Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 425

Chapter 425

LUMINA

I wanted to argue. Wanted to say that we needed to trust Xenois’s judgment, follow orders, stay safe like we’d promised.

But I also remembered the video call with Samuel and Silvia. Remembered how they’d used humor and defiance to buy time, to keep their captors off-balance, to give Xenois every possible advantage.

They’d been protecting their son in the only way they could from captivity.

Maybe it was time we protected our family in the ways only we could.

“Riley,” Lyn said, turning to address the five-year-old who’d been silent throughout this entire exchange. “Can you see what’s happening? Can your precognition show you whether the mission is succeeding?”

Riley looked uncertain, his eyes darting to me as if asking permission. I wanted to say no. Wanted to protect him from potentially seeing something terrible. But Lyn was right-we needed information.

“It’s okay,” I said softly. “If you can see something, if your ability is willing to show you, we need to know.”

Riley nodded slowly, then closed his eyes. His face went blank in the way I’d learned meant he was accessing his precognitive abilities-seeing possible futures branch out from the present moment.

We waited in tense silence. Thirty seconds. A minute. Two minutes.

Ollie had started chewing on his thumbnail, a nervous habit he’d picked up recently. Lake’s hands were glowing faintly

h portal magic, responding to his emotional state. Shawn looked like he might be sick.

Finally, Riley’s eyes opened. They were filled with tears.

“They get to Grandma and Grandpa,” he said, his voice shaking. “They find them and start the extraction. But-”

“But what?” I asked, dreading the answer.

“The possibility of everyone surviving is 0.1 percent,” Riley whispered. “In almost every future I can see, someone dies.

Sometimes it’s Grandma or Grandpa because they’re too injured to move quickly. Sometimes it’s Dad because he stays behind

cover their escape. Sometimes it’s Uncle Zade because he takes a hit meant for someone else. But in ninety-nine point nine

ent of possible futures, at least one person doesn’t come home.”

The words hit like physical blows. I felt my knees weaken and had to grab the back of the couch for support.

0.1 percent chance of everyone surviving.

That meant almost certain death for someone we loved. Someone’s father, someone’s mate, someone’s friend.

“Can you see who?” Lyn asked, his voice barely audible.

“It changes,” Riley said, tears streaming down his face now. “Depending on tiny choices, on split-second decisions. But the constant is that the odds are terrible. They’re outnumbered, outmaneuvered, and walking into a situation that’s worse than they expected.”

“How much worse?” I demanded.

something changing the variables, someone we love is going to die tonight. Probably multiple someones.”

“But if we intervene, we could make it worse,” I argued desperately. “We could get in the way, distract them at a critical moment, become liabilities instead of assets.”

*Or we could be the difference between survival and death,” Lyn countered. “Lumina, I understand you’re scared. I’m terrified. But Riley can see the futures, and in every one where we stay here and do nothing, people die. That has to mean something.

I looked around the room at the assembled group. At Lyn with his gravity manipulation and healing abilities. At Lake with his portals that could evacuate injured people instantly. At Riley with his precognition that could guide us around traps. At Ollie who, despite having no obvious powers, had his father’s tactical mind and unwavering courage. At Shawn with his plasma blasts that could take down enemies before they got close.

And at myself. The werewolf who’d killed a nightwalker through sheer desperate innovation. The Luna who’d survived kidnapping and torture and come back stronger.

We weren’t helpless. We weren’t just support staff waiting to provide backup.

We were powerful. Potentially more powerful than the people we’d sent to fight.

And they were walking into a deathtrap without us.

“If we do this,” I said slowly, “we do it smart. We don’t charge in blindly. We use every advantage we have. Riley guides us with his precognition. Lake gets us there instantly via portal. We coordinate our abilities to maximum effect. And the moment

-the absolute second-it looks like we’re making things worse instead of better, we retreat. Agreed?*

Lyn said immediately.

Agreed, the boys chorused, even Shawn who looked terrified but determined.

I pulled out my phone and quickly typed a message to Margo, explaining what we were about to do and why. She’d see it eventually, even if we couldn’t get through to the strike team. At least someone would know where we’d gone.