When The Luna Broke Her Chains novel Chapter 23

Chapter 23 Unsteady Oaths.

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Davina lies awake beneath the thin guest blanket, staring at the plain ceiling, fury simmering quietly under her skin. Not a whisper of sleep finds her, not after what Xena said.

He hasn’t waited for you as faithfully as you imagine.

The words replay, again and again, like a thorn she can’t pull out. She hates the doubt they planted. She hates that it came from Xena, of all people. And she hates most of all that a small, ridiculous part of her believed it.

She turns onto her side with a sharp exhale. Trish sleeps soundly on the cot beside hers, curled into her blanket like a scared pup. One of Davina’s juniors. One of four other girls she’s forced to travel with. Five of them together–five Moon Guild daughters bound to serve at the royal palace for the Moonborne Gathering.

A full year of service. A full year in the palace. Davina should be thrilled. Cassian will be there. She had imagined stolen moments, stolen kisses, stolen nights.

Tonight had been a surprise visit—a gift. But Xena’s words ruined the taste of it.

Davina stares at Trish again and rolls her eyes. What will she do if I leave? Complain to the Guild that her senior broke curfew? They’d sooner bow to Davina than scold her. Everyone knows her power. Everyone fears what she will become once her oath is done.

Davina sits up, swings her feet off the bed, and stands. Enough thinking. Enough doubting. She needs answers. And she’ll get them from Cassian’s own mouth

She pulls out the charm he gave her years ago–the one she’s not technically allowed to own, but cleverly hid during all Guild inspections. It glimmers faintly in her palm, responding to her need. The spell is nearly effortless, just a push of intent.

It guides her straight to him, and she finds him waiting right outside the door of what she knows is his chamber.

Their eyes meet, and his widen just slightly. She knows instantly–he was about to come find her too.

A slow, delighted smile curves her lips. She steps forward, and he grabs her wrist, pulling her inside, shutting the heavy doors behind them with a firm latch

“I thought you’d be sleeping,” she says softly, slipping into the innocent tone she knows he loves.

He smirks. “Liar.”

Her heart flips at the familiar sound.

“Knowing you’re under the same roof?” he murmurs, caging her between his arms. “There’s no sleeping tonight, Davina.”

“Oh?” she teases, sliding under his arm to wander deeper into the room. She picks up a carved wolf’s head from the table, turning it in her hand. “Thank you for your concern for me, Alpha Cassian.”

His brows pinch, mouth curving. He loves this. The push and pull. The dance she leads.

“Concern?” he repeats, closing the distance in two slow strides. His eyes dip–straight to her breasts outlined beneath the thin fabric of her nightgown. She bows just enough to offer him more.

12:24 Thu, Jan 22 G @D

Chapter 23 Unsteady Oaths

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Finished

His breath catches. His hand rises, heavy and warm against her side. The hunger in his eyes is immediate and familiar. It soothes a part of her that has been restless since Xena’s implication.

She touches his chest lightly. “I wonder how you cope when I’m gone,” she whispers. “We barely get time together now. And I know your appetite for me has grown.” She tilts her head. “So who quenches it?”

His shoulders stiffen, rising slightly. A tiny, damning tick

Davina’s stomach sinks. Oh, Goddess. Xena wasn’t lying

Cassian inhales slowly. “Only you can quench what exists for you,” he says, voice a rasp. He leans in, fingers closing around her breast.

Her wolf stirs–mate, take him, he’s yours–but Davina presses her palm against his chest, pushing him back half a step. “Have you been faithful to me, Cassian?” she asks quietly. “Have you waited like you promised you would?”

She slips away from him before he can answer, moving into the adjoining study. He follows, slower now, avoiding her eyes.

“What are you implying, darling?” he asks. “Xena disgusts me. I’ve never touched her. You can ask her, and you’d know,” he says, but even this statement lacks his usual honesty. And it was never Xena she was worried about. But she should’ve known: men are men.

He fucked her too. Who else?

“You’re my mate,” Cassian says then. “You know how I feel for you. What I want.”

Davina glares at him, her jaw clenching.

Footsteps echo suddenly behind them. Cassian’s head snaps up. A flicker of panic crosses his face before irritation clouds it.

Davina turns–and sees a woman standing beneath the archway, wide–eyed and frozen. Someone who’s meant to look exactly like her… if a painter ruined the sketch halfway through.

Davina straightens, every trace of fear shoved under a steel spine. She faces the intruder without flinching.

The woman bows quickly. “Forgive me, Alpha. I didn’t know you’d be… occupied at this hour.”

Cassian’s jaw grinds. “Then why are you here at this hour?”

The woman blinks, confused. “I–I brought your medicine, Alpha. It’s by your bed.”

“Good. You can leave now,” Cassian snaps.

She bows again, her gaze flicking toward Davina once–full of something miserable–before she rushes out.

The moment she disappears, Davina rounds on Cassian. “Who was she?”

“No one I need to explain,” he says. “And no one you need to explain yourself to as to why you’re here.”

Davina circles him. “I saw the way she looked at you.”

“Like what?” he challenges.

12:24 Thu, Jan 22 GAD.

Chapter 23 Unsteady Oaths

“Like she knows how your cock fits in her mouth.”

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Cassian laughs–a startled, tense sound. She doesn’t like the way it feels. Something in it has shifted. Then he grabs her and pushes her onto the table’s edge. “You seem jealous,” he murmurs.

“I’m not-”

He cuts her off with a hand around her throat, gentle but commanding, forcing her to meet his eyes. He steps between her legs, heat radiating through the gown

“Let me show you,” he growls, sliding to his knees, “just how much I belong to you.”

Davina closes her eyes as he slowly hikes up her nightgown, letting the lie warm her–for now.

20

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12:24 Thu, Jan 22 GRD.

When The Luna Brok