Talon's pov
I'd made a vow to myself that I wasn't going to step foot into the rogue pack without leaving with my son. I'd sworn it on every breath I had left in me. Yet here I was, rooted to the ground, Raze's eyes boring into me, daring me to move. His glare carried the kind of promise that chilled bone and marrow—one wrong step and I'd be nothing more than a message sent to my mother in bloody pieces.
"Raze…" I tried, my voice steadier than I felt.
"Do not do it, dearest brother," he growled, the words slick with venom. "You're in my pack, and as much as I hate repeating myself, another wrong move will mean only your dismembered body delivered at your mother's doorstep." His lips curled over his teeth, a predator ready to strike.
My jaw clenched. I refused to flinch. "Lyrean is my Luna. Maybe I rejected her, maybe I was blind, but that doesn't change the truth. The child she gave birth to is mine."
There it was—the confession I'd carried in my chest all these years, spoken aloud like it could save me.
Raze's laugh was low, bitter. "You think so?"
"I know so." I stepped closer, forcing confidence into my stride though my insides twisted.
His gaze cut to Lyrean, mischief gleaming sharp as a blade. "Your mother must've forgotten to tell you about that little secret. That's why you stand here so proud, clinging to a lie."
My heart stalled. "What secret?"
Raze smirked, slow and deliberate, like he was savoring the moment. "You'll know when the time comes. But for now, Talon… that child is mine."
Heat rose in my throat. "He's not yours, for fuck's sake, Raze! My child is not some bargaining chip you can toss between yourselves. He's my son. None of you have the right to claim him."
"Enough!" Lyrean's voice cracked through the room like a whip. She shoved herself between us, her body trembling but fierce, her hands out like she could hold back two wolves ready to tear each other apart.
Her eyes locked on me, fury simmering. "Aren't you married, Talon?"
The words punched the air from my chest. "…Y-yes."
"Is your perfect Luna—your precious wife who never tried to poison your mother—barren?"
My lips trembled. "No."
"Then why the fuck are you here?" Her voice shook, rising and breaking under the weight of years unsaid. "I'll say this once more and never again: Eryx is not yours. He's mine. Mine. You threw me out of your pack years ago. You didn't even let me breathe, Talon. No investigation. No mercy. Just your mother whispering in your ear until you looked at me like a stranger and cast me out like I was dirt beneath your feet."
Her breath hitched, tears welling but refusing to fall. Her anger held them back, a dam threatening to crack.
"And not once," she continued, voice lowering, shaking, "not once did you look for me. Not once did you ask if I survived. The only reason you're here now is because you heard I gave birth to a boy. If it weren't for that—" her voice cracked, a sob slipping through—"you would've let me rot in the shadows."
Her words sliced me open. My throat burned with shame. She wasn't wrong. Spirits help me, she wasn't wrong.
I opened my mouth, but no words came. My chest felt heavy, my excuses ash before they ever touched air.
Raze's growl filled the silence. "You hear her, Talon? She raised that boy while you played dutiful son to a woman who controls your every breath. And now you come crawling here, spitting claims you don't deserve."
"I—" My voice broke. I forced it back together. "I was deceived. I thought she—"
"Poisoned your mother?" Lyrean snapped. "You thought wrong. You always think wrong when it comes to her."
The room spun with tension, thick and suffocating. My mother's face flashed in my head, the night she collapsed clutching her throat, gasping, pointing at Lyrean. I remembered the way she screamed that it was her, the witch, the unworthy mate. And I remembered the fear in Lyrean's eyes when I turned my back.
Raze stepped closer, his shadow swallowing the light between us. "Do you want to know the truth, brother?"
His tone was cruel, mocking.
"What truth?" My voice was rough, desperate.
"The truth of what makes you so unfit to lead. The truth of why Mother never trusted you enough to tell you everything. The truth about Eryx."
The name twisted in the air like a blade.
Lyrean stiffened, her body rigid, her eyes darting to Raze with a warning that screamed louder than words. "Don't," she whispered.
I caught it. That single word was enough to send my pulse racing. There was something here. Something I didn't know.
"What secret?" I demanded, my voice a growl now, all pretense of control slipping. "What the fuck are you hiding from me?"
Raze tilted his head, a wolf playing with prey. "Patience, Talon. You'll find out soon enough. But not tonight."
"You bastard!" I lunged, claws half-shifting, the need to tear the smugness from his face consuming me.
In a blink, Raze met me, his own claws flashing, dominance exploding like a thunderclap. The room shook with the weight of two alphas colliding, our snarls rattling the walls.
And then—Lyrean.
Her scream split the chaos. She forced herself between us again, her hands slamming against both our chests. Her eyes burned red-rimmed but unyielding.
"No more!" she cried, voice breaking. "You will not fight over him like he's meat. You will not use him as a weapon for your pride."
Her chest heaved, tears streaking now, her body trembling against the storm of our rage.
And then—
A small voice, thin and fragile, broke through the air.
"…Mama?" The voice reached all three of us, and the world stilled, we turned as one, and there he was.
Eryx... my son, was standing in the doorway, his tiny fists curled at his sides, his wide eyes darting from me to Raze to Lyrean. He'd heard enough—too much. Confusion, fear, and something else shone in his face, something I couldn't name but cut me deeper than any blade.
"Who… who am I?" he asked, his voice shaking.
My chest caved. Raze's smirk faltered. Lyrean's face shattered.