Rise Of A Shattered Luna (Natalie) by Kave Derry novel Chapter 54

Chapter 54 Forbidden Authority

Baron’s POV

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I sat in the darkened cabin, the only light coming from the glowing console beside me. My knuckles were bruised, a dull ache that feit better than any drug.

I looked down at my hands, remembering the way Jensen’s face had felt under them.

“He didn’t even recognize us,” Raze purred in the back of my mind, his amber eyes glowing in the mental dark. “The great Alpha Jensen, whimpering in the dirt like a discarded pup.”

I had enjoyed it–every violent second; calling him an “idiot” while he thrashed in that sack was the most honest thing I’d said in five years.

But more than the beating, I felt the weight of the silver cufflinks now fastened to my own sleeves. I traced the wolf’s eye design. I had stripped them off his wrist with a sneer, reclaiming the art that never belonged to him.

Natalie’s soul was etched into this silver, and I wasn’t letting a man who let her burn touch it ever again.

But as the jet touched down in my pack and the wheels screeched against the tarmac, my phone buzzed.

Natalie’s vitals were spiking.

By the time the car pulled up to the pack house, I was already moving. I didn’t wait for the guards to open the door; I strode through the entrance.

I walked straight into the recovery wing. Yvonne was there, but she wasn’t at the monitors.

She was standing by the bed, her face a mask of pale exhaustion. My expression darkened.

“Yvonne,” I said, my voice a low–frequency hum. “Before I left for the black market, did I not give you one singular command? Take. Care. Of. Natalie.”

The temperature in the room plummeted. Yvonne, usually a form of calm and composure, didn’t offer a single word of defense.

She knew the rules… she dropped to her knees on the polished floor, her head bowed, her shoulders trembling.

Finn stepped forward from the shadows of the corner.

He was my beta and the closest thing I had to a brother.

“Baron, stop,” Finn said, his posture defensive. “This isn’t Yvonne’s fault. She had just received Phantom’s ashes–her own sister, Baron. She went to bury her, she’d arranged for a rotation of nurses to keep an eye on Natalie. But Natalie… she’s stubborn. She insisted on getting out of bed while the fever was high, and that’s what caused the infection to flare. Our staff can’t be expected to wrestle a patient; even ICU patients have to take some responsibility for their own recovery, don’t they?”

Finn spoke with a casual tone; he didn’t see Natalie the way I did. He just saw a woman i saved, and that was all.

He didn’t see what I saw.

Before he could finish the syllable of his last word, my hand shot out.

1/3

10:52 am

Chapter 54 Forbidden Authority

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CRACK.

The sound of the slap was like a bone breaking in a silent room. It was fast, violent, and absolute.

Finn was knocked clean off his feet, his body hitting the floor with a heavy thud. He skidded a few feet, gasping as the side of his face began to bloom into a violent, bruised red.

The room fell deathly silent. No one even dared to breathe. Everyone knew Finn was my beta–the second–in–command of the pack.

For him to be slapped in front of everyone just for speaking against Natalie–this was unheard of.

Finn sat in stunned silence, his eyes blank until the dull pain began to pulse across his cheek and jaw. Only then did he understand what had just happened. But disbelief still filled his face.

“Baron… you hit me over her?”

“If it weren’t for the years you’ve stood by my side through war and blood, I’d have greeted you with a blade instead of a slap.”

I didn’t even glance his way again. I turned and calmly pulled on a sterile suit before walking into the operating room. My mind was already on the scalpel. If her fever didn’t break, I would burn this villa down with everyone inside.

Outside, I knew Finn was reeling. I could hear his muffled voice through the heavy doors, thick with bitterness. “She’s nothing but Jensen’s leftover trash. And you hit your own brother over her?”

Shauna stepped forward quickly and clapped a hand over his mouth. “Shut up! Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

But Finn didn’t stop, his voice was thick with injustice. “Shauna, we’ve followed him through life and death for years. How are we less than that woman? She nearly got him killed! And I get slapped just for pointing that out?”

“Don’t you get it yet? Baron’s attachment to Natalie goes far deeper than we thought. We both know her condition is critical–she needs someone by her side twenty–four/seven. Yvonne did take leave, and yes, she failed to ensure proper coverage. That’s on her, Baron is strict but fair. Don’t go asking for more trouble.”

She helped him up roughly.

Finn touched his aching cheek and muttered, “I just can’t stand watching Baron throw himself into danger for her.”

“Feelings aren’t something you or I can judge, Finn, don’t test his limits. Even if you look down on Natalie, don’t challenge his authority. You know as well as I do–Baron didn’t rise to power by being soft.”

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