Reclaiming My Broken Luna (Astrid and Killian) novel Chapter 291

The nurses beside him kept their heads bowed, silent tears streaking their faces, their fear like a palpable force in the room.

They offered no words, no excuses, just the raw terror of those who knew their lives hung by a thread.

I could barely hold back the fury that threatened to erupt. Every word he spoke only twisted the knife deeper, the realization of how deep the betrayal went, how many lies had been spun around me.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to keep a grip on my control. The truth wasn’t complete yet, but I had a new, more dangerous puzzle to unravel.

A stranger, a missing child, a woman who had played me for a fool for years. My mind raced with questions, but one thing remained clear: Giselle had gone too far, and now, I would find out exactly how deep her treachery ran.

I took a step back, my voice turning cold, final. “You’ve told me just enough to save your miserable lives for now. But if I find out that you’re still hiding something, I’ll make sure you suffer every moment of your last breath.”

I turned my attention to Ryder. “Ryder, get them out of my sight. Keep them locked up until I decide what to do with them.”

Ryder nodded, his face a mask of grim determination, and moved to drag them out. Their desperate cries and pleas faded as the heavy door of the dungeon shut behind them, leaving me alone in the darkness.

I stood there, the weight of their words pressing down on me like a suffocating shroud.

My fists clenched so tightly that my nails bit into my palms, but I barely felt the pain.

All I could think of was the betrayal, the lies, and the burning need for justice.

I tried to steady my thoughts, but they spiraled back to the same question, over and over: Who was the stranger that the Pack Doctor spoke of? Who would help Giselle and why would anyone help her with something like that?

“Who do you think the stranger was, Alpha?” Ryder’s voice cut through my thoughts, low and urgent.

He stood just a few steps away, his expression as tense as my own. It was clear that the revelations had shaken him too, but now he sought answers with the same determination burning inside me.

I let out a slow, heavy sigh, feeling the frustration coil tighter around my chest. “I don’t know, Ryder,” I admitted, my voice rough with anger that hadn’t yet cooled.

Whoever that stranger was,” I began, my voice rough with barely controlled anger, “they were working for a reason. No one would just walk into a pack and risk crossing me without something to gain.”

Ryder’s jaw tightened, and he crossed his arms, shifting his weight as he considered my words. “It must’ve been planned, Alpha. Whoever they are, they knew exactly what they were doing. Swapping the babies, altering the records... they went through a lot of trouble to make sure Giselle kept that child— and that you thought Ryker was hers.”

A bitter laugh escaped my lips, and I shook my head. “Giselle thought she could manipulate me with a child that wasn’t even hers. But that means she wasn’t the one holding all the cards. Someone else was pulling her strings. And she’s been hiding behind that person all this time.”

Ryder’s expression darkened, his jaw tightening as he glanced toward the closed dungeon door. “Whoever that stranger is, they must be powerful. Maybe even someone in the pack, or someone close enough to slip in and out unnoticed.”

“Good,” I said, a grim satisfaction settling in my chest. “Keep it discreet. She can’t know we’re onto her.

The moment she suspects, she’ll try to cover her tracks. But we’ll catch her in the act, and whoever she’s meeting with — we’ll get them, too.”

Ryder’s mouth curled into a tight, humorless smile. “I’ll make sure she thinks everything’s as it always is. But in the shadows, we’ll be watching. Whatever she’s hiding, we’ll find it.”

I nodded, a dark determination settling into my bones. “We’ll give her enough rope to hang herself with, Ryder. Let her think she’s still in control. But when the time comes, we’ll bring her whole world crashing down.”

With a final nod, Ryder turned and disappeared up the steps, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I took a deep breath, letting the chill of the dungeon seep into my lungs.

Giselle thought she could keep her secrets buried, but she was wrong. I would dig them up, one by one, and make her pay for every moment she’d stolen from me.

The truth was a weapon, and I intended to wield it with the precision of a blade.

And when I was done, there would be no more lies, no more deceptions — only the cold, hard reckoning that had been long overdue.