Rise Of A Shattered Luna (Natalie) by Kave Derry novel Chapter 39

Chapter 39 Renee

Baron’s POV

38%

+30 Free Coins

Finn was on my heels before I even closed the lab doors, his voice a frantic buzz in the quiet of the corridor.

“Baron, for the sake of the pack, are you sure you’re fully recovered? The doctors said the side effects of that formula could cause a seizure at any moment. Maybe you should rest a little longer?”

“No need,” I said. My voice was a low rasp, stripped of warmth. “I’m going out.”

I didn’t stop or slow down. I reached the rack where my keys hung, my fingers closing around the cold metal.

Finn froze and looked at me as if I’d finally lost my mind, which, given the last four days, wasn’t an unreasonable assumption.

“Alpha, where are you going? I’ll drive you since you can’t shift. I’m worried about your condition. If you collapse behind the wheel-”

I’ve been warned by the healers not to strain Raze by shifting.

“It’s fine,” I cut him off, my gaze shifting to the door. “If I woke up, it means Shauna and Yvonne went through the journal I left. She used Natalie’s blood as the catalyst for the neutralizer, and the trial succeeded. If her blood is in my veins, then my body is fine. Better than fine.”

I could still feel it—a strange feeling brewing inside. It wasn’t just my wolf, Raze, anymore. There was a heartbeat underlying my own, a tether to the woman currently fighting for her life in the medical wing.

I reached the garage and pulled out the keys to the black SUV.

“You don’t need to follow,” I told Finn, not looking back as I pulled the door open.

“I’m going to Greycrest.”

Finn’s face turned ashen as he stepped into the path of the car, his hands raised as if he could physically stop two tons of steel.

“Baron, where?”

“I’m going to Greycrest pack,” I repeated.

|||

r

1/5

15:46 Mon, May 11 >

Chapter 39 Renee

ནཱི 38%

+30 Free Coins

“You can’t go! The pack doesn’t have any openings right now. Last time you went into their territory, you challenged the Alpha, and I’m sure he has a bounty on your head. Wouldn’t you just be walking into a trap?”

I looked at him through the windshield, my eyes sharpening until Finn instinctively took a half–step back.

“You’re too timid, Finn,” I said. Raze let out a low predatory rumble in my chest. “Besides, I’m not going there to start a war, at least not today. I’m going there to find a woman. Move.”

“What?”

Finn looked like I’d just spoken in an ancient tongue… to him, women were variables- sometimes useful, usually distractions. Natalie had already pushed his tolerance to the limit, and the idea of me seeking out another was clearly more than his mind could

process.

I didn’t wait for him to find his voice before I shifted into reverse and gunned the engine. Finn scrambled out of the way just as the tires screeched against the concrete.

***

ARIC

I parked in the shadows of a nearby parking structure and dialed the number Natalie had given me.

“Hello, this is Renee. Who’s calling?”

Her voice was professional and laced with a weariness.

Natalie had chosen her friends well. I’d seen Renee’s file; she was clean, loyal, and had been the only one to actually stand up for Natalie when her family tried to bury her alive even though she was also wolfless.

“Underground parking, first level, spot 201,” I said. I didn’t introduce myself. “I have news about Natalie.”

I hung up before she could ask how I got the number.

Ten minutes later, the elevator doors hissed open. A woman came rushing out, her eyes darting frantically across the rows of cars until they landed on the SUV. She wasn’t a wolf, but she carried herself with a unique air of defiance that reminded me of Natalie.

I opened the car door, she didn’t hesitate; she climbed in, her breath coming in short, jagged hitches.

“Sir, are you the one who said you had news? Natalie and I had arranged to meet here four days ago. She was supposed to fly over. I haven’t been able to reach her. I’ve called the hospitals, the pack guards… nobody knows anything.”

|||

ر

2/5

38%

Mon, May 11

Chapter 39 Renee

+30 Free Coins

I looked at her, seeing the raw terror in her eyes. So the fire hadn’t been reported, no mention of the “deceased” girl. Jensen had managed to scrub the incident clean, or perhaps he was waiting for the right moment to play the grieving Alpha.

My fingers curled into a fist against my thigh.

“There was a fire,” I said, my voice dropping into a low, jagged tone. I didn’t sugarcoat it as I told her about the warehouse, the accelerant, and the state I’d found Natalie in.

By the time I finished, Renee was trembling so hard the down her cheeks.

“Can I see her?” she choked out.

seatbelt rattled, and tears tracked

xx

until then, keep

youed,

“Not yet,” I said. “When she’s recovered, I’ll bring her to you. But her survival a secret. If word gets out to the Nightfang pack or her family that she then she’s a dead woman. Do you understand?”

She studied me, her gaze lingering on the burns on my neck.

“I won’t tell anyone,” she said, her voice strengthening. “But when she’s better… you have to let me see her.”

“Fine. Now give me her things.”

I held out my hand, but Renee didn’t move. She frowned, her suspicion finally overriding her fear.

“Who are you? What’s your relationship with Natalie? She never mentioned a man like you. All I ever heard about was Jensen.”

“She’s under my protection,” I said flatly. “What do you think our relationship is?”

Renee’s eyes nearly tripled in size. She knew Natalie personally, and the idea of Natalie giving herself to a man like me was clearly a shock to the system.

“You’re sure you’re not lying?”

“I have no reason to lie to you,” I said.

“Then… do you love her?”

The question caught me off guard. Love was not for people like me… It was for people who didn’t have wolves like Raze screaming in their heads.

“She was the first woman I’ve cared for,” I said, my voice dropping an octave. “And that is all you need to know.”

3/5

|||

50%

Chapter 39 Renee

+30 Free Coins

It was the truth, even if it didn’t fit the poetry Renee was likely looking for. She studied me for another long minute before she reached for her bag.

“I’ll give you her things–but only if you let me talk to her first. Now.”

I didn’t mind the condition… In fact, I respected it. I pulled out my phone and dialed Yvonne.

“Is she awake? Put her on.”

I heard the rustle of sheets and the quiet, steady beep of the monitors.

“Speaker,” I commanded.

“Baron?”

Natalie’s voice was a whisper, and at the sound of it, Renee let out a broken sob.

“Natalie! Are you okay? It’s Renee. I’m here with ”

“Baron…” I completed.

“Renee…” I heard the faint hitch in Natalie’s breath, the sound of her fighting back a cry. “I’m fine; Baron is my friend. Give him the things… I can’t see you yet… I’m not… I don’t look like myself. But I’ll come to you.”

“Okay,” Renee cried, her hand over her mouth. I just needed to know. I’ll wait… I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

“Thank you,” Natalie whispered. “And Renee… for the archive. Withdraw my application; tell them I had a change of heart.”

“Why? Natalie, you worked so hard for that spot. I can hold it for you.”

There was a long silence on the other end. I could almost feel Natalie’s despair through the phone.

“My soul was muted, Renee,” she said, the words falling like lead. “Sharon performed the ritual, and Jensen let her. I’ll never transcribe again, I’m done.”

Renee’s face went from grief to a mask of pure, unadulterated fury. “How could she? And Jensen stood by and watched? That bastard.”

“You can come stay with me… you can design,” Renee said into the phone.

Natalie didn’t answer, but I heard her breathing hitch. I hung up the phone.

Renee didn’t say another word. She reached into her bag and pulled out a heavy, secured

|||

r

4/5

Chapter 39 Renee

+30 Free Coins

package. It was wrapped in waterproof casing, sealed with Natalie’s personal watermark–the wolf’s eye and the chain.

“Take it,” Renee said, her voice shaking with rage “And if you’re half the man you sound like, make them pay.”

“I’m planning on it,” I said.

I took the package and placed it in the trunk.

I sent a message to Yvonne.

“New prescription for Natalie. Increase the nerve–regeneration dosage; if the pain spikes, use the sticks. Do not let her suffer.”

“Yes, Alpha,” she replied.

I typed out another message, this one for the pilot.

“Prep the jet. I’m going to Nightfang pack tonight. I’ll be there for three days.”

I wasn’t telling Finn or Shauna. This wasn’t about the pack, this was about a debt that hadn’t been collected.

9

I looked at the package in the back. Natalie’s life, her designs, her soul–all boxed up because she had trusted a coward.

“Don’t repeat your sister’s mistake,” I messaged Yvonne. “If anything happens to her while I’m gone, the consequences will be absolute.”

I watched the “read” receipt appear.

I started the car and pulled out of the garage.

Jensen thought he had buried his problems.

He was about to find out that some things don’t stay buried. Especially not when they belong

to me.