When The Luna Broke Her Chains novel Chapter 6

Chapter 6 The Healer's Quadrant

[XENA]

I return to my quarters drenched, water dripping from my gown and hair, my slippers leaving a trail of wet footprints behind me. I peel off my clothing piece by piece, my fingers stiff from cold, while Kasumi kneels by the hearth, coaxing the fire to life.

Without my wolf, I am fragile. A stray breeze chills me to the bone; a simple cold could kill me just as easily as it kills humans.

Kasumi pats my hair dry in soft strokes. I murmur my thanks, dismiss her gently, and wait until the door closes. Only then do I wrap the towel tighter around my head and step into my bedchamber.

The moment I enter, I halt.

Rose petals cover the sheets in a delicate scarlet scatter.

My breath leaves me in a single, painful rush. I almost forgot.

I had told Kasumi to prepare the bed—to decorate it beautifully—because tonight was supposed to be the night I tell Cassian I am ready. My lunar energy is stable, so I can give him a child.

I believed he waited for me. I thought he’d been patient, that he withheld himself to keep me safe.

But all along… he was getting everything he wanted—just not from me.

I walk to the bed and grab fistfuls of petals and sheets, tearing them apart with a savage strength I didn’t know I still possessed. Fabric rips. Feathers spill. The bed looks as ruined as I feel.

I storm back out and snatch Morrin’s scroll from the table where I left it before going to the temple. The parchment trembles in my hands.

I read the words one last time—Lunar essence steady. Conception viable.

Hope. A future. A lie.

I lower the scroll to the hungry mouth of the hearth. Fire catches instantly, devouring ink and promise alike. I let the flames lick up the final corner before I turn away and carry it to the bed. Our marriage bed—the place Cassian touched me while lying in another woman’s arms. The stage where he played the part of a devoted husband while betraying me in silence.

The scroll drops from my fingers and lands atop the shredded sheets. Fire spreads in a breath, racing across the fabric, consuming rose petals and pillows and memories.

I stand there silently, watching the bed burn, along with my marriage.

***

“Luna… how did this happen?” Kasumi asks, wringing her apron, worry etched across her face as she steps closer to where I lie wrapped in linen bandages on one of the beds in the Healer’s Quadrant.

I turn my face toward the wall, wincing as the movement pulls at the burn along my neck. “A candle fell,” I lie. “The flame caught my gown. I wasn’t careful.”

I’m too tired to invent anything better.

Stupid. Reckless. Heartbreak made me blind, and now my arms and stomach carry the price.

I’ve been here since last night. Morrin and her assistants come and go—checking my pulse, changing wrappings, whispering about my wolflessness and slow recovery. But through it all, I only wanted Kasumi beside me.

Cassian hasn’t shown up.

Hours pass. I know he’s aware of what happened. He simply doesn’t care.

When I try to sit up, pain slices through my stomach. The few injured wolves scattered across nearby cots glare at me like I’m a curse come to life.

I close my eyes, inhaling slowly to steady myself—until a familiar scent hits me.

Cassian’s scent. Except it’s not him.

Astrid walks in, clutching her sleeves. She pales when she meets my stare, eyes darting away.

My fists curl. “What do you want?”

“Alpha Cassian sent me,” she whispers. “He wants to know… when you can leave for your father’s name day celebration. He says there’s been too much delay.”

I snort. That’s his concern? Prompt arrival at my father’s estate?

I tilt my head, masking my disappointment. “Why did he send you? You’re a healer. Conveying messages between an Alpha and his Luna isn’t part of your duty.”

“He—he thought—perhaps—”

“That’s enough.” I lift a hand. “I’ll see the Alpha myself.”

I swing my legs off the bed. Pain tears through me as the bandages stretch, but I bite it back.

Kasumi rushes forward. “Luna, you shouldn’t walk—please—lie down—”

“I’m fine,” I grit out.

I’m not. My body feels aflame. If I still had Vera, these wounds would be nearly healed. But without her, I’m nothing more than a breakable woman.

Still, I move forward.

***

Cassian sits at his desk, reading scrolls with the ease of someone who cares about nothing outside himself. When he looks up and finally notices my condition, he pauses.

“I didn’t know you were hurt so badly,” he says—then sighs like my injuries inconvenience him.

My hand shoots out, gripping Kasumi’s wrist. The bowl crashes, spilling across the floor.

Kasumi gasps. “L-Luna?”

“Do you know what you’ve been giving me?” I demand.

She shakes her head, trembling. “N-no! Luna, I swear—I only bring what I’m told! I don’t know what’s inside!”

I release her. She rubs her wrist, eyes wet.

“Where do you get it?” I ask.

“T-the medicine division,” she whispers. “It used to come from Niveen… but lately… it’s the healer—Astrid—who gives it to me.”

Of course. Astrid again.

When Kasumi finally recovers, she kneels beside me and gently cleans my burns. The cool water stings, but I don’t flinch. My heart feels heavier than any wound.

Nothing and no one. I’m alone.

I can’t trust Cassian. Can’t trust Davina. Can’t trust the healers. Not even the Goddess who let this happen.

Only myself.

I stare into the water. My reflection stares back—pale, hollow, bandaged—until the surface ripples.

A wolf’s head flashes. Dark eyes blazing.

I jerk back, heart pounding. I know that mark.

The man at the temple. The stranger I handed bread to.

Who is he? And why does the thought of him pull at something inside me?

Kasumi touches my arm. “Luna? Are you alright?”

“Yes,” I say—but my mind drifts far away.

I want to go back to the temple, see him again. I want to know why that mark appeared in the water. Why my reflection changed.

I want answers.