Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 348

Chapter 348

OLLIE

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It was a bold thing to say-invoking my father’s authority, essentially threatening Derek’s family with the possibility of a leadership. challenge. But I was angry, and protective, and these were my brothers being attacked for something they couldn’t control.

Derek’s face flushed red. “You can’t just ”

“Actually, he can,” Riley said quietly, stepping forward. “Pack law is clear. The Alpha’s word is final on matters of pack membership. If Alpha Xenois accepted Lake, then Lake is pack, and anyone who disputes that is disputing the Alpha’s judgment. Which is, technically, a

challenge to his authority.”

The way Riley explained it-calm, logical, citing actual pack law-made Derek falter. He probably hadn’t expected a five-year-old to

throw legal precedent at him.

“Whatever,” Derek muttered. “Come on, guys. Let’s go play somewhere actually fun.”

He and his friends slouched off toward the far side of the playground, shooting dirty looks back at us. I watched them go, my hands

still clenched into fists, my wolf still growling with protective anger.

“You okay?” I asked Lake, turning to face him.

Lake nodded slowly. “Yeah. That was… I expected some of that. Prejudice against werewitches isn’t exactly new.”

“Well it’s stupid,” Sarah declared. “My mom says the strongest packs are the ones that accept all kinds of supernatural beings, not just

pure werewolves. Diversity makes us stronger, not weaker.”

“Your mom sounds smart,” Riley observed.

“She is,” Sarah said proudly. “She’s written like three books about pack history and supernatural sociology. She’d probably love to talk

to you guys about your experiences, actually. She’s always looking for primary sources for her research.”

I saw Lake and Riley exchange glances, having one of those silent conversations they were so good at. Finally, Lake spoke.

“Maybe,” he said carefully. “We’ll see.”

The bell rang, signaling the end of recess. We all started heading back toward the building, the crowd dispersing into smaller groups. Troy fell into step beside me, lowering his voice so only I could hear.

“That was intense,” he said. “Derek’s an idiot, but some of the other kids might actually listen to what he’s saying. Their parents

probably have similar views.”

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Chapter 348

“Then I’ll just have to change their minds,” I said firmly. “Lake and Riley are my brothers. Anyone who has a problem with them is

going to have to go through me.”

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“I’ve got your back,” Troy promised. “And I think Sarah and Emma do too. Plus a bunch of the others. Derek’s group is actually pretty

small, they’re just loud about it.”

That was somewhat reassuring. I’d been worried that the whole class would turn against Lake and Riley, but it seemed like most kids

were either supportive or neutral. It was just a small faction causing problems.

The afternoon lessons were less eventful. We worked on our reading presentations-mine about Captain Justice’s superiority was a

huge hit, despite Troy’s heckling from his seat. Lake did his presentation on black holes and managed to make astrophysics sound

interesting even to kids who usually zoned out during science topics.

Riley presented on game theory and probability, which went way over most people’s heads but impressed Mrs. Patty so much she

asked him to join the advanced math group.

By the time the final bell rang, I was exhausted in that good way that came from a full day of learning and playing and social

interaction. We gathered our backpacks and headed toward the front of the school where parents would be picking up their kids.

Mom and Dad were already waiting, leaning against our car and talking quietly. They both looked tired but smiled when they saw us

approaching.

“How was your first day?” Mom asked, pulling both Riley and Lake into hugs before turning to me.

“It was good,” Lake said, which I knew was probably a massive understatement.

“Some kids were jerks,” I reported bluntly. “Derek Johnson said mean things about Lake being a werewitch. Mrs. Patty sent him to the principal’s office, and then at recess he tried to start stuff again but we handled it.”

I saw Mom and Dad exchange concerned looks, and I realized maybe I should have been more diplomatic about how I presented that

information.

“Handled it how?” Dad asked carefully.

“We talked about pack law,” Riley said. “Explained that questioning Lake’s pack membership is technically questioning the Alpha’s

authority. Derek backed down after that.”

“Clever,” Dad said, though he still looked concerned. “But I want to hear the full story when we get home. All of it.”

We piled into the car, and as we drove back toward home, I found myself thinking about the day. It hadn’t been perfect-there had been conflicts and uncomfortable moments and prejudices I hadn’t even known existed. But we’d gotten through it. My brothers had survived their first day of real school, I’d defended them when they needed it, and we’d made some allies in the process.

“Derek’s dad is probably going to complain,” I said suddenly. “About me invoking your authority and stuff.”

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Chapter 348

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“Let him,” Dad said firmly. “You were right to do it. Lake is pack, which makes him family, which means he falls under my protection. Anyone who has an issue with that can take it up with me directly.”

I saw Lake’s shoulders relax slightly at that declaration, and something in my chest warmed. This was what family meant-standing together, protecting each other, facing down prejudice and hatred with unified strength.

“Tomorrow will be easier,” I said confidently. “First days are always the hardest. But we’ve got this. Right, guys?”

“Right,” Riley and Lake said together.

And despite everything-the threats from nightwalkers, the prejudice from kids like Derek, the complicated history we were all still processing-I believed it. We were brothers. We were pack. We were family.

And that meant we could handle whatever came next.

Together. There was no other option that mattered.

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13:02 Thu, Jan 29 M…

Reborn From Regret A Second Chance at Luna’s Heart