Chapter 20 · Sebastian Kneels, Zaia Walks Away

Sebastian found her in the garden behind Blackwood Tower—a private space Zaia had designed during her Luna years, now overgrown, neglected, a metaphor she didn't need.

"Zaia."

She didn't turn. "You said what you needed to say. We're done."

"We're not done." He walked toward her. "I know I don't deserve—"

"Stop." She faced him. "You don't get to decide when we're done. I do."

Sebastian stopped three feet away. His eyes were red-rimmed. His hands shook.

"I cast you out," he said. "I believed lies. I let Celeste wear your pin. I let the pack humiliate you. I watched our sons grow from a car. I know what I've done."

"Do you?"

"I feel it every day." His voice cracked. "The bond. The pain. The knowledge that I destroyed the only good thing in my life."

Zaia's wolf stirred. Her heart ached. She hated that it ached.

"What do you want, Sebastian?"

"Forgiveness." He dropped to his knees on the garden path. "Not for my sake. For Leo and Milo. For the family we could have. For the mate bond that never broke because I was too proud to admit I still love you."

The garden was silent.