When The Luna Broke Her Chains novel Chapter 15

When The Luna Broke Her Chains

Chapter 15 The Easiest Way Out

IXENA]

Finished

To me, the pack’s library has always felt colder than the rest of the keep. But it is also the place I visit most to find comfort when my heart feels uneasy.

I walk between tall shelves, fingertips grazing the spines of books older than Frostfang itself. My heart hammers as I scan titles. I shouldn’t be here, at least not for this. But no one ever comes to the library at this hour, and Elder Bren rarely leaves his desk.

Silver Severance. Ritual divorce of wolves. Loopholes. Consequences.

I find the book tucked between two enormous tomes. The cover is new. That means someone requested a fresh copy recently. But it also means it will contain the most up–to–date information about laws surrounding the ritual.

I slip it into my hands and a moment later hear a dull clack behind me.

“Luna Xena.”

I nearly drop it. My breath stutters as I whirl around.

Elder Bren stands a few feet away, leaning heavily on his carved staff. His white hair hangs in thin strands around his lined face, and his back is permanently bent from age–or from the rogue attack that stole his wolf decades ago.

“Elder Bren,” I gasp. “You startled me.”

He chuckles softly. “Apologies, child. I didn’t mean to. What knowledge are you seeking today?”

His eyes–cloudy from age yet unsettlingly sharp–seem to look through me.

My fingers tighten around the book hidden halfway behind my shawl. I don’t know what to say. I could lie, but what’s the point? He has likely already guessed. And what does it matter if he thinks me foolish?

I exhale. “I… was looking for something on reclaiming one’s wolf.”

His gaze drops to the edge of the book peeking out from my shawl. He tilts his head, reading enough of the title to know exactly what I’ve taken. His brows rise.

Heat floods my cheeks as I instinctively shove the book fully under the shawl.

“I heard you were injured,” he says mildly. “A fire in your chamber.”

“Yes,” I answer. “I was.”

“You look healed,” he replies. There’s an unmistakable note of suspicion in his voice. “Quite healed.”

My chest tightens. There are rumors about Bren–whispers that after losing his wolf, he gained something else. Sight. A strange ability to perceive things he should not. Things that happen far from him.

Does he know about the stranger? The lake? The healing? Does he know about the pup hidden in my room?

My throat dries. “It… wasn’t as bad as it seemed.”

12:21 Thu, Jan 22 G @D.

Chapter 15 The Easiest Way Out

Finished

He studies me for a moment that feels too long, then nols slowly. “As for reclaiming a wolf,” he continues, “this isn’t the first time someone has sought answers about it. You needn’t be ashamed.”

“I’m not.” I lie softly. “I just wanted to read. I don’t think can get my wolf back even though I’m young.”

“Why not?” he asks gently.

“Because I’ve only heard legends. My situation… there’s nothing documented in the last two hundred years.”

“Most wolves give up,” Bren murmurs. “Some aren’t even allowed to try. Some packs execute those who lose their wolves.”

A shiver runs through me.

“The Alpha was generous,” he says, “elevating you to the Luna’s position despite it.”

I turn away, jaw tightening so he doesn’t see my expression.

“But,” Bren adds quietly, “I see why you no longer wish to stand at his side.”

I gasp and spin toward him. “Why would you say that?”

He smiles softly.

My stomach drops. I hid the book, but not well enough.

He leaves without another word.

I stand frozen in the aisle until he returns a moment later with another book–old, bound in cracked leather, gold words faded with years.

“This might give you some answers,” he says, handing it to me. “But books alone won’t be enough. You will need blessings, favors… sacrifices too, perhaps.”

Sacrifices? My fingers curl around the worn cover. “Elder… what do you mean?”

He simply taps his staff twice on the stone floor and leans closer, lowering his voice.

“The Silver Severance book,” he murmurs. “Go to the second–last chapter.” His cloudy eyes gleam faintly. “For now, that is the easiest way for you.”

A chill crawls up my spine.

He knows. He knows exactly what I’m planning. Or considering. Or terrified of wanting.

I clutch the books to my chest, murmur a polite farewell, and hurry out of the library with my heart pounding so loudly it drowns the silence behind me.