THE LUNA WHO CONQUERED DEATH novel Chapter 17

Episode 12-1

THE LUNA WHO CONQUERED DEATH

Chapter 12: Playing the Part

+25 Points

I spent the rest of the day in a strange foque state, moving through my Luna duties on autopilot while my mind churned with everything that had been said.

Lucas knew. Marcus knew. Katherine Wolfe knew.

My circle of allies was growing, but so was my risk. Every person who knew the truth was another potential leak, another way for Aldric Thorne to discover I was onto him.

I attended a pack council meeting about territory boundaries, nodded in all the right places, took notes I’d never read. I visited the pack school and listened to the children’s presentations about their families. I met with Dr. Moira about expanding omega healthcare access.

All of it felt like moving through water. Present but distant. Real but not quite.

That evening, Damien found me in the library.

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

“I’ve been busy. David’s accident, Luna duties, training.” All true, if incomplete.

He moved closer, and the artificial bond hummed between us, trying to pull me toward him. Even knowing

it was fake, my body still responded. Five years of conditioning didn’t disappear overnight.

“I miss you, Sera. I miss us.”

There were no us, I wanted to scream. There never was. It was all a lie.

Instead, I said, “I’m still processing everything. I need more time.”

“How much time?” Frustration crept into his voice. “I’ve apologized. I’ve been transparent. I ended things with Vivian.”

“Did you?” The question came out sharper than I intended.

His jaw tightened. “Yes. I told her we couldn’t continue, that I was choosing my mate.”

The lie sat between us, thick and obvious. I could smell the deception in him, the irritation that I wasn’t falling back into line.

But I smiled. Nodded. Played along.

“Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

He relaxed, satisfied. “Good. Then maybe tonight, we could have dinner together? Just us. Like we used

to.”

Episode 12-4

+25 Points

I wanted to refuse. Every instinct screamed at me to maintain distance, to avoid intimate situations with a man who was planning my death.

But Katherine’s voice echoed in my mind: Play along. Let him think he’s winning you back.

“I’d like that,” I said, forcing warmth into my voice.

His smile was genuine, relieved. “Seven o’clock? I’ll have the kitchen prepare your favorites.”

“Perfect.”

After he left, I sat in the library for a long moment, staring at the books without seeing them.

Five months.

Five months of dinners and smiles and pretending the bond was real.

Five months of letting him touch me, kiss me, believe he was succeeding.

I pulled out my phone.

Me: He wants to have dinner. Just the two of us. How much physical intimacy can I avoid without raising suspicion?

Katherine’s response came quickly.

Katherine: As much as you’re comfortable with. The bond will do most of the work convincing him things are normal. But Sera, be careful. The more you pretend, the harder it will be to remember what’s real.

Me: I know what’s real. The bond is fake. My feelings are manufactured. He’s going to kill me.

Katherine: Knowing and feeling are different things. Don’t let yourself forget that.

I locked my phone and went to get ready for dinner with my would–be murderer.

Damien had outdone himself.

The private dining room was lit with candles, the table set with our formal china, soft music playing in the background. He’d even dressed up, trading his usual casual Alpha attire for slacks and a button–down

shirt.

It was painfully romantic.

It was painfully fake.

“You look beautiful,” he said when I entered in a simple black dress.

“Thank you.” I let him pull out of my chair, the perfect gentleman.

Dinner was my favorite, exactly as promised. Herb–crusted salmon, roasted vegetables, wild rice pilaf. The kitchen staff had even made my favorite dessert: lavender panna cotta.

Everything I’d loved. Everything that used to make me feel cherished.

Episode 124

Now it just felt like a last meal before an execution.

“I’ve been thinking,” Damien said as we ate. “About us. About our future.”

My heart rate spiked, but kept my expression neutral. “Oh?”

+25 Points

“The Luna binding ritual. I know you had concerns about it, about what it represents.” He reached across the table for my hand. “I want you to know that I’ve decided against it.”

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