LUNA AQUAMARINE’S POV
She looked… almost the same.
Same long black hair, a few bruises and scars on her skin. And those eyes, the same ones that always watched me like I was something she could squash like a mosquito.
“Surprised?” she asked sweetly.
Like she’d just stepped out of the Moonstone Pack’s manor and into my nightmare.
I sat up sharply, heart thudding. Was I dreaming? How in hell is Fiona in this pack? Or, am I back in my old pack?
Did Alexander drop me off here?
The sheets fell away and I glanced around. I was in a different room, not Alexander’s chambers. But I could still catch his scent.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I rasped.
“Oh, so you curse now.” She smiled like a teacher speaking to a child. “You’ve been asleep for days. Someone had to keep an eye on things. The Elders, Levi, even your mate… they’ve been concerned.”
Levi.
The moment his name registered, the door creaked open. Levi stepped in, arms crossed, eyes flicking from me to Fiona. His jaw was tense, but he bowed his head slightly when he met my eyes.
“Luna,” he said. “You’re awake.”
“Why is she here?” I snapped, pointing at Fiona.
“She arrived with the Moonstone debt settlement,” Levi said, expression tight. “Alexander… claimed their people. Some were put to labour. Some–” his jaw twitched, “–were given house duty.”
I turned to Fiona. “So you’re working?”
She gave a small nod. “I’m simply offering help. After all, we’re family.”
“We are not!” I spat.
Before she could open her mouth again, Levi cut in. “You shouldn’t be here, Fiona. This isn’t your station.”
“Then why is she here?” I asked him.
“This wasn’t the reunion I was expecting,” Fiona sulked. “I just wanted to see you once. It’s been a long time.”
I felt sick.
Levi wouldn’t have let her in without orders. And if Alexander allowed this, then something was shifting. How long have I been asleep? What happened when I was asleep?
“Where is Alexander?” I asked Levi, the words barely out of my mouth when the door opened again.
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@X44%
22:28 Tue, 2 Sept
Chapter 78
Alexander stepped inside.
I didn’t move. I couldn’t. His presence stole the air from the room.
He didn’t say anything at first. Just stood there—arms crossed, golden eyes burning low as if trying to decide whether to scold me or fold me into his arms again.
The same eyes landed first on me, then on Fiona, who was still pretending to smooth the sheets.
His gaze sharpened.
“Qut,” he said, voice low and final.
Fiona straightened. “Primus Alexander, the other maid couldn’t make it today so-”
“Out.”
Levi moved before she could answer, grabbing her arm firmly but not gently.
“Wait” she stammered, trying to twist free.
Alexander’s eyes never left her. “If I ever see you in this room without permission again, I’ll take your tongue.”
Fiona paled.
“Now.”
Levi shoved the door open and forced her out.
Silence.
Alexander didn’t move at first. He just stood there, watching me. My heartbeat thundered.
1 shifted slightly in the sheets, suddenly aware of how thin the material was, how exposed I felt despite the warmth of the bed.
ཛ ་ ཚ
He finally walked forward. No limp. No bruises. No burns. He looked fresh. His long red hair was tied back, but a few strands fell into his cheek.
And yet… something in him still didn’t feel human.
He stopped at the edge of the bed and looked down at me, eyes like polished gold.
“Are you ok?” he said, his voice measured. “Did she do anything?”
“She didn’t,” I whispered. “She just… watched me, I guess.” I sat up straighter, clutching the sheets against my chest. “Why does she have to work in the castle? I don’t – She-”
“I know.”
“And you let her?” I whispered. I wanted to ask why even though Levi had already explained it earlier. But I had a feeling he would say ‘it’s a pack business‘ again.
Just like Gaia.
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22:28 Tue, 2 Sept
Chapter 78
Silence.
44%
That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. But I still felt I was asking too much. Needing too much. The walls were creeping between us again.
So I asked the question that had been bleeding in me since I woke up. “Why am I not in your room? Are we staying separately now?” I blinked at him, heart aching, “Is it because Terran-”
“destroyed it.”
My heart skipped. “What?”
“His scent is still in that room,” he murmured and sat on the bed. “I want nothing of him left.”
My breath caught.
“You should have killed him slower,” I said, voice shaking.
Alexander smiled as he reached forward and brushed his knuckles down my cheek. “We did.”
I swallowed as I remembered how I stabbed Terran’s neck. But I didn’t deliver the final blow.
Alexander did.
And now, he looked like he hadn’t just torn down a kingdom. Like he hadn’t swallowed a man whole.
But I remembered. Gods, I remembered it all.
made
“You burned them,” I said. My voice barely made it out. “You… burned everything. You ate him.”
He nodded. No guilt. No shame. Just quiet certainty.
“It’s something I should have done a long time ago,” he said.
“No. You could have just destroyed the First Seed,” I explained. “Terran had confessed to manipulating Gaia and the First Seed. He’s the reason why kingdoms have been starving and in debt for years.”
Alexander didn’t look moved and it scared me. “It was needed. And thanks to you everything is fine now.”
I hugged my knees to my chest. “I just… I didn’t want to be the reason people die innocently. First, it was Gaia and now, her people.”
“You’re not. What I did was a purge.” He leaned forward and raised my chin. “Yes, they died, but they would be reborn. Pure and peaceful like they were before Terran’s corruption.”
I released a sigh and closed my eyes. The memory burned. Terran’s hand. His voice. The vines.
“I can still smell him,” I whispered.
Alexander went still.
“I can’t get it off,” I choked, rubbing my arms like I could scrub the feeling away.
“I don’t care how close he came,” Alexander whispered, pressing his forehead against mine. “He didn’t win. He didn’t have you, He
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Chapter 78
never will.”
And then he pulled back and stared at me. His gold eyes glowed, unblinking.
“Aren’t you scared?” he asked, voice quiet but sharp. “Of what you saw? Of who is sitting here with you?”
He tilted his head slightly.
“Or are you planning to run?”
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