Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 350

Chapter 350

XENOIS

“There’s still a nightwalker left,” Riley said, standing abruptly. His voice had gone cold and calculating, every trace of childhood

innocence stripped away. “In the house. Hiding. Waiting.”

Then he was moving, dashing out of the room and down the stairs with speed that made my wolf’s hackles rise. Lake followed

immediately, leaving Lumina and me to exchange shocked glances before we rushed after them.

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By the time we reached the main floor, Riley was already in the center of the living room, the orb held high above his head. The

smoke was swirling around him-darker now, more substantial, coalescing into something almost solid.

And then it moved, faster than I could track. Black smoke shot across the room and grabbed Ollie, who’d been standing near the

doorway. My son screamed, and every protective instinct I possessed roared to life.

I was moving before conscious thought, ready to tear the smoke apart with my bare hands if necessary, but Riley’s voice cut through

the chaos like a blade.

“Stop!” he commanded, and the authority in his voice was so absolute that I actually froze mid-step. “He got the wrong twin.”

Riley held up the orb, making sure the smoke-the nightwalker-could see it clearly. “This is what you’re really after, isn’t it? The containment sphere. Andy’s pet project. You’ve been tracking it since we left the facility.”

The smoke holding Ollie seemed to hesitate, its form flickering uncertainly.

“I’ll make you a deal,” Riley continued, his voice steady and cold.

“Drop my brother, and you can have it. Fair trade.”

“Riley, no!” I started to protest, but Riley shot me a look that was pure warning.

“Don’t interfere,” he said, his tone brooking no argument. “Trust me. Please.”

Every instinct screamed at me to grab Ollie, to get him away from the smoke, to fight this thing that dared threaten my child. But something in Riley’s expression-some combination of certainty and careful planning-made me hesitate.

“The orb for my brother,” Riley repeated to the nightwalker. “Final offer.”

The smoke seemed to consider for a long moment. Then, with a movement that looked almost reluctant, it released Ollie. My son stumbled forward, and Lumina was there immediately, pulling him away from the smoke and checking him for injuries.

The nightwalker rushed toward Riley, moving with predatory speed and hunger. I tensed to intervene, consequences be damned, but

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Chapter 350

Lake was already acting.

A portal opened beneath Riley’s feet.

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He dropped through it in an instant, the orb clutched tightly to his chest. The nightwalker tried to follow, but another portal opened

above-directly on the ceiling. The smoke shot upward, passing through that portal only to emerge from the one below, falling back down

toward where another portal waited to catch it again.

It was a loop. An endless cycle of falling, with no way out. The nightwalker’s smoke form swirled frantically, trying to escape the

circuit Lake had created, but the portals adjusted faster than it could move. It was trapped in perpetual motion, unable to stop, unable to

escape, unable to reach its intended target.

Lake made a pulling motion with his hand, and another portal opened beside him. Riley tumbled through it, rolling to his feet with

practiced ease. He was breathing hard but grinning, the orb still secure in his grip.

“We’re fine,” Riley said immediately, seeing our expressions. “It was a plan. We caught a nightwalker for you.”

“What?” I managed to say, my brain still trying to process what had just happened.

“Lake, basement,” Riley directed, and Lake nodded.

The portal loop shifted, the bottom opening moving to somewhere below us. The nightwalker’s smoke form fell through, and then the portals snapped closed, cutting off the cycle and leaving the creature trapped wherever Lake had sent it.

Almost immediately, there was screaming. Loud, agonized, very human-sounding screaming coming from beneath our feet.

“The basement,” Lumina said, already moving. “What did you do?”

We rushed toward the basement stairs, Riley and Lake following with an air of calm satisfaction that was deeply unsettling given the

circumstances. The screaming continued, growing more desperate and pained with each second.

I threw open the basement door and descended rapidly, my enhanced vision adjusting to the dimmer light. What I saw stopped me in

my tracks.

The old storage area we rarely used had been transformed. The reinforced cell we’d installed years ago-originally meant as a safe

room in case of attacks-was now blazing with light. Not natural light, but something brighter, harsher, almost blinding in its intensity. Every surface of the cell was covered in what looked like light-emitting panels, creating an environment where shadows were physically

impossible.

And in the center of that cell, writhing in obvious agony, was a man.

He looked to be in his mid-thirties to early forties, though something about him suggested he was far older than his appearance indicated. Dark hair, sharp features, eyes that burned with fury and pain in equal measure. As I watched, his form started to shimmer, trying to shift back into smoke-but the moment the transformation began, the light intensified, and he screamed again, reverting back to

human form.

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Chapter 350

“What the hell?” I breathed.

“Light prison,” Riley said from behind me, his voice carrying professional detachment. “Nightwalkers can only maintain their smoke form in darkness or shadow. Sufficient light forces them back into solid form and prevents transformation. It’s their primary weakness, though most people don’t know the specific thresholds required to make it effective.”

“When did you install this?” Lumina asked, staring at the cell with a mixture of horror and fascination.

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“Yesterday,” Lake admitted. “After we confirmed nightwalkers were tracking us. We modified the panic room using equipment from the

facility. Figured we’d need a containment option eventually.”

The man in the cell had stopped trying to transform. He was glaring at us with pure hatred, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. When he spoke, his voice was rough and accent-thick, carrying the weight of centuries.

“You’ll regret this,” he snarled. “You have no idea what you’ve done, capturing me. When my people find out-”

“Your people already abandoned you,” Riley interrupted calmly. “The moment we activated the light prison, any nightwalkers still in the house fled. They’re not coming back for you. You’re on your own.”