THE LUNA WHO CONQUERED DEATH novel Chapter 10

Episode 8-2

He looked disappointed but nodded. “Fair enough. But promise me one thing.”

“What?”

+25 Peints

“If it becomes too much, if you need baskup, you’ll call me. No matter what time. No matter where you

are.”

The sincerity in his voice made my chest tight.

“I promise.”

We drove back to pack territory the next morning. I’d gotten what I came for: Katherine’s training offer, knowledge about the artificial bond, confirmation that Adrian Wolfe would be my ally when the time came.

And a deepening sense of dread about how little time I actually had.

The Pack House came into view just before sunset. Home. Or what passed for home when you knew your mate was betraying you and your Alpha wanted you dead, and the Council had marked you for elimination.

Damien was waiting in our quarters when I arrived.

He looked terrible. Dark circles under his eyes, his usual perfect grooming slightly disheveled, the scent of stress and sleeplessness clinging to him.

Good.

“Sera.” He stood when I entered. “We need to talk.”

“Do we?”

“Please.” The word sounded foreign coming from him. Damien didn’t beg. Didn’t plead. But right now, he

looked close to both. “Just… hear me out.”

I set down my suitcase and crossed my arms. Waiting.

He took a deep breath. “You’re right. About Vivian.”

My heart stopped.

“There has been something between us. Not what you think, not physical, but…” He ran a hand through his

hair. “An emotional connection. One that I should have cut off immediately but didn’t.”

“Why?” The word came out harsher than I intended.

“Because she understands the pressure of being an alpha in a way you never seemed to.” He looked at me. “You were always so content being Luna. Planning events, doing charity work, smiling for the pack.

You never wanted more.”

“You never asked if I wanted more.”

Episode 8.2-

+25 Points

Hassumed. I know now that was wrong.” He moved closer. “These past few weeks, watching you change, seeing you stand up for yourself, train with the warriors, challenge pack hierarchy… that’s the Luna I always

wished I had.”

The irony was suffocating. He was falling for the version of me I’d become only because I knew he was going to kill me.

“So now you want me? Now that I’m inconvenient and confrontational and don’t just agree with everything you say?”

“Now that you’re yourself,” he corrected. “Whoever you were before, that soft, gentle Sera… I loved her. But I didn’t respect her.”

The honesty of it was a knife between my ribs.

“And you respect me now?”

“I’m starting to.” He reached for my hand. The mate’s bond flared at the contact, warm and insistent. “I know I’ve damaged your trust. I know I’ve hurt you. But I want to fix this, Sera. I want to make our bond work.”

I looked at our joined hands. In my past life, I would have melted at this speech. Would have forgiven him immediately, desperately grateful that he still wanted me.

Now, I know the truth. This bond wasn’t real. Whatever emotions I felt, whatever pull existed between us, it was artificial, manufactured by a witch on Aldric Thorne’s orders to keep me manageable.

And Damien’s sudden interest in the “new” me? That was just his alpha instincts, responding to strength instead of weakness. He didn’t love me. He’d never loved me.

He loved the idea of a Luna who enhanced his power without threatening it.

“I need time,” I said, pulling my hand away. “Time to think. Time to process.”

Disappointment flashed across his face, but he nodded. “I understand. Take all the time you need.”

“Thank you.” I grabbed my suitcase. “I’ll be staying in the guest room for now.”

“Sera, that’s not necessary…”

“It is for me.” I met his eyes. “You said you want to fix this. Prove it. No more secret phone calls. No more private meetings with Vivian. Complete transparency.”

He stiffened. “That’s not entirely fair. I have pack business…”

“Complete transparency,” I repeated. “Or we have nothing to fix.”

We stared at each other. The mate bond hummed between us, confused by the conflict, trying to pull us together even as we pushed apart.

Finally, Damien nodded. “Alright. Complete transparency.”

Episode 8-2-

Another lie. I could smell it on him. But I nodded–like I believed him and left for the guest room.

Once alone, I pulled out my phone and texted Katherine Wolfe’s private number.

Damien’s trying to fix things. Do play along or push harder?

Her response came thirty seconds later.

+25 Paints

Play along. Let him think he’s winning you back. The more comfortable he gets, the more he’ll slip up. And Sera? Your powers are building. I can feel them from here. When they manifest, it’s going to be explosive. Be ready.

I stared at the message for a long moment, then locked my phone.

Be ready. Right. Ready to have my entire supernatural existence rewritten. Ready to face down a Council that had been murdering my bloodline for centuries. Ready to break a mate bond that felt real even when it wasn’t.

Ready to survive when every seventh generation before me had failed.

No pressure.

That night, I dreamed of the Moon Goddess again.

She stood in a field of silver flowers under a sky full of stars, more beautiful and terrible than I remembered.

“You’re doing well, daughter.”

“Am I?” I looked down at myself. In the dream, I’d wear the white dress from my rejection ceremony. The one I’d died in. “I feel like I’m barely holding on.”

“That’s because you’re fighting two battles. The one against your enemies, and the one against yourself.” She moved closer, and the flowers bent away from her like they were bowing. “You still think you can save everyone. Change everything. Prevent every tragedy.”

“Isn’t that what I should do?”

r

“You should do what’s necessary to survive. Everything else is a luxury you may not be able to afford.” Her

eyes, silver and ancient, studied me. “Some deaths are fixed points, Sera. You can delay them, but you

cannot prevent them. The timeline has rules.”

My chest tightened. “Whose deaths?”

“I cannot tell you. But I can tell you this: your power will manifest during your greatest heartbreak. And

when it does, you’ll have a choice.” She touched my cheek, and her hand was cold as starlight. “Revenge or justice. Destruction or rebuilding. The woman you were or the goddess you could become.”

“I don’t want to be a goddess. I just want to live.”

“Living requires becoming more than you were. You cannot survive as the old Sera. She was already dead

*

Episode 8.2

+25 Points

the moment Damien looked at Vivian and felt desire.” The Moon Goddess’s smile was sad. “You must become the Luna who conquered death. Truly conquered it. Not just survived it.”

I woke with tears on my face and power crackling under my skin like electricity.

In the mirror, my eyes glowed faint silver before fading back to violet.

It was starting.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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