The Alpha King And His Chosen Luna novel Chapter 68

Crossing back

(Caius)

Two mornings later we left for Ashcrest.

The yard was cold when I stepped outside. Dawn had only begun to touch the eastern ridge and the ground still held the night in it. Breath rose pale from the horses. Leather creaked as straps were checked and packs secured. Men spoke little. I preferred departures that way, quiet work done by people who knew what they were doing.

Zeron was already there with the first group. Raith stood near the gate with two scouts who would ride ahead once we moved. Pryor remained behind where he belonged, buried in reports and messages and the work that kept a territory moving while others rode out.

My horse waited near the mounting block, dark and broad, trained for distance and noise and sudden change. I checked the tack myself though it didn’t need checking. Habit mattered.

Vorak was awake and watchful.

‘Watch her today,’ he said.

‘I already am,‘ I said.

I heard the side door open behind me and turned.

Isla stepped into the yard wrapped against the cold. She crossed toward us with measured steps. Her ankle had healed well, but I still noticed the slight care she gave uneven ground. She was stronger now, walking more, carrying herself differently than when I first brought her here.

Several warriors glanced her way and then returned to their own tasks.

She stopped in front of me.

“Morning,” she said.

“Morning.”

Her gaze moved over the riders, the packed gear, the open gate, then to my horse and back to me.

“We’re ready?” she asked.

“Yes,”

She nodded once.

I mounted first and settled in the saddle. Then I reached down.

She placed her hand in mine without hesitation.

I drew her up in front of me and settled her carefully, giving her time to adjust before gathering the reins around us both. She found her balance at once, one hand near the pommel, the other resting lightly over the leather.

3. Crossing lasteka

No questions. No wasted words.

“Good.

Raith moved to my right. Zeron took the left.

“Scouts first?” Raith asked.

“Now.”

They rode through the gate at once.

Clar

I touched my heels to the horse’s sides and we moved after them. The others followed in ordered lines behind us.

No one commented on where Isla sat. No one needed to. They had eyes. They understood exactly what I meant them to understand.

She rode with me at the front.

The first miles crossed Wraithbone land. Roads were clear and maintained, the tree line cut back where needed, markers visible at each turn. Frost lay over the grass where shade still held. The horse’s stride was even beneath us.

Isla sat upright against me, controlled and quiet.

I could feel the line of tension through her back, not fear, not panic, but the effort of holding herself composed while knowing where the road ended.

I said nothing.

There was no kindness in forcing speech from someone using silence well.

We rode for the better part of an hour before the sun rose fully over the trees. Light spread pale across the road ahead. Birds started in the branches above us.

At last she spoke.

“Why so many of them coming with us?” she asked. “You expect trouble?”

“Yes.”

She waited, knowing there was more.

“I expect anger,” I said. “Resentment. Some denial. A few who still think loyalty means protecting rot. I don’t intend to be surprised by any of it.”

She considered that.

“You think they’ll fight for him.”

“Some might try.”

“And it won’t matter.”

Crossing bacte

“No.”

That earned the smallest shift in her expression.

“I noticed,” she said

I let that sit.

Later she asked, “Will they all be there?”

“Those under arrest, yes.”

She didn’t answer immediately.

“Good,” she said at last.

No tremor in her voice. Only certainty.

We stopped once near midday where a stream crossed the road. Horses watered. Men ate quickly and checked tack before remounting. I dismounted first and helped her down.

When her boots touched the ground she favored the healed ankle for half a step, then straightened.

I noticed.

She noticed me noticing.

“It’s fine,” she said.

“I know.”

I handed her food and water and let her walk a short distance while the men worked. She moved toward

the trees and stood there looking east.

Vorak stirred.

‘She remembers.‘

‘Yes.‘

‘Stay close.‘

‘I am!’

We rode again within minutes.

The farther east we went, the more the land changed. Roads narrowed. Fence lines sagged. Fields looked worked but poorly kept. Buildings stood in need of repair that had clearly gone ignored.

Ashcrest had always valued appearance over substance.

Isla saw each sign of it. I knew she did by the way her hands shifted on the reins and then stilled again.

The bridge over black water marked the halfway point.

When we crossed it, her fingers tightened.

Crossing back

Claim

moved one hand from the reins and laid it over hers for a moment, enough to be felt, enough to remind.

Then I took the reins again.

She drew in breath and let it out.

Behind us, the riders kept silence

Good men knew when silence was service

By late afternoon we reached the ridge overlooking Ashcrest boundary land. Below us the road bent downward through birch stands and opened into the outer holdings.

I reined in.

The ine behind me halted at once.

Below lay fields, smoke from chimneys, the watch post at the crossing, the first buildings of a pack that had failed every duty it claimed to uphold.

Isla looked down over it all without speaking.

I watched her profile. Pale, yes. Controlled, yes. But present. She was here in this moment, not lost inside

memory.

That mattered.

“We can stop a moment,” I said.

“No.”

She turned her head slightly.

“I don’t want to stop outside it. I want to go through.“,

I nodded.

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