Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 315

Chapter 315

ZADE

Lake was quiet, clearly doing mental calculations. “Maybe twenty? Thirty at most. The success rate wasn’t high. For every kid who

successfully integrated the enhancements, four or five would die. And of the ones who survived, not all of them were stable enough to

function independently.”

“Define unstable,” Rivers said, his tone taking on that edge that meant he was thinking tactically.

“Mental breaks, usually,” Lake replied.

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“The experiments were designed to push boundaries, to see how far human biology could be enhanced before it collapsed. But they didn’t account for psychological effects. Some kids developed powers they couldn’t control. Others went catatonic. A few became violent.”

“Like you,” Zade said, and I shot him a warning look. This wasn’t the time for provocation.

But Lake didn’t rise to the bait. “No,” he said calmly. “My violence is controlled, directed. The unstable ones attacked indiscriminately.

Andy had to… contain them.”

“Contain meaning kill,” Lyn said.

“Usually,” Lake confirmed. “Though a few were kept for continued study. Andy liked having data points for what happened when

enhancements went wrong.”

The clinical way he discussed it-like he was describing scientific research rather than the torture and murder of children-reminded me forcefully that Lake had been trained to think this way. To compartmentalize horror so thoroughly that he could function within it.

“Riley underwent these experiments too,” Lumina said, and it wasn’t a question. Her voice was tight with barely controlled emotion, and I could see Xenois watching her with concern.

Lake hesitated for the first time in the conversation. “Not much,” he said carefully. “Riley was different from the others.”

“Different how?” Xenois asked.

“He was never a test subject,” Lake explained. “Sophia was his mother-or he thought she was. Andy was his aunt. Despite their shitty behavior, they treated him more like… a protégé than an experiment. They only punished Riley when he failed to accomplish something they’d assigned him. Training missions, mostly. Infiltration work.”

“The hearing ability,” Lynn said, connecting pieces. “That wasn’t from experiments. That was training.”

“Enhanced training,” Lake corrected. “They pushed his natural werewolf abilities further than they should go, taught him to focus and direct them in ways that aren’t typical. But they didn’t cut him open or inject him with unknown substances. They didn’t strap him to tables or force his body to reject and accept foreign enhancements over and over.”

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Chapter 315

“They saved that for you,” Lyn said quietly.

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Lake’s expression flickered. “They saved that for the disposable ones. I was useful, so I got a… gentler approach. Though gentle is

relative when Andy’s involved.”

I was about to ask more-about what constituted a ‘gentler approach” in Andy’s twisted worldview-when the door burst open. I spun,

my hand automatically going to the knife I kept at my belt, but stopped when I saw who it was.

Riley stood in the doorway, his eyes scanning the room until they locked on Lake. The intensity of his focus was almost physical, and

I saw Lake relax slightly under that gaze.

“It’s past thirty minutes,” Riley said, his voice flat but carrying an undercurrent of steel. “You need your medication.”

“I’m okay,” Lake replied, but he was already moving toward Riley like he couldn’t help himself.

“I don’t care,” Riley said, and there was something almost desperate in his tone despite the emotional flatness.

“I stayed away. You didn’t make me listen in. I kept my word. But I’m not risking your health by letting you stand here and exhaust

yourself.”

The protectiveness in Riley’s voice, the way he was already reaching out to steady Lake even though Lake hadn’t shown any obvious signs of distress, spoke volumes about their relationship. Whatever bond they’d formed in Andy’s custody, it ran deeper than simple

friendship.

“Riley,” I said, trying to inject some authority into my voice. “We need to ask Lake a few more questions about-”

“No,” Riley interrupted, not even looking at me. His entire focus was on Lake, checking him over with the kind of thorough

assessment that suggested medical training.

“He’s exhausted. Look at him-he’s barely standing. Whatever questions you have can wait until he’s rested.”

I wanted to argue, wanted to push for more information while Lake was being cooperative. But looking at the kid, I could see Riley was right. Lake’s skin had gone gray, his hands were trembling slightly, and he was leaning more and more of his weight against Riley for

support.

“Fine,” I said, conceding defeat. “But we’re continuing this conversation tomorrow.”

Riley didn’t acknowledge me, just carefully guided Lake toward the door. As they passed, I caught Lake’s eyes for a brief moment, and what I saw there made me pause. It wasn’t defiance or fear or even exhaustion.

It was relief.

Relief that Riley had come for him. Relief that he had someone who would interrupt interrogations and prioritize his wellbeing over everyone else’s needs. Relief that he wasn’t alone.

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Chapter 315

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The door closed behind them, and the study erupted into conversation. Everyone talking at once, trying to process what we’d just learned. Ninety-four dead children. Potentially dozens more scattered across the country, either dead or in hiding. A systematic program of experimentation that had been operating for years under our noses.

But I found myself focused on something else. On the way Riley had looked at Lake, with that fierce protectiveness that suggested he’d burn the world down before he let anyone hurt his friend. And on the way Lake had responded, with absolute trust that Riley would

keep him safe.

Andy had created something terrible in those boys. But she’d also created something unexpectedly powerful-a bond forged in shared trauma that might be strong enough to help them both heal. Or destroy them both trying.

I just wasn’t sure which outcome was more likely.

“Zade,” Lyn said quietly, pulling me from my thoughts. “You okay?”

I looked at my mate, saw the concern in his eyes, and realized I’d been staring at the closed door for longer than was probably

normal.

“Ninety-four children,” I said, the number feeling obscene in my mouth. “She killed ninety-four children and made other children bury them. How do we come back from knowing that?”

“We don’t,” Lyn replied, his hand finding mine. “We just move forward and try to make sure it never happens again.”

But as I looked around the room at the shocked, horrified faces of the other alphas, I wondered if moving forward was even possible. How did you move forward when you’d just learned that the enemy you’d been fighting had committed atrocities on a scale you couldn’t

have imagined?

And more importantly-what other horrors had Andy buried that we hadn’t discovered yet?

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Reborn From Regret A Second Chance at Luna’s Heart