The Rise Of The Betrayed Luna (Amorah and Holmes) novel Chapter 18

12:52 Sat, May 30 MMM.

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

CONRAD

I returned to my office immediately after leaving the council chamber, but the night did not settle the way it normally would.

Everything around me was in order. The reports had been arranged properly on the desk, and the guards outside maintained their usual positions. Nothing in the environment was out of place, yet my focus refused to stay where it was supposed to be.

I took my seat and opened the first file in front of me.

It was a border dispute between two packs in the northern region. The issue was simple, and I had handled similar matters, many times before without needing to think too deeply about it. I read through the first page carefully, but by the time I reached the second. I realized I had not retained anything.

I closed the file and set it aside.

My wolf shifted inside me, not aggressively, but in a way that refused to be ignored. It was alert and restless, and that alone was enough to make me pause. My wolf did not behave like this without reason.

I picked up another report and forced myself to read it.

Again, the same thing happened.

My attention drifted before I could finish the first section, and this time I understood why. The distraction was not external. It was internal, and it was very specific.

Amorah.

Her name came into my mind clearly, and my wolf reacted immediately to it. It was not a passing thought. It stayed, and it pressed forward in a way that made it difficult to ignore.

I leaned back slightly in my chair and exhaled.

This was not something I was used to. I did not lose focus during work, and I did not allow my wolf to interfere with decisions that required clarity. Yet at that moment, both my mind and my wolf were not aligned with what I needed to do.

I stood up because there was no point forcing myself to continue when I was not fully present. That would lead to mistakes, and mistakes were not acceptable in my position.

I stepped out of the office and into the corridor. The air outside felt cooler, but it did not change anything. My wolf remained unsettled, and the same name stayed at the front of my thoughts.

I needed a distraction.

“Conrad.”

I turned at the sound of my name.

Darius walked toward me with his usual relaxed expression. He had been around me long enough to recognize when something was off, and I could tell from the way he looked at me that he had already noticed.

“You look like you’re dealing with something you don’t want to explain,” he said.

“I’m not explaining it.” I replied..

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12:52 Sat, May 30 MMM.

Chapter 18

He gave a short nod, accepting that without pushing further.

“Then you need something else to focus on,” he said.

“Yes,” I said.

“Drink?” he asked.

I considered it for a brief moment, then nodded.

We left the council building together and headed toward one of the bars near the lower district. It was a place where wolves gathered after council sessions, and it was busy when we entered.

The atmosphere was loud, but not chaotic. Conversations filled the space, and the scent of alcohol was strong. It was the kind of environment that usually made it easy to step away from more serious matters.

We took a table near the back.

Darius ordered drinks for both of us, and within a few minutes, the glasses were placed in front of us. I picked mine up and took a slow drink.

The effect was immediate, but it was not enough. My body relaxed slightly, but my mind did not follow.

Darius watched me for a moment before speaking again.

“You’re not here for the drink,” he said.

“No,” I replied.

“Then what are you here for?”

I did not answer right away.

Instead, I set the glass down and looked ahead, letting the noise of the bar settle around me. Under normal circumstances, this would have been enough to shift my focus. It would have created distance between me and whatever I had been dealing with.

This time, it did not.

My wolf whispered Amorah’s name again, and I felt the shift inside me as it focused on that single point again. It was not random. It was directed, and that made it more difficult to ignore.

Darius leaned forward slightly.

“This is about her,” he said.

I looked at him.

“You were paying attention,” I said.

“I always pay attention,” he replied.

I did not deny it.

“That Luna is not ordinary,” he continued. “She stood in front of the council and did not back down. That alone would get attention.”

“It already has,” I said.

OOG

12:52 Sat, May 30 MMM.

Chapter 18

“And you’re part of that attention now,” he added.

I picked up the glass again and took another drink.

“That is not the issue.” I said.

“What is the issue?” he asked.

I paused for a moment before answering.

“My wolf will not settle.” I said.

That was enough. Darius leaned back slightly, processing that.

“That explains it,” he said.

“It does not explain why,” I replied.

hat

“No,” he agreed. “But it tells you this is not something yo

can ignore.”

He was right.

Ignoring it had not worked so far, and it was not going to work if I continued like this. My wolf was not reacting without reason, and I needed to address that reason directly.

I reached into my coat and took out my phone.

Darius noticed immediately.

“That’s direct,” he said.

“It needs to be,” I replied.

I unlocked the screen and paused for a brief moment before typing. I did not rush the message. Every word needed to be

clear.

Amorah.

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