I hesitated. Then I exhaled and asked, “How’s your head?”
She tapped the side gently. “Still there. Doctors said I was lucky.”
I looked away. “Didn’t feel lucky when I hit you with a book.”
Mira shrugged. “I’ve been hit with worse.”
Something softened in my chest. Guilt, probably. But also a strange
kind of respect.
Damian’s voice broke the awkward silence. “She’s been recovering in
one of the safehouses.”
“She should’ve stayed longer,” I said before I could stop myself.
“I asked to return,” Mira said. “I wanted to see if you’d stabbed
anyone else.”
I smirked. “Not yet. But there’s still time.”
Evelyn cleared her throat behind us. “If we’re done with the
emotional reunions, I’d like to report that Selene is progressing. She
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Chapter 12
can now walk without threatening to destroy the floorboards.”
“She’s exaggerating,” I added dryly.
“She’s being kind,” Mira muttered under her breath.
Damian stepped fully into the room now, hands in his pockets, the
shadows curling around him like they belonged to him. I hated how
much space he took up. Not physically. Just… in the air. In my
thoughts.
His gaze swept over me. Not lingering. Not indecent. Just sharp. Assessing. Like he was measuring what had changed in the five days
he’d been gone.
“She looks different,” he said simply.
“I didn’t shave my head or anything,” I muttered.
“No,” he said, stepping closer. “But you’re holding yourself like you’re
ready.”
“Ready for what?” I asked slowly.
His eyes didn’t leave mine. “Italy.”
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My heart did that annoying thump it did whenever he said something
unexpected.
“Excuse me?”
“I have work there. And you’re coming with me.”
I blinked. “You’re joking.”
“I don’t joke.”
“Exactly why this sounds suspicious.”
“You’re Luna,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the
world. “You’re meant to walk beside me. Not sit in a gilded cage
waiting.”
I hated that the words made my stomach flutter.
Beside him.
Not behind.
“But Italy?” I echoed again. “Like… pizza and mafia?”
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Mira coughed to hide her laugh.
“More like vineyards and weapons negotiations,” Damian said. “I
have an Alpha meeting. Several, actually. And I need you there.”
“Why?”
He didn’t answer right away.
Then: “Because they need to see what I built.”
I flinched at that. “You didn’t build me.”
“No,” he said, stepping even closer. “But I gave you space to rise.”
I didn’t know how to answer that.
My fists clenched. My throat felt dry. And before I could say anything,
Evelyn snapped her fingers.
“If we’re going to Italy, we need to pack. Tonight.”
“I’m not-” I started.
“You are,” Damian interrupted.
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I glared. “You left me for five days. You don’t get to make demands.”
He stared me down. “I gave you time to become what you were meant
to be.”
“And what exactly is that?”
His voice dropped an octave. “My Luna.”
The silence that followed was thick.
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