Rise Of A Shattered Luna (Natalie) by Kave Derry novel Chapter 285

Chapter 285 Scraps Of The Past

Chapter 285 Scraps Of The Past

Baron’s POV

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Shauna’s voice was still buzzing through the encrypted line pressed against my ear, waiting for my final command regarding the surviving surgeon.

I lowered my voice instinctively, flattening it into a whisper.

“Keep them under maximum protection for now.” I ordered quietly, my eyes tracking Natalie through the glass doors as she stepped onto the lawn beyond the veranda. “Do not relocate them across the provincial border lines yet.”

My jaw tightened.

“I’ll ask Natalie what she wants done with the witness when the time is right. For the next few days, we’re remaining here in the neutral countryside axis until her channels stabilize.”

The line went silent for a beat.

Beyond the windows, the clearing stretched beneath the moonlight in soft silver layers.

The twins were still somewhere near the pond raising absolute havoc with the ducks while Flynn barked frustrated commands behind them.

And standing near the edge of the grass was Natalie.

My mate.

The woman who had spent the entire night carrying the weight of severed bloodlines, betrayal, and death across her shoulders, yet still somehow looked soft beneath the moonlight.

A dangerous ache tightened beneath my ribs.

It wasn’t often that Natalie got peace.

Real peace.

Not the polished kind forced across halls and ancestral meetings.

I meant genuine peace.

Just open air

Warm food.

11:51 Thu, Jun 25

Chapter 285 Scraps Of The Past

Our children laughing somewhere beyond the trees.

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After everything she had endured, I refused to let tonight’s investigation poison this place

too.

Raze stirred heavily inside me, pacing behind my ribs.

We both understood the truth already.

The past wasn’t dead.

And whatever phantom player had orchestrated the cradle switch all those years ago was beginning to lose control of the board.

The human couple had been silenced inside a secured medical facility.

The files had been scrubbed.

The witnesses erased.

Every lead we touched ended in blood.

Which meant we were close.

Very close.

And that made Natalie vulnerable.

If the surgeon was moved now, if anyone tracking our movements connected him to my shadow network, then every hunter buried inside the Southern territories would descend straight onto this lodge before Natalie had even recovered from tonight.

No.

I wouldn’t allow that.

Shauna finally spoke again, her tone clipped.

“Understood, Alpha. The villa perimeter will remain completely locked down until you issue new tracking permissions.”

A pause followed.

Then her voice sharpened slightly.

“There’s one more thing… We uncovered a historical lead tied to Yvonne’s lineage.”

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11:51 Thu, Jun 25.

Chapter 285 Scraps Of The Past

I straightened slightly against the wall.

“Talk.”

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“According to the old migration records, Uncle Xenon traveled through the lower valleys with his wife and infant daughter when the child was roughly one season old.”

My expression hardened.

“The route passed directly through the agricultural village belonging to the human couple.”

The gears

inside my

Shauna continued.

mind locked violently into place.

“The village elders confirmed the Frost family stayed within their perimeter for one night before continuing north.”

My pulse slowed.

Uncle Xenon.

One of the most feared warriors.

A male whose death had supposedly been dismissed as an unfortunate accident along the migration routes.

And now his path intersected directly with the same human couple tied to Natalie’s cradle switch.

Not coincidence.

Never coincidence.

Which meant Yvonne’s exile likely wasn’t random either.

Every branch of this bloodline had been manipulated long before Natalie was even born.

“Keep digging,” I ordered darkly. “I want the broker behind this identified.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

Out on the lawn, Natalie suddenly turned her head toward the house.

Even from here, her golden eyes searched instinctively for me.

The tightness in my chest deepened.

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Chapter 285 Scraps Of The Past

“That’s all for now,” I muttered quickly. “I’m ending the call.”

I cut the transmission before Shauna could answer.

For a moment, I simply stood there in the dark corridor with the phone resting heavily in my hand.

Then I shoved the device back into my coat pocket and pushed away from the wall.

The second I stepped back through the velvet draperies into the dining room, the rich scent of roasted meat and herbs hit me.

Home.

Natalie was already walking back from the veranda doors, faint traces of cold air still clinging to her flushed cheeks.

“All done eating your rations?” I asked softly.

Her eyes lifted immediately to my face.

Searching.

Checking.

Trying to see or guess if anything was wrong.

“You should finish yours first,” she murmured quietly.

She crossed toward the side table, lifting a porcelain pitcher to pour herself water.

“We can walk around the clearing afterward… It’ll help digest the meal.”

The words were simple.

Casual, even.

But something inside my chest tightened painfully.

Even now, after everything she’d suffered tonight, she was still worrying about whether I had eaten properly.

Raze practically rumbled with satisfaction beneath my skin.

I stepped closer, smoothing a loose strand of dark hair back behind her ear.

“Alright,” I murmured, smiling despite myself. “I’ll eat quickly so I can keep up with your

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Chapter 285 Scraps Of The Past

schedule.”

A faint warmth flickered across her features.

Then she moved quietly toward the hearth while I returned to the dining table.

And stopped.

Completely.

My boots froze against the rug.

The entire table was spotless.

Every serving platter remained perfectly arranged, almost untouched except for the small portions Natalie had carefully taken for herself.

But directly in front of my chair…

My throat locked.

A massive portion of roasted game meat sat waiting for me beside the warming stones.

The best cuts.

Perfectly prepared.

Still hot.

Carefully separated from the rest of the meal.

My plate.

Prepared before she finished eating herself.

For a long second, I couldn’t breathe properly.

Something sharp and unfamiliar burned behind my eyes.