I Refuse To Be Your Luna (Flourish and Harold) novel Chapter 213

Chapter 213 The Dead Beta

Lady Flourish POV

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I could not move when the man stepped out of the forest, because every part of me recognized him before my mind was willing to accept what my eyes were seeing.

Rowan had been dead for two years, and yet the man standing beneath the trees had his face, his build, his scent, and the silver beta insignia I had watched him wear countless times.

“Rowan.”

His name left my mouth as barely a whisper.

The warriors around us growled instantly, their wolves baring teeth as they braced to attack.

Damian’s massive wolf moved in front of me, blocking my view of Rowan while his claws dug into the damp earth.

“Stay behind me.”

His voice reached me through the pack link, low and controlled, though I could feel the tension underneath it.

I stepped around him before I could stop myself.

“Damian, it’s him.”

The wolf turned his head sharply toward me.

“You don’t know that.”

“I know his scent.”

My voice shook.

“I lived with Rowan for years, Damian.”

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The man in the distance stopped walking. He lifted his head slightly, and his eyes settled directly on me.

“Flourish.”

My knees weakened.

Nobody had said my name that way in years. Rowan always pronounced it a little differently,

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pter 218 The Dead Beta Ba

ecially when he was worried rated about me.

0:0

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it single sound brought bghk back memories I had tried hard to bury, and my wolf answered with stressed whine.hine

nian shifted back into his dishu foam form.

10 are you?”on?”

man’s gaze moved todaim. him.

ould ask you the same questionsŝtion.”

nian’s expression hardenedened.

are standing on Stonehedge adgatoryiadory after attacking our border.”

idn’t attack your bordernder

looked toward the ruined watchtowerower.

sme because they were coming for her her.”

greath caught.

10?”

didnighnswer right away. Instead his eyes ovosedovad to the warriors behind Damian.

whrany of them survived?””

merepanian replied.

enghis face. tightened. “Then we’re already datey late.”

ethnlosepped plosery Explain yourself.”self”

lowly gen slowly removed the beta insignia from his bestchest, held it between his fingers, then belgopuodhe ground.

Wed two years ago years ago.”

Them why hero why do you have his insignia?nia?”

light at maight at me.

Rowan in Rowan.”

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Chapter 213 The Dead Beta

My wolf surged so hard I nearly shifted on the spot.

“No.”

The word came out broken.

I shook my head.

“No, that’s impossible.”

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Rowan had died on my father’s territory. I had seen the funeral. I had stood beside the had watched all of Stonehedge mourn him.

grave.

I

“Flourish.”

He took one step forward.

I moved back immediately.

“Don’t.”

He stopped, his face showing something close to pain.

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Because you’re supposed to be dead.”

His jaw tightened.

“I was.”

The forest went silent around us. Even Damian looked momentarily stunned.

I forced myself to breathe.

“What happened?”

Rowan glanced back toward Stonehedge,

“Your father knows.”

My stomach dropped.

“Garret?”

He nodded. “He knows everything.”

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Chapter 213 The Dead Beta

Damian’s wolf instincts flared back into his face.

“What does Garret know?”

Rowan looked at him. “That I survived.”

I felt cold all over.

“Then why did he tell everyone you were dead?”

Rowan’s expression turned grim.

“Because I found out something I wasn’t supposed to find out.”

“What?”

He looked at me again.

“The real reason you were being protected.”

My heart began pounding.

I stepped forward. “Protected from what?”

His eyes shifted to Damian.

“Not what.”

He paused.

“Who.”

Damian’s jaw tightened. “Stop speaking in riddles.”

Rowan ignored him.

“Flourish, your father wasn’t protecting you from your enemies.”

He looked at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.

“He was protecting his own secret.”

My breathing stopped.

“What secret?”

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Chapter 213 The Dead Beta

Before Rowan could answer, a sharp howl rose from the eastern forest.

Every warrior turned toward it.

Damian’s head snapped in that direction.

“Everyone, formation!”

The warriors shifted at once.

I felt Damian’s hand close around my wrist.

“Behind me.”

This time I didn’t argue.

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Another howl followed. Then another. My wolf recognized the sound as Stonehedge warriors, but something in it was wrong. The howls were strained, uneven.

A wounded wolf burst through the trees and shifted before collapsing onto one knee.

“Alpha!”

Damian crouched beside him.

“What happened?”

The warrior struggled to breathe.

“They’re coming.”

“Who?”

His eyes widened.

“The people who attacked the border.”

Damian’s face hardened.

“How many?”

The warrior looked toward me. “Too many.”

His breathing came in uneven gasps.

“They aren’t trying to take the territory.”

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Chapter 213 The Dead Beta

He swallowed hard.

“They’re coming for Lady Flourish.”

My entire body went cold.

Rowan stepped forward suddenly.

“How long?”