Unmatched Wife: Not His To Claim Anymore novel Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Chapter 56

MATTHEW

“He’s four years old and he thinks he murdered his mother!” The words exploded out of me. “He told his therapist today that it’s his fault Bianca died because he said he wanted a new mommy. He’s carrying guilt that’s destroying him, and yes, Mia, that takes precedence right now!”

She recoiled like I’d slapped her. “So that’s it? I’m on my own? Someone’s threatening me and you’re too busy with your son to care?”

“That’s not what I said-”

“It’s exactly what you said.” Her eyes filled with tears, but underneath I saw something else. Something harder. “You know what? Fine. Handle Theo’s therapy. Play the devoted father. I’ll figure this out on my own.”

She stormed upstairs, and I heard the guest room door–where she’d been sleeping since I’d refused to share the master bedroom–slam hard enough to rattle the windows.

I stood alone in the living room, Mia’s phone still in my hand, staring at those threatening messages.

*Return what you stole.*

What had she stolen? And from whom?

My own phone buzzed with an incoming email, and I pulled it out with shaking hands.

The sender: Office of the Alpha King, BloodMoon City.

My heart pounded as I opened it, scanning the words:

*Alpha Morrison,*

*Your request for temporary residence has been reviewed and APPROVED. You and your son are granted entry to BloodMoon City for a period of sixty days, renewable upon review.

*Dr. Fisher has been notified and expects you for an initial consultation within the week. Accommodations have been arranged at the Riverside Suites, courtesy of the Alpha King’s office.*

*We hope your son finds the healing he needs.*

*Respectfully,*

*Thorne*

*Chief of Staff, BloodMoon City*

I read it twice, three times, unable to believe what I was seeing.

Approved. Not just approved, but with accommodations arranged, courtesy extended, hope offered.

The Alpha King who’d rejected every business proposal I’d ever submitted had approved my request for my son without hesitation.

Relief flooded through me so intensely I had to sit down. Theo would get help. Real help. A chance to heal from the trauma that was destroying him.

But underneath the relief, guilt gnawed at me. Because part of me- a shameful, selfish part–was relieved to have an excuse to leave. To get away from this house and its ghosts. To escape Mia and her desperate attempts at normalcy. To run from the constant reminder of everything I’d destroyed.

Chapter 56

Chapter 56

MATTHEW

“He’s four years old and he thinks he murdered his mother!” The words exploded out of me. “He told his therapist today that it’s his fault Bianca died because he said he wanted a new mommy. He’s carrying guilt that’s destroying him, and yes, Mia, that takes precedence right now!”

She recoiled like I’d slapped her. “So that’s it? I’m on my own? Someone’s threatening me and you’re too busy with your son to care?”

“That’s not what I said-”

“It’s exactly what you said.” Her eyes filled with tears, but underneath I saw something else. Something harder. “You know what? Fine. Handle Theo’s therapy. Play the devoted father. I’ll figure this out on my own.”

She stormed upstairs, and I heard the guest room door–where she’d been sleeping since I’d refused to share the master bedroom–slam hard enough to rattle the windows.

I stood alone in the living room, Mia’s phone still in my hand, staring at those threatening messages.

*Return what you stole.*

What had she stolen? And from whom?

My own phone buzzed with an incoming email, and I pulled it out with shaking hands.

The sender: Office of the Alpha King, BloodMoon City.

My heart pounded as I opened it, scanning the words:

*Alpha Morrison,*

*Your request for temporary residence has been reviewed and APPROVED. You and your son are granted entry to BloodMoon City for a period of sixty days, renewable upon review.*

*Dr. Fisher has been notified and expects you for an initial consultation within the week. Accommodations have been arranged at the Riverside Suites, courtesy of the Alpha King’s office.*

*We hope your son finds the healing he needs.*

*Respectfully,*

*Thorne*

*Chief of Staff, BloodMoon City*

I read it twice, three times, unable to believe what I was seeing.

Approved. Not just approved, but with accommodations arranged, courtesy extended, hope offered.

The Alpha King who’d rejected every business proposal I’d ever submitted had approved my request for my son without hesitation.

Relief flooded through me so intensely I had to sit down. Theo would get help. Real help. A chance to heal from the trauma that was destroying him..

But underneath the relief, guilt gnawed at me. Because part of me a shameful, selfish part- was relieved to have an excuse to leave. To get away from this house and its ghosts. To escape Mia and her desperate attempts at normalcy. To run from the constant reminder of everything I’d destroyed.

Upstairs, I heard Mia moving around, her footsteps angry and sharp.

I looked at her phone again, at those threatening messages that made no sense.

Return what you stole.

A chill ran down my spine as pieces began connecting in my mind. The messages had started a few days ago. Around the same time Mia had begun acting strangely..

What if she’d stolen something? What if the ritual Dr. Hartwick had performed wasn’t what he’d claimed?

I pulled out my laptop and started searching for information about Luna transference rituals. The results were sparse–most sources agreed such rituals were dark magic, forbidden, nearly impossible to perform successfully.

But one article caught my attention, buried deep in an academic journal about magical ethics:

Luna Transference: Myth or Reality?

For a transference to theoretically succeed, several conditions must be met:

1. The original Luna must be alive during the transfer
2. The transfer must be voluntary on both sides
3. The magical signature must be compatible
4. The original Luna must survive the procedure

If any of these conditions are not met, the transference will fail. The abilities cannot be “stolen” from a dead Luna, as the magical essence dissipates upon death. Attempts to harvest Luna abilities from an unwilling or deceased subject result in the receiver gaining nothing while damaging their own magical core.

I read the passage three more times, my mind racing.

B

Bianca had been unwilling. She’d fought me, begged me not to force her into the ritual. And she’d died during the procedure.

Which meant, according to this article, the transference should have failed. Mia shouldn’t have gained any Luna abilities.

And from what I’d observed, from her complaints about not feeling the essence that would heal her.

She hadn’t gained anything.

The ritual had failed.

Which begged the question: what exactly had Dr. Hartwick been doing during those hours in the operating room?

And who was threatening Mia to return what she’d “stolen“?

My phone buzzed again. Marcus, calling this time instead of texting,

“Alpha, we have a situation,” he said without preamble. “Dr. Hartwick has been found. Or rather, his body has been found.”

The world tilted sideways. “What?”

“Dead for at least a week, they’re estimating. Killed by magical means. Most likely a curse”

“A curse?” My mind struggled to process this information. “Who would curse Dr. Hartwick?”

“That’s the question everyone’s asking. But Alpha, there’s more. They found documents in his apartment. Records of payment from an offshore account. Detailed notes about a procedure he performed three weeks ago.” Marcus paused.

“What kind of procedure?”

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Chapter 56

“I don’t know. The documents are encrypted, and the authorities are still working on accessing them. But Alpha, whatever Dr. Hartwick did, offended someone so badly someone was willing to kill him for it.

He didn’t need to finish the thought.

Someone had paid Dr. Hartwick to perform a specific procedure on Bianca. That procedure had resulted in her death. And now someone was threatening Mia to return what she’d “stolen.”

The pieces were there. I could feel them hovering at the edge of my brain, waiting for me to put them together.

But right now, I had a more immediate concern.

“Marcus, I need you to dig into Dr. Hartwick’s background. Find out who paid him, what the procedure actually was, everything you can uncover. Quietly.”

“Understood. What about you and Theo?”

“We’re leaving for BloodMoon City within the week. Theo needs specialized treatment, and honestly…” I paused, choosing my words carefully. “I need distance from all of this. I need to focus on my son without the constant reminder of everything that went wrong.”

“I’ll handle things here, Alpha. You take care of Theo.”

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