Luna Forsaken (Arya and James) novel Chapter 248

248 What He Stole Will Be Mine 2

Arya’s POVO

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Marcel did steal my home. He stole it with politics and manipulation and that disgusting smile of his. He stole it for Leah, for his bloodline, for his ambitions, for the future he imagined where I would simply disappear quietly and make room for the women and names he preferred. He treated my life like furniture that could be shifted around in a room if it no longer suited the look he wanted. I had lost too much to that man. He deserved to lose something that mattered just as much.

“What he took from me was mine,” I said quietly.

Lev’s jaw tightened.

“I know.”

“I built that life.”

“I know.”

“I bled for it.”

“I know, Arya,” he said, and his Chapter Unlocked, Enjoy Reading!er and rougher, like he felt the

cut of what I was saying instead of just hearing it.

I looked away for a second because suddenly my throat was tight. I hated that too. I hated how easily

he could reach those raw places when other people would have had to claw for them.

He stepped closer.

“I will help you,” he said.

That made me turn back fast.

“No.”

He went still. Not cold. Just still.

“This is something I plan to do alone,” I said before he could speak. “Daniel has capable men. He always has. The only reason he never joined Nightwind back then was because there could not be two alphas in one pack.”

Lev said nothing. I kept going because I knew if I paused too long, he would interrupt and then I would lose the line of what I needed to make clear.

“Daniel never liked James either,” I said. “Not from the start. He thought James was too proud, too

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quick to believe loyalty meant ownership. I should have paid attention to that years ago.”

That last part came out quieter than I meant it to. The shame of it still lived in me. Not because James fooled me. Good people get fooled. That is not the shame. The shame is when the signs were there and you still turned them into something softer because love made you weak in the wrong places.

I laughed once, but there was no humour in it.

“It’s only sad I saw James’ flaws too late,” I said.

Lev’s expression changed at that. Not enough for anyone else to notice maybe, but I saw it. Something hard moved through his eyes. Not jealousy. Not even surprise. More like anger on my behalf. A quiet

kind. The most dangerous kind.

“You saw them when you were ready to survive them,” he said.

The words made me look at him again.

“What?”

He held my gaze.

“You did not see them too late,” he said. “You saw them when the cost became impossible to lie

about.”

I stared at him. Of course he would say it like that. Of course he would find the one thing in my ugly little confession and turn it into something that did not make me feel stupid for loving a man who

turned rotten under pressure.

My mouth parted slightly, but I had nothing to say.

Lev stepped in closer until only inches separated us now. His voice dropped.

“And for the record, James’ flaws were not small. They were just hidden behind things people like to mistake for strength.”

My heart beat harder. That line should not have made me want him more. It did. Because he understood. He understood James. He understood the type. The kind of man who wraps control around loyalty and calls it love. The kind of man who wants a woman strong enough to build beside him but not strong enough to question him when his cowardice starts dressing itself as strategy.

“I don’t need you to fix this for me,” I said, though my voice had gone softer.

“I did not say I would fix it for you,” Lev replied.

“You offered to help.”

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“I did.”

“I’m saying no.”

His brow lifted slightly.

“You think I didn’t hear that?”

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Despite myself, despite the tension, despite the darkness of what we were discussing, the edge of my

mouth moved. Just a little. He had that effect on me too often. He would say something dry in that

same calm voice and suddenly I would remember what it felt like to have warmth in the middle of all

this mess.

I fought the smile down.

“I mean it, Lev.”

“So do I.”

I exhaled slowly.

“This is mine.”

“I know that too.”

“Then let it be mine.”

His eyes dropped briefly to my mouth and then came back up. That one tiny movement made heat

move through me so quickly I nearly cursed. We were talking about war. About Silverfang. About

taking a territory and punishing the people who ruined my life. And still my body reacted to him like a

traitor. Maybe because Lev made darkness sound intimate. Maybe because he never flinched from

the worst parts of me and something in me found that unbearable in the best possible way.

He was close enough now that if I leaned even a little, I would touch him.

I stayed where I was. Barely.

“The men you called are capable,” he said.

It was not really agreement. More like acknowledgment.

“Yes,” I replied. “They are.”

“I don’t doubt Daniel’s strength.”

“Then what is the issue?”

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He took his time answering. When he did, his voice was even quieter.

“The issue is not whether they can fight,” he said. “The issue is whether I am willing to leave your life in their hands.”

That landed badly. Not because it offended me. Because it touched something low and dangerous inside me. I hated how much I liked hearing him say things like that. Hated it because it made me soft in places I was trying very hard to keep sharp. Lev made protection sound different. Not patronising. Not like he thought I was too fragile to stand. More like he simply could not look at me and accept the idea of me being harmed while he did nothing. That should not have mattered. It mattered.

I folded my arms over my chest and tried to hold onto my resistance.

“You should worry less,” I said.

“I won’t.”

I inhaled sharply.

“I know how to fight.”

“I know you do.”

“I am not helpless.”

“I know that too.”

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