When The Luna Broke Her Chains novel Chapter 45

Chapter 45 The Bestowal Of Fortune

[XENA]

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For a heartbeat, I wish I could melt into the stone beneath me. Or vanish entirely–anything so I don’t have to answer him.

Behind me, Oriel gasps, before Mara clamps a hand over her mouth. Even then, Oriel’s whisper slips through. “Why her?”

Knox remains where he is, bowed before me as if this is the most natural thing in the world. The Mooncord lies open on his palm, silver and dark leather catching the light. His expression isn’t demanding. It isn’t amused. It’s almost… hopeful.

I lift my gaze through heavy lashes, and a wave of dizziness washes over me.

This is the second time. The second time he’s drawn every eye to me. The second time I am made visible in a place that has never wanted to see me at all.

I shudder and let out a shaky breath, wetting my lips. He doesn’t look like a prince asking a subject to obey. He looks like a man asking something of a woman, and that makes it worse.

Why me?

He asks again, his voice now softened in a way that feels dangerous. “Will you bestow the fortune on me,” he says, “so I may be successful in the Bloodwake Hunt?”

The words sound… intimate. As if we’ve stood like this before, somewhere else, some other time.

I nod before my courage can flee me.

Slowly, I rise.

A hundred pairs of eyes burn into my back, into my hands, into my face. I don’t need to hear their thoughts to know them. She has no wolf. She’s married. She isn’t noble. Why not one of us?

I take the Mooncord from his palm with trembling fingers. I keep my gaze lowered as he turns his wrist, the one marked with the wolf’s head, the ink seeming to glow faintly beneath my touch. I’m careful not to brush his skin. I’m not sure what would happen if I did. I think I might faint. Or forget myself entirely..

My heart is racing, wild and unsteady, as I loop the cord and tie–it as neatly as I can.

When I’m done, I exhale shakily.

“Thank you,” Knox says.

Before I can step back, he kneels again and takes my hand, his grip firm and warm. He lifts my knuckles and presses his forehead to them.

“May the Goddess bless me.”

My lips part. I don’t know what I’m meant to say, so I repeat it, quietly and honestly. “May the Goddess

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Chapter 45 The Bestowal Of Fortune

bless you… Your Highness.”

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He rises, and a slow smirk curves his mouth. “She will,” he murmurs, conspicuously, his gaze holding mine. just long enough for the entire arena to see it.

My stomach drops.

I find Cassian’s eyes among the standing Alphas gathered below. His expression is tight, furious, humiliated. Whatever care I took this morning to soothe him is undone now.

I sink back into my seat as the collective tension around us loosens in a sigh.

Seraphel steps forward, her voice ringing clear. “The Bloodwake Hunt begins.”

The trumpet sounds again, sharp and commanding, and the men vanish into the forest.

I twist my hands together in my lap, painfully aware of my flushed cheeks, of the way my pulse still races.

Oriel leans forward, her voice taunting. “How did you do that? Did he just pity you? Thought he’d thank you for saving his wolf by honoring you?”

Before I can respond, Davina snaps, “Behave.”

I blink at her, startled.

“Everyone is watching, Oriel,” Davina continues coolly. “Don’t scorn what the Moon has seen. They can hear you.”

Oriel hisses under her breath and leans back, and I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

Time stretches. The forest remains silent for too long.

Then there’s movement.

The men return.

The Lycan prince, Knox, is first.

He’s bloodied, streaked red across his bare skin, dragging a massive stag behind him. Blood drips from his hands and his jaw which is set hard. Behind him, the other Alphas emerge with smaller kills, cackling with pride.

Seraphel is suddenly beside me.

“You must come,” she says quietly. “You will receive the kill on behalf of the Goddess.”

My feet feel unsteady as I step forward. Standing before him again feels different now. He leans in close, his mouth near my ear as he explains what to do, his breath warm, his presence overwhelming.

I dip my fingers into the blood and draw it across the stone idol of Selene, the scent metallic and sharp as it wafts up into the air.

When I glance back at him, he looks satisfied.

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Chapter 45 The Bestowal Of Fortune

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45. Peach

And something in my chest tightens, dangerously, as I realize he’s watching me not as a symbol–but as a

choice.

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