THE LUNA WHO CONQUERED DEATH novel Chapter 7

Seattle 1

The city rose out of the morning fog like a dream.

I’d been to Seattle before, as Damien’s Luna, attending formal pack functions in sterile conference rooms while he handled real business. I’d never truly seen it. Never walked its streets as myself, not as

someone’s mate or someone’s Luna or someone’s problem to manage.

Today felt different.

Marcus drove us in a pack SUV, navigating the city traffic with practiced ease. He’d done exactly what he promised, creating a legitimate paper trail: hotel bookings, registrations for a real Luna leadership

conference happening downtown this weekend.

Cover stories within cover stories.

“You’re quiet,” he said, glancing at me.

“Just thinking.”

“About Damien?”

“About everything.” I watched the city slide past the window. Glass buildings catching the morning light, humans hurrying to work, ordinary lives unfolding beneath a sky that didn’t know or care about pack politics and ancient bloodlines and murdered Lunas.

Must be nice.

“For what it’s worth,” Marcus said quietly, “you were magnificent yesterday. At lunch.”

“I was reckless.”

“Maybe. But you were honest. And watching Damien squirm was…” He paused. “It was a long time

coming.”

I turned to look at him. “How long have you known? About Vivian?”

Marcus was quiet for a moment. “Six months. Maybe seven.”

The admission hit me like cold water. Six months. He’d known for six months and said nothing, done nothing, while his Alpha betrayed his Luna.

He saw my expression and gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I know what you’re thinking. I should have told you. I should have confronted him. I kept telling myself it would pass, that he’d choose the bond, that he’d do the right thing.”

“But he didn’t.”

“No. He didn’t.” Marcus’s jaw tightened. “And I let my loyalty to him override my duty to you. I’m sorry, Sera. Genuinely.”

Hooked at him for a long moment. In my past life, Marcus had stood at the rejection ceremony with pain written all over his face. He’d been the only one who looked like he wanted to intervene but couldn’t bring

himself to break ranks.

Now I understand why. He’d been drowning in guilt long before that night.

“I forgive you,” I said. “But Marcus, if you ever know something that puts me in danger again, I need you to tell me.”

Wolfe Enterprises occupied the top twenty floors of a glass tower three blocks from our hotel. From the outside, it looked like any other corporate headquarters. But I could feel the supernatural energy radiating from it the moment I stepped onto the block.

Wards. Strong ones. The kind that would repel anyone without an invitation.

I straightened my spine and walked toward the entrance anyway.

The lobby was all marble and steel, staffed by humans who clearly had no idea what kind of business really happened in the floors above them. I approached the reception desk.

“I’m here to see Katherine Wolfe.”

The receptionist smiled professionally. “Do you have an appointment?”

“No. But tell her that Elena Nightshade’s daughter is here. She’ll see me.”

The receptionist’s smile flickered. She picked up her phone and murmured something I couldn’t hear. A

Seattle 1

pause Another murmur.

Then her eyes widened slightly.

“Ms. Wolfe will see you. Forty–second floor. Someone will escort you.”

The elevator opened directly into a reception area unlike anything below. The human facade ended here. The walls were lined with ancient texts, the furniture was carved from wood that hummed with embedded spells, and the woman waiting for me was unmistakably supernatural.