Rise Of A Shattered Luna (Natalie) by Kave Derry novel Chapter 52

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Chapter 52 The Clear Water

Chapter 52 The Clear Water

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Baron’s POV

I sat behind the ornate black–and–gold screen, my fingers tracing the cold, familiar edge of a scalpel.

Jensen, the “Alpha” of the Nightfang pack, was currently doubled over a basin of clear water, his body vibrating with a tremor so violent I could hear his teeth rattling against each other.

“What’s this? Alpha Jensen wants to give up already?” my attendant spoke with a mock solemnity that made me smirk beneath my silver mask.

I could hear the ridicule in the boy’s voice–it was a tone I’d taught all my staff. In the Labyrinth, an Alpha’s title was just a target, not a shield.

I watched him through the gaps in the screen; he looked confused, and he had every right to be. To the naked eye, it was just clear water. But it was something worse than that.

“What’s in the water?” Jensen forced the words out through a jaw locked so tight I expected his teeth to shatter.

“Nothing more than a few special herbs,” the attendant replied casually, leaning back against a pillar. “They won’t kill you, and they won’t leave a mark. The point is to see if you can endure pain; every patient who seeks the Witch Doctor is already in dire need, and if you can’t withstand even this much, you’re not worth his time.”

I watched Jensen’s knuckles turn white as they gripped the edges of the bone–carved basin.

I was essentially forcing his body to heal months of trauma in ten minutes. The bruises reconstruction would linger in his nerves for months, a type of pain that no one can

It was a perfect punishment… Natalie lived with the fire–ravaged pain of her

ld

vanish, but the pain of the

very waking moment.

Jensen’s body was a mess of tremors, but he stayed. He didn’t pull his hands out.

“Natalie…” The name slipped from his lips in a broken whisper.

A surge of killing intent flared from my chest. My wolf, Raze, didn’t just snarl; he lunged at the bars of my consciousness.

Hearing her name on his filthy, lying tongue made me want to carve the word out of his throat.

“Witch Doctor.”

The attendant bowed deeply and vanished into the shadows.

I locked my gaze on Jensen. Even in his shattered state, he was an Alpha. I could feel his aura rolling off him in waves.

“I hear you wanted to see me?”

I spoke through the voice–shifter built into the mask’s jawline.

Jensen didn’t move… he was at his absolute limit, his arms shaking so violently the water in the basin was splashing over the sides, but he refused to yield.

“You’re the Witch Doctor?” he gasped, his pride still trying to anchor him.

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Chapter 52 The Clear Water

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“None other,” I replied smoothly, my voice echoing in the vaulted room.

I noted the way his eyes narrowed. He was looking for something–a familiarity, a clue.

“Witch Doctor,” Jensen said, his voice regaining a sliver of its command, “do you and I have a grudge?”

“None,” I lied lazily. “This is simply a procedure, you want a miracle, Alpha Jensen? You have to prove you have the stomach for the price.”

I returned to the high–backed chair at the head of the room.

I glanced at the clock on the wall.

“Three minutes left. Can you still hold on, Mr. Luke? Or are you as hollow as the rumors suggest?”

Jensen didn’t answer, he was focused entirely on the fire in his veins.

I let a scalpel slide into my hand, the silver blade twirling between my fingers like a living thing.

“Alpha Jensen, what an unexpected guest,” I said, my voice dripping with a calculated boredom. “I thought that after Natalie came to beg me to save you five years ago, you’d never set foot in this place again. And yet, here you are. I’m quite curious–who exactly are you here for this time? Because from what I hear, your current mate… is not Natalie.”

The moment the name left my lips, Jensen’s eyes ignited.

“You remember Natalie?”

“Of course.” I let out a soft, chilling chuckle. “A fool like her isn’t easy to forget. Sh She left quite an impression on this floor.”

gave

up everything to keep your heart beating.

Jensen grew tense, his aura flickering.

“Witch Doctor, can I ask… what exactly did Natalie sacrifice back then to get you to treat me?”

He looked straight at me, ignoring the searing agony of the herbal fire. I watched him.

“You want to know her price?” I asked, the scalpel stopping mid–spin.

I leaned forward, the silver mask inches from the flickering light. Jensen was trembling, his hands still submerged in the water that was now turning a faint, milky white as it drained the toxins from his bruises.

“She offered me everything, Jensen. She offered me her blood, her breath, and her very bones. She stood in this room and told me that her life was worth nothing if yours ended.”

I paused, letting the silence of the pharmacy settle over us.

“And you?” I whispered, the distorted voice of the mask turning lethal. “You took that sacrifice, you took that life, and you gave her

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