Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 361

Chapter 361

JEROME

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“And third, Victoria added, “we’re talking about declaring war on an Alpha family. That brings consequences beyond just this pack.

Other Alphas might decide we’re too dangerous to tolerate. They might unite against us, and then we’re facing not one pack but dozens.”

These were all valid concerns, points I’d already considered and weighed against potential benefits.

“The boys are difficult targets,” I acknowledged. “Which is why we don’t attack them directly. We attack what they care about. We threaten Ollie, the biological brother. We threaten the Luna. We create situations where Riley and Lake have to choose between their own

safety and protecting their new family. And in those moments of distraction, when they’re focused on saving others, we strike.”

“You’re suggesting we use their compassion against them, Helena said. “Their attachment to their new family.”

“Exactly,” I confirmed. “Andy trained them to be weapons, but she also left them capable of forming emotional bonds. That’s their

greatest weakness. We exploit it ruthlessly.”

“And the political consequences?” Marcus pressed.

“How do we handle other packs deciding we’re too dangerous?”

“We move fast enough that it doesn’t matter,” I said. “We complete the mission-extract or eliminate the boys, retrieve what they stole, recover Lazarus if possible-and then we disappear. Scatter to different territories, lie low for a few decades, let the supernatural community forget about us. Nightwalkers are patient. We can afford to wait.”

“That’s assuming we survive, Victoria muttered. “These boys have already proven capable of killing nightwalkers. What makes you

think we can succeed where Silas failed?”

‘Because we won’t be arrogant,” I said firmly. ‘Silas thought he was invincible. He thought his smoke form made him untouchable. He was wrong, and it cost him his existence. We’ll be smarter. We’ll study their capabilities, identify their limits, and strike only when victory

is certain.

“And if victory is never certain?” Thomas asked. ‘If these children are simply better than us?”

I met his gaze steadily, letting eight centuries of experience and survival instinct show in my eyes.

“Then we make victory certain,” I said. “By controlling the battlefield, by choosing the time and place of engagement, by bringing overwhelming force to bear before they can react. We’re nightwalkers. We’ve survived witch hunts, vampire wars, werewolf purges, and the rise and fall of human civilizations. We don’t lose to children, no matter how exceptional those children might be.”

The warehouse fell silent again, but this time it was the silence of decision being made, of commitment being formed. These were creatures who’d survived by being ruthless and adaptable, and they were recognizing that ruthlessness was what the situation demanded.

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Chapter 361

“So we’re agreed?’ Helena asked, looking around the group.

:

“We proceed with Jerome’s plan? Harassment campaign, identify vulnerabilities, strike when they’re weakest, eliminate the targets,

and negotiate for Lazarus’s release?”

I watched as heads nodded, as ancient beings committed themselves to a course of action that would either restore our position or

destroy us completely.

“One more thing,” I added. “We need to recover what the boys stole from the facilities. The research, the artifacts, whatever

equipment and documentation they took when they escaped. That information is too valuable to leave in their hands.”

“What specifically?” Marcus asked. “The facilities were vast. They could have taken anything.”

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“Focus on Andy’s personal research,” I said. “Her notes on the enhancement procedures, the magical integration protocols, the genetic

manipulation techniques. That knowledge is what makes those boys dangerous. If we can reclaim it, we can ensure no one else ever

creates weapons like them again.”

“Or we could use it ourselves, Victoria said quietly. “Create our own enhanced subjects. Turn Andy’s research toward our own

purposes.”

I considered that, turning the idea over in my mind. It was ambitious, possibly mad, but also undeniably appealing. What could

nightwalkers accomplish with the kind of supernatural enhancement Andy had developed? What would we become if we could integrate

her techniques with our own immortal nature?

“Perhaps, I said carefully. “But first, we need to survive this encounter. First, we need to complete the mission. Everything else is

secondary to that goal.”

“Then let’s begin,” Helena said, her form already starting to dissolve back into smoke. “We have reconnaissance to conduct,

vulnerabilities to identify, and a pack to terrorize. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish this.”

One by one, the others began to shift, their solid forms dispersing into shadow and smoke that would let them move undetected

through the night. But I remained solid a moment longer, thinking about what we were about to do, about the children we were planning

to kill, about the war we were declaring.

Andy had created Riley and Lake as weapons. She’d given them power and knowledge and capability far beyond normal children. And

now those weapons had turned on us, had become threats we couldn’t ignore or contain through normal means.

So we’d do what nightwalkers had always done when faced with threats we couldn’t control. We’d destroy them completely, without

mercy or hesitation, and then we’d disappear back into the shadows where we belonged.

It was cold. It was ruthless. It was probably going to get some of us killed.

But it was also the only plan that gave us a chance at success.

I let my form dissolve into smoke, feeling reality loosen its grip as I became shadow and darkness once more. Around me, my

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Chapter 361

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brethren were already dispersing, spreading out to begin their reconnaissance, to start the harassment campaign, to set in motion the

plan that would determine whether we reclaimed our position or ceased to exist entirely.

The Alpha and his Luna thought they’d won by capturing Lazarus. They thought their love for those boys made them strong, made

them untouchable.

They were about to learn that love was the greatest weakness of all.

And we were going to exploit it until there was nothing left but smoke and shadows and the memory of children who’d almost been

weapons enough to save themselves.

Almost.

But not quite.

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Reborn From Regret A Second Chance at Luna’s Heart