Rise Of A Shattered Luna (Natalie) by Kave Derry novel Chapter 33

Chapter 33 A Bond In Blood

Natalie’s POV

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And all I could do was sit in that space between gratitude and guilt, staring at the man who had burned for me.

The underground facility operated with eerie composure.

Above us, war still echoed in distant tremors.

Down here, everything moved with calculated restraint.

Baron lay at the center of it all.

He looked smaller somehow.

The dominance I associated with him was muted beneath IV lines and white sheets.

His chest rose and fell slowly… too evenly.

If not for the monitors beside him, he could have been carved from stone.

I shifted slightly in the hospital bed Yvonne had positioned beside his. Pain flared along my ribs and shoulder where the burns were still raw beneath the bandages.

I was alive, and yet he was unconscious.

That imbalance unsettled me more than the distant gunfire.

Yvonne checked his readings with the calm efficiency of someone who had done this before.

“The upper perimeter has stabilized,” she said calmly. “The attackers were testing response time.”

Testing.

As if Blackthorne was something to be measured

“Does the pack know?” I asked.

“They know the Alpha is under medical supervision,” she replied. “Nothing more.”

Which meant they didn’t know the truth, at least not fully.

An Alpha unconscious during an attack was not information you allowed to circulate freely. It

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Chapter 33 A Bond In Blood

would spread instability and fear amongst the pack members.

I studied his face again.

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The burns were controlled but visible, with faint burns along his wrists, near his hairline, and with his eyebrows uneven where the flames had kissed too close. His skin carried no warmth.

My fingers tightened slightly around the blanket covering my lap.

I hated how little control I had.

The door opened.

Finn entered first.

There was tension in the way he held himself, shoulders squared, jaw tight. His eyes swept the room quickly before settling on Baron.

“Upper perimeter stabilized,” he reported. “Intruders pushed back beyond the east boundary.”

Yvonne nodded once.

“Casualties?”

“Minor. Nothing critical.”

His gaze shifted toward me.

There was something restrained in it now. Something assessing.

I held his stare without flinching.

If he had something to say, he could say it.

Not hostility exactly. Something sharper.

Instead, he stepped aside as another figure entered.

She moved with quiet authority.

Dark hair pulled back cleanly. Eyes alert, intelligent.

Her gaze found me immediately.

“You’re awake.”

“I am.”

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Chapter 33 A Bond In Blood

She approached the side of my bed.

“You’re alert.”

“I prefer it that way.”

A faint flicker crossed her expression, like a mix of approval and pride.

She stepped closer to Baron’s bed, scanning the monitors.

“He’s stable,” she said. “But still suppressed.”

Then she looked at me.

“I need to ask you something.”

I straightened slightly, ignoring the protest from my ribs.

“Go ahead.”

“May we take a sample of your blood?”

I blinked. “My blood?”

“Yes.”

W

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Finn didn’t react, and Yvonne didn’t look surprised, which meant this conversation had already happened.

“Why?” I asked.

Shauna didn’t hesitate.

“Five years ago, the Alpha documented an anomaly in your blood chemistry.”

Five years… I hadn’t met him then.

My pulse skipped once.

How did he know me?

I cut that thought off.

“What kind of anomaly?” I asked.

“A compatibility factor,” she said evenly.

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“With certain compounds.”

“What compounds?”

“Neuro–suppressive.”

“What exactly are you expecting my blood to do?” I asked.

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“We believe it may counteract the compound currently suppressing his neurological activity.”

“You believe?”

“Yes.”

My eyes moved slowly to Baron. “You’re saying my blood might help him.”

“Yes.”

“You’ve tested this before,” I said.

Her gaze didn’t waver.

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Five years ago.

The air felt thinner for a second.

He had known… but how?

I would have to ask him when he wakes… if he wakes.

“How much?” I asked.

“Minimal,” she said. “Enough to process.”

“He anticipated this?” I asked.

“He prepares for multiple contingencies,” Shauna replied. “Including worst–case outcomes.”

Meaning this was not random.

Not impulsive.

Something about that realization tightened inside me.

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Chapter 33 A Bond In Blood

“And it won’t compromise me?”

Yvonne answered this time.

“We will not jeopardize your recovery.”

My gaze dropped briefly to the bandages wrapped around my arms.

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My body already felt unstable, the burns had drained more from me than I wanted to admit. Even speaking too long made my throat tighten

But if there was even a chance-

“Do it.” I said.

Shauna held my gaze for a second longer, as if measuring something.

Then she nodded.

“Prepare the draw.”

The doctors moved quickly.

Because of the burns, they examined my arms carefully. Some areas were too damaged and sensitive.

A nurse adjusted the overhead light.

Another disinfected a small uninjured patch near the inside of my elbow; the sharp scent of antiseptic rose into the air.

Yvonne remained near Baron, one hand resting lightly against his wrist as if grounding him

to the room.

I didn’t look away when the needle slid in.

A sharp sting.

Then pressure.

Dark red filled the vial slowly.

It looked ordinary.

Yet the room had gone very quiet.

Even Finn had stepped back slightly, arms crossed, watching.

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Chapter 33 A Bond In Blood

The vial filled halfway.

Then three–quarters.

Then full.

The nurse withdrew the needle carefully and pressed gauze against the puncture.

“Hold this,” she instructed.

I did.

Shauna took the vial herself.

For a brief second, the glass caught the overhead light.

Deep crimson.

She turned toward the lab area.

“Begin processing immediately,” she ordered.

The doors slid open.

The doctors moved inside with controlled urgency.

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