The Abandoned Luna's Journey to Power (by Emily Reed) novel Chapter 196

Chapter 196 Coming Home

Cindy’s POV:

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In September, the sky over the Royal Court took on an almost translucent shade of blue. Golden plane- tree leaves blanketed the bluestone road leading to the inner city. As the carriage wheels rolled over them, they made a soft, brittle sound, as if whispering of the changing season.

I sat inside the carriage without drawing the curtain. Astra pressed close to me, his palm slick with cold sweat. Those silver-gray eyes were fixed on the streets outside, growing more familiar by the second. Every building and every tree was awakening memories that had been dormant for five long years.

The one driving wasn’t a coachman, but Prince Adam himself

The crown prince, commander of the Onyx Legion, had shed the heavy cloak that symbolized his authority. Dressed in fitted black riding clothes, he sat on the driver’s bench like the most conscientious of guards.

At the city gate, the sentries moved by habit to stop us for inspection.

“Whoa.”

Prince Adam reined in the horse. Lightning snorted sharply and came to a halt.

Prince Adam tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the soldiers from beneath the brim of his cap.

I heard the clatter of weapons hitting the ground and the dull thud of knees striking stone.

“Y… Your Highness, the Crown Prince!”

“Open the gate.” Prince Adam’s voice was calm, yet carried unquestionable authority.

The massive gates creaked open slowly under the turning of the winch.

The carriage moved again, entering the inner city without the slightest obstruction.

“Look at this male wolf.”

Deep in my mind, Diana’s lazy, teasing voice suddenly surfaced.

“He’s playing coachman for you, but his pheromones are practically flooding the entire street. He’s announcing to everyone that the people in that carriage belong to him. Anyone who dares take a second look, he’ll rip their throat out.”

Heat crept into my cheeks, and I retorted silently, “Don’t talk nonsense. He’s just trying to keep a low profile.”

“Keep a low profile?” Diana scoffed. “Having the crown prince drive the carriage himself is low profile? Cindy, sometimes you’re adorably slow. This is an escort. A pack leader escorting a precious female and her cub back to the den.”

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Chapter 196 Coming Home

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The carriage finally stopped before the vermilion gates that had haunted my dreams for years. Silverpeak Ducal Estate.

Prince Adam jumped down and lifted the carriage curtain.

“We’re here.”

His gaze rested on me, then shifted to Astra. His voice softened. “Cindy, I won’t go in.”

I froze for a moment. “You won’t come in for some tea? You’ve worked hard all this way.”

Prince Adam shook his head and looked toward the tightly closed gates. “Today is the day you and Astra return home. There are too many memories and too much sorrow in that house for you to process. If I were there, you might not feel free to cry or to laugh.”

He paused, his eyes gentler still. “And tomorrow or the day after, the Kazek family will certainly come. As an outsider who hasn’t officially entered the family, it’s better for me to keep my distance for now.”

“Tsk, tsk,” Diana clicked her tongue. “What a considerate Alpha. He knows a cub returning to an old den needs time to lick his wounds. He’s yielding territory on his own. Cindy, this male truly deserves that confession of affection you gave him.”

I ignored Diana’s teasing, but warmth spread quietly through my chest.

Prince Adam always thought of the smallest details.

I took Astra’s hand and stepped down from the carriage.

Astra stood at the foot of the steps and looked up at Prince Adam.

After these past few days together, the deep-seated fear hadn’t fully faded, but the hostility was gone. He knew it was this tall man who had brought him back, who had bought him food along the way, and who had told him stories, even if the storytelling was terrible.

Astra hesitated, then let go of my hand and bent slightly toward Prince Adam in a restrained bow.

When he straightened, the small face that had long been tense and guarded softened just a little. The corners of his mouth lifted.

It was a smile.

Very faint, very slight, even a bit awkward, but unmistakably sincere.

Prince Adam’s eyes lit up at once.

The commander who cut through battlefields without hesitation now looked almost at a loss.

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