"I would give anything to get what you have," Dennis said quietly. He stared out the tall window of Lucas’s office, his arms folded over his chest.
Lucas leaned against the edge of the desk, arms crossed, watching his younger brother’s shoulders tense with frustration. "It will be fine," he said. "Give it so ti."
Dennis gave a hollow laugh and finally turned away from the window. "Ti? It’s been months, Lucas. They’re coming around, the people of the north but it’s like waiting for winter to turn into spring in the middle of the damn tundra. One day I think I see a thaw, the next day it snows again."
Lucas tilted his head, the corner of his mouth twitching in sympathy. "Patience, brother. I know you’ve got more of it than I ever have. But when it cos to your mate, logic goes out the window, doesn’t it? You stop thinking. Everything just... spirals."
Dennis slumped into the armchair opposite Lucas, rubbing his eyes wearily. "I don’t even know what I’m doing half the ti."
"I get it. But you’ve got to rember, this was Zoe’s choice."
"Yeah," Dennis muttered. "It’s just... hard waiting for a whole empire to forgive you."
*****
anwhile, Ava stood in front of a mirror in the Luna’s dressing chamber, snapping shut the ancient amulet on her wrist. The second it clicked into place, she felt a surge of power course through her. The stone in the center pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat, syncing with the quiet storm within her.
With a final glance at her reflection, she grabbed a shawl, pulled it over her head to blend into the dusk, and slipped out through the back exit of the Luna’s quarters. Two of her guards were posted by the front gate, dutifully unaware that she’d outmaneuvered them yet again. Her swelling belly made the sneak-out missions harder.
She made her way through the side streets of the fortress, hood pulled low, heart thudding from exhilaration. Reaching Lanaya’s ho, she knocked once, sharply. The door flew open within seconds.
"Luna?" Lanaya blinked in confusion, her hair wrapped in a towel and a faint sll of lavender soap wafting from the warm interior. "Is everything okay? Is the baby okay?"
"I’m fine. And so is the baby," she said quickly, pushing past her into the cozy ho. "I need your help."
"Anything, Luna," Lanaya said without hesitation, though her eyes flickered with unease. She gestured for Ava to sit on a low stool near the center of the room, where the scent of dried herbs, clung to the air. Despite the warmth in her tone, Lanaya’s fingers nervously picked at the corner of her robe, as if they sensed trouble long before her heart did.
Ava sank down slowly into the seat, one hand instinctively cradling her belly. The weight of her pregnancy had beco more than physical—it was emotional now, pressing into every choice she made, every plan she dared form. The baby inside her was still and quiet, as though it too understood the storm gathering on the horizon.
"While I was held in the North," she began, "I overheard sothing... They ntioned the last daughter of the moon and said she was of Alaric’s bloodline."
Lanaya’s brows furrowed deeply.
Ava t her gaze unflinchingly. "I want to find him. I believe he’s close. I can feel it in my bones."
"You want to track him?"
"I want to end him," Ava corrected. "Once and for all."
"But Luna...You’re pregnant. You’re not just fighting for yourself anymore. What if this becos more than you can handle?"
"I’m always fighting for more than myself, Lanaya," Ava said. "I’m fighting for this child. For Lucas. For a future that doesn’t co wrapped in fear." Her hand unfastened the amulet from her wrist. "Can you do it? Use this... to find him?"
Lanaya hesitated, a flash of uncertainty ghosting across her face. The amulet lay heavy in Ava’s palm, pulsing with its quiet, ancient hum. With a deep sigh, Lanaya reached out and took the artifact from her.
She rolled it between her fingers, her other hand rising to draw symbols in the air, delicate and precise. Her lips moved in rapid murmurs.
The amulet lit up with a silvery glow, and Lanaya opened her eyes, exhaling slowly. "This is the best I can do," she said softly. "The amulet will glow brighter the closer you are to Alaric’s presence. It won’t show you where he is, but it will confirm when he’s near. It’s not exact... but it’s sothing."
Ava reached forward with trembling fingers, gently reclaiming the glowing amulet. "It’s perfect. Thank you."
"I believe you will be informing the Alpha," Lanaya said softly, though her eyes glimred with understanding. She wasn’t just Ava’s healer or confidante—she had been by her side through too many storms to not know the signs. The Luna had that wild gleam again, the one she wore just before doing sothing incredibly brave... or incredibly foolish.
Ava smiled faintly but didn’t answer. Instead, she reached for Lanaya’s hands and gave them a warm squeeze. "Thank you, Lanaya."
And then Ava was gone, slipping into the night.
*****
"Alpha? Is the Luna with you?" Kade’s voice called out, urgency already tugging at the edges of his normally calm tone as he spotted Lucas and Dennis headed toward the Alpha’s quarters, deep in discussion.
Lucas turned mid-step, mildly surprised. "No, she said she was going to get so rest. Why?"
Kade’s brows knit together in a frown. "I just went by the Luna’s quarters to check on her. There’s no sign of her, sir. Her guards said they escorted her back hours ago, but she hasn’t co out since."
The words were still settling in the air when Lucas’s body stiffened. His wolf surged to the surface in a silent growl of alarm. "What the hell are you talking about, Kade?" he demanded. "Where are her guards now?"
"They are still at her quarters. They assud she was in for the night."
Dennis was already moving before Lucas finished processing. Lucas’s heart thundered in his chest as he bolted beside his brother, both of them a blur of motion and panic streaking toward the Luna’s quarters.
By the ti they arrived, the corridor was quiet. Ava’s scent lingered faintly, but it was stale. Lucas flung open the door to her rooms, scanning every inch with his eyes and senses, but it was obvious—she wasn’t there.
He cursed, loud and feral. "Ava!"
"Try your quarters!" Dennis barked, already turning on his heel. "She might’ve gone there."
Lucas took off in a dead sprint, leaping over the stairs two at a ti. His thoughts were a ss, a chaotic blend of fear, fury, and guilt. Why didn’t I check on her? Why did I believe she’d rest, knowing damn well she gets ideas when left alone?
He rounded the corner so fast he nearly flattened Lanaya, who was coming from the opposite direction.
"Alpha!" Lanaya gasped but he didn’t respond. He just breezed past her.
"Alpha!" Lanaya called once more.
Lucas spun around, barely holding himself together. "What? What is it?"
Lanaya, now breathless, lifted a hand as if warding off the storm gathering in his eyes. "Are you looking for the Luna?"
He crossed the distance between them in two strides, the look in his eyes fierce and desperate. "Do you...do you know where she is?" he asked, almost grabbing her shoulders. His grip hovered midair, shaking with the urge to shake answers out of her.
"I—I have a slight idea. She ca to earlier with the amulet... she asked if I could help her use it to track Alaric."
Lucas’s expression shifted from confusion to disbelief to sothing dangerously close to heartbreak. "Why...why would she—"
"Oh my God!" Kade suddenly shouted from behind them, clutching his head as the pieces fell into place. "We have to go now! She’s not just tracking him—she’s going after him."
Lucas turned on him with a growl that shook the walls. "What in the fucking hell is going on?!"
Kade t his gaze, deadly serious. "She had a theory that Alaric was behind all the murders, right? She figured he had to be working with soone on the inside to pull it off. If your top suspect is Leon—then that’s where she’s headed."
Lucas’s jaw dropped for the briefest of monts before rage settled over his features. "What the fuck, Ava? How did she even leave the fortress? How the hell did my heavily pregnant mate vanish without anyone alerting ? Without an escort?!"
No one had an answer.
Lanaya looked like she wanted to lt into the floor. Kade, for once, was speechless.
*****
Ava arrived at the Crimson Pack’s borders.
Her hands resting protectively over her belly. Her eyes were burning gold.
No one could stop her the mont she commanded them into standing down. Her word was law. Her strides, authority.
Reviews
All reviews (0)