Rise Of A Shattered Luna (Natalie) by Kave Derry novel Chapter 9

Chapter 9 I’m Not Blind

Chapter 9 I’m Not Blind

Jensen’s POV

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The hospital smelled like disinfectant and metal sharp enough to sting the back of my throat. I paced the Emergency Wing, back and forth, my hands tight at my sides, trying to focus on the only thing that was supposed to matter.

Sharon was in surgery.

That should have been enough to anchor me; it should have been all I could think about. Instead, every time I slowed down, Natalie forced her way into my head.

Not her voice. Not her tears.

Her silence.

The way she had stood in the Lodge with her back straight and her eyes empty. The way had looked at me, like I no longer existed to her.

My wolf stirred, low and uneasy.

“She was wronged,” Cairn murmured inside me. “You should have listened.”

I shoved the thought down and kept walking.

My phone vibrated in my hand.

Hansel.

I opened the file immediately. Council seal, final review.

Truth serum confession: verified. Authentic. Unaltered Legally binding.

No illness, no hallucination, no manipulation.

Sharon had told the truth.

Every word.

The document stated that the decision to press charges now rested entirely with Natalie.

My grip tightened until the phone creaked in my palm.

My wolf surged again, sharper this time.

she

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Chapter 9 I’m Not Blind

“She was tortured, and you stood beside her tormentor

“Enough.” I muttered under my breath.

I didn’t know if I was speaking to myself or the beast in my blood, but it went quiet.

Five years.

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Five years of believing I had saved Natalie. Five years of believing she had been broken by strangers, by rogues, by fate.

Not by my mate.

Images surfaced whether I wanted them or not. Natalie in the snow, barely conscious. Natalie flinching when anyone came too close. Natalie going still whenever someone raised their

voice.

And behind every memory stood Sharon.

Holding the whip.

My wolf growled, deep and furious.

“You had just one job, and that was to protect her.”

I shut my eyes once, then opened them and forced myself to breathe.

“Transfer the North Ridge villa to Natalie,” I said into the phone.

Hansel went quiet.

“The estate on the private border?” he asked carefully.

“Yes.”

“That property is worth-”

“I know what it’s worth.”

Another pause. “You’re giving her the house you planned to raise your family in.”

“By morning,” I cut in. “The deed on my desk.”

I ended the call before he could argue.

It wasn’t forgiveness; it was damage control.

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Chapter 9 I’m Not Blind

The Summers family had treated Natalie like disposable waste because she had no wolf and no one to defend her. I had seen it and chosen not to question it; I had chosen Sharon

instead.

My wolf pressed against my ribs, restless.

“You chose wrong.”

I ignored him again before shoving him back to the back of my mind.

The elevator doors slid open at the end of the hall.

Quincy and Jordan rushed out, their faces pale. Quincy grabbed my arm before I could step

away.

“Alpha Jensen, please. Is Sharon alive?”

I looked down at her hand on my sleeve, at the jewelry I had paid for, at skin untouched by hardship. The same hands that had watched another daughter bleed.

I pulled away.

“She’s still in surgery.”

Jordan exhaled in relief; Quincy started crying again.

“You should worry less about Sharon’s collapse,” I said, my voice low, “and more about the confession.”

Her face drained of color.

“That recording is already archived,” I continued. “Your role in it is permanent.”

She shook her head violently. “It’s fake. Natalie poisoned her. Humans have tricks-”

“I’m not stupid,” I said, stepping closer.

“And I’m not blind.”

My wolf bared its teeth inside me.

“The serum doesn’t create lies,” I added. “It removes the ability to hide them.”

Jordan suffened beside her, and I turned to him.

“You knew,” I said. “You let it happen.”

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Chapter 9 I’m Not Blind

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He didn’t answer.

Quincy clutched his arm, shaking. “They’ll cage her,” she whispered. “They’ll put Sharon in

silver.”

“The entire Conclave heard everything.” I replied. “Other packs want blood.”

I leaned closer, lowering my voice.

“If Sharon stays free, it will only be because Natalie allows it.”

My wolf surged again, approval mixed with anger.

Doctors appeared at the end of the hall then, moving quickly. Quincy and Jordan rushed toward them.

I followed later.

Sharon looked small in the hospital bed, fragile beneath white sheets. She started crying when she saw me.

“Am I dying?” she asked.

“No.” I said, sitting beside her. “I won’t let that happen.”

She clutched my sleeve like a child.

I held her.

And saw silver lines carved into someone else’s skin.

My wolf snarled. He had always had a soft spot for her, and it’s worse now that he learned about what Sharon did.

I didn’t ask her why she had done it; I didn’t ask her how. The answers felt too heavy to carry.

When she finally slept, I left the room and called my beta.

“Bury the launch event,” I said. “Use every favor you owe.”

“Yes, Alpha”

“No media coverage. No leaks.”

“And Natalie being declared the True Keeper?”

My wolf went still.

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Chapter 9 I’m Not Blind

Waiting.

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