Rise Of A Shattered Luna (Natalie) by Kave Derry novel Chapter 28

Chapter 28 The Regret

Chapter 28 The Regret

Jensen’s POV

I woke up choking… again.

64%

+20 Free Coins

My chest jerked against the restraints before I realized where I was. White ceiling… too bright. The steady beep of a monitor drilling straight into my skull.

Hospital.

The memory didn’t come back all at once. It arrived in fragments: the heat, shouting, and Sharon’s voice. Hands grabbing me, a needle, and then darkness.

“Cairn?” I called, but no response.

I tried to sit up.

Pain exploded behind my eyes.

“Alpha, don’t-”

A nurse rushed in, hands already on my shoulders, forcing me back down. I shrugged her off, ignoring the way my muscles protested. My body felt wrong, heavy, like I’d been snuffed out and stuffed back together poorly.

“Where is she?” I demanded.

The nurse hesitated.

That hesitation told me everything.

“Where is Natalie?” My voice came out rough, scraped raw.

She glanced toward the door… toward the person standing just outside it.

Sharon.

She stepped in slowly, her posture careful, like she was approaching a wild animal.

Her hair was perfectly styled, and even her makeup was flawless. I wonder how long I’ve been unconscious.

The only thing out of place was the tension around her mouth.

Relief crossed her face when she saw my eyes open.

|||

O

1/6

13:16 Thu, May 7

Chapter 28 The Regret

“Jensen,” she said softly. “You’re awake.”

I stared at her.

Something in my chest tightened.

“What did you do?” I asked.

64%

+20 Free Coins

Her brows knit together, confusion taking over. What do you mean? You scared me half to death. You collapsed; the doctors said your vitals-”

“Don’t,” I cut in. “Don’t talk around it. Where is Natalie?”

She inhaled slowly, like she’d been waiting for this moment. Like she’d rehearsed it.

“Jensen… she didn’t make it.”

The words didn’t land.

My brain rejected them outright, shoved them aside like nonsense.

“She was breathing,” I said, trying to keep myself together. “I heard her. She was alive.”

Sharon’s gaze dropped, just briefly, a practiced move I know all too well. “The fire was too severe; she inhaled too much smoke, and by the time help arrived…”

Help? What?

I laughed… It came out sharp and ugly.

“You’re lying.”

She looked up again, eyes glossy. “Why would I le about something like that?”

Because you always do.

“She was like a sister to me, you know?” She said wiping her imaginary tears.

My hands clenched into the sheets. “I want to see her.”

Sharon stiffened. “That’s not possible.”

I swung my legs over the side of the bed.

Pain flared down my spine, but it barely registered. “Move.”

She stepped forward, blocking me. “Jensen, you’re not thinking clearly.”

III

O

2/6

13:16 Thu, May 7

Chapter 28 The Regret

“I said move.”

Her voice dropped. “She’s already been cremated.”

The room went silent.

Even the monitor seemed to fade into the background.

“…What?”

64%

+20 Free Coins

Sharon swallowed. “It was handled discreetly. The remains were buried this morning in a public cemetery. Everything’s taken care of.”

Taken care of.

“You cremated her,” I said slowly.

“Yes,” Sharon replied. “It was the most efficient option. There were complications. Identification issues, pack risk.”

I looked at her properly then… like, really looked

She wasn’t grieving.

“Who the hell gave you the right?” The words came out low, dangerous. “Who do you think you are, making decisions for me?”

She opened her mouth.

I didn’t let her speak.

“Sharon,” I continued, my hands shaking now, “have I been too kind to you?”

Her eyes widened.

The next moment happened before I consciously decided to move.

My hand connected with her face.

The sound was sharp.

She stumbled, losing her balance, crashing to the floor beside the bed.

Her cheek flushed red almost instantly, the mark blooming beneath my palm like proof of something broken beyond repair.

The room froze.

။

3/6

13:16 Thu, May 7

Chapter 28 The Regret

A gasp.

Then someone shouted my name, but I didn’t look.

Sharon stared up at me, stunned, fingers trembling as they touched her cheek.

“…You hit me?”

64%

+20 Free Coins

“Hitting you is letting you off easy,” I said. My voice didn’t rise; that was the worst part. “If I weren’t remembering the fact that you once saved my life, I’d grind your bones to dust right

now.”

The words surprised even me.

They came from somewhere ugly.

My chest hurt.

Sharon scrambled upright, tears spilling over at last. Real or not, I didn’t care.

She sobbed, clutching her face. “Jensen, you’ve lost your mind!”

“Because of you.”

Her head snapped up. “I did this for you!”

“For me?” I laughed again, bitterly. “You burned her body without letting me see her. You erased her like she was nothing.”

She pushed herself fully to her feet, fear flashing briefly before indignation took over.

“You’re the Alpha of the Night Fang pack,” she shot back. “Do you know how many eyes are on you? The council, the elders, the pack members–they’re all just waiting for you to screw up so they can replace you!”

I turned away from her, dragging a hand through my hair.

“I did all of this for you!” she continued desperately. “You and I are legally mated now. If the press finds out you’ve been losing your mind over some woman, especially that wolfless pretender, what do you think they’ll say? What will they think?”

Some woman… pretender?

She was the pretender.

That phrase did it.

”

O

<

4/6

13:16 Thu, May 7

Chapter 28 The Regret

I stopped walking.

Turned slowly.

Sharon’s facade faltered.

Natalie’s face rose uninvited in my mind.

The

64%

+20 Free Coins

way she smiled when she thought no one was watching. The way she used to hold onto my sleeve when she was nervous, the way she never asked me for anything, even when she had nothing.