shadows, Mira wondered if she’d traded one nightmare for something infinitely worse.

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