Rise Of A Shattered Luna (Natalie) by Kave Derry novel Chapter 126

Chapter 126 The Heirloom

Baron’s POV

The Great Hall was a sea of noise, fur, and the scent of a pack finally at peace.

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Laughter echoed off the stone walls, blending with the crackle of firewood and somewhere near the far end, an arm–wrestling match was going on.

For the first time in years…

there was no tension coiled beneath it.

No fear.

No waiting for the next attack.

Just a pack… existing.

Because she was here.

I sat at the head of the table, my hand resting on the back of my mate’s chair, watching the way the firelight danced off the emerald silk of her dres

She looked like a goddess carved from moonlight, and every time she smiled at a pack member, my heart did a slow, heavy roll in my chest.

‘She is ours,’ Raze growled in the back of my mind.

“Control yourself, Raze,” I snapped internally. “She’s had enough of being claimed and caged. Let her breathe.”

‘I am tired of breathing,‘ the wolf retorted, pacing restlessly. ‘I want to mark her. I want the whole world to smell me on her.‘

I ignored him, though the heat in my blood was becoming harder to mask.

I stood up, signaling the end of the formal dinner after she requested that we go.

But as we moved to leave, Sean and Susie; the little rebels pleaded.

“Can we stay. Daddy? Please?” Susie asked, pointing toward a group of pack children who were currently

“Can we stay near the hearth. “They’re playing ‘Hunt the Rogue‘ and they said I

could be the Scout!”

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Chapter

Chapter 126 The Heirloom

“Me too!” Sean chimed in, looking between me and Natalie.

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Susie was already halfway off her chair before I answered, her excitement bubbling over like she hadn’t just been formally presented as an Alpha’s heir hours ago.

Sean, on the other hand, tried to look composed… but the way his eyes kept drifting toward the game gave him away.

I knew he really wanted to go.

I looked at Natalie, seeing the slight hesitation in her eyes. Before I could speak, Yvonne stepped forward, a glass of cider in her hand and a smirk on her face.

“Go on, you two. I’ll stay with the gremlins. They’re in good hands, and frankly, I think the pack needs to see their future heirs in action. Go find some ‘peace and quiet‘ while you still

can.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. I caught Natalie’s hand, my fingers lacing through hers, and led her away from the roar of the Hall toward the quiet of our private wing.

Once we reached our sitting room, the silence felt thick, heavy with the words we hadn’t yet said.

We had officially announced our mate bond today. Every Alpha and Beta now knew she belonged to me.

But I knew Natalie.

She was here because I saved her.

She was here for the children.

I wanted her to be here for me.

I sat across from her at the small mahogany table and reached into my coat pocket.

My pulse was hammering against my ribs as I

toward her.

“See if you like this.”

Natalie blinked, her gaze dropping to the

box.

Sid a small, velvet–lined box across the table

I saw the way her breath hitched, her fingers hovering over the lid.

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Chapter 126 The Heirloom

She thought it was a ring.

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I could practically read the thoughts flashing behind her eyes… Susie’s questions about proposals, the lack of a ring today.

“What is it?” she asked automatically, her voice a little too careful.

“Open it and see.” I propped my chin on my hands, watching her. I couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at my lips.

Natalie drew a long, shaky breath.

I saw her shoulders square, as if she were bracing herself for disappointment. She lifted the lid and the air left her lungs in an audible gasp.

Her eyes widened in genuine shock.

Inside the box, resting on white satin, was an emerald pendant the size of a pigeon’s egg.

It was a deep, vivid green, flashing with a light that seemed to come from within.

It was an ancient stone, cut by the first Scribes of the world.

“This… this is…” she whispered, her fingers trembling as she touched the cool surface of the

gem.

I didn’t wait for her to finish as I rose from my chair and moved behind her.

Her scent hit me like a physical blow.

Raze let out a low, needy whine in my throat.

I reached down, my hands steady despite the roar in my blood, and took the pendant from the box.

I leaned forward, my chest brushing against her shoulder as I fastened the clasp gently around her neck.

The emerald sat perfectly against her skin.

I pulled out my phone, snapping a quick photo of the two of us.

On the screen, we looked like a legacy; The Alpha of the North and the Keeper.

Irested my chin lightly on her shoulder, my voice dropping into a low, vibrating rumble

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Chapter 126 The Heirloom

against her ear. “This is the only thing my mother left me.”

I felt her freeze.

Her entire body went rigid under my touch.

“Your mother, she…” her voice trailed off, thick with a sudden, sharp guilt.

“She’s gone.” I said. “She passed away years ago, before I became Alpha.”

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“I’m sorry, Baron. I didn’t know.” She turned her head slightly, her lips so close to mine I could taste the air she breathed. “Something so valuable… I can’t take it. It belongs to your family.”

She started to lift her hands to unfasten the clasp, but I moved faster.

I caught her wrists, my grip firm but tender, pinning her hands gently against her lap.

“My mother would want it given to her daughter–in–law,” I whispered, my lips brushing the shell of her ear. “It looks perfect on you, Natalie. It finally looks like it’s home.”

I sat back down, giving her space to breathe, though Raze was practically clawing at my ribs to pull her into my lap and never let go.

Natalie touched the cool pendant at her throat, her expression softening into something I hadn’t seen before.

Recognition.

“I understand,” she murmured, her eyes meeting mine.

‘Now, Raze urged. ‘Mark her…. Co the bond.‘

The hunger in my veins was real.

I looked at the emerald at he

throat and then up at her lips. I didn’t want to just be her Alpha… I wanted

be the reason she never looked at another man again.

My hand moved before I could the pulse there.

top it, brushing just beneath her jaw… close enough to feel

Close enough to imagine what it would feel like to claim it.

I stopped myself.

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Chapter 126 The Heirloom

Barely.

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“Natalie.” I said, my voice sounding rough. “Do you know what it means in my pack when a woman wears the stone?”

She shook her head, her breath hitching again under my stare.

“It means she isn’t just the Luna,” I said, leaning forward until the table was the only thing between us. “It means she is the Alpha’s life force. If she bleeds, I bleed. If she leaves, I die. There is no walking away from this, Natalie. Not for me. Never for me.” I paused.

“And if you try…

My thumb brushed against her pulse, slow… deliberate.

“I will follow you to the ends of the earth and drag you back to me because you are not something I survive losing. You are something I end the world for.”

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