Reclaiming My Broken Luna (Astrid and Killian) novel Chapter 362

Astrid’s POV

The tension in the air was suffocating.

Every time I stepped into the council room lately, I could feel it pressing against my chest—the growing divide within the Pack.

It was subtle at first, a quiet undercurrent of uncertainty, but now it was undeniable.

People were questioning us. Questioning Killian. And Killian’s mother, Rowena, had only made things worse.

The council members sat around the long table, their expressions ranging from weary to outright suspicious.

Rowena had planted seeds of doubt with her sudden return, and now those seeds were taking root.

Some of them believed she was here to help, that her knowledge of the rogues might be the key to stopping this war before it began. Others—including me—weren’t so sure.

Killian sat beside me, his jaw tight, his eyes scanning the room like a predator sizing up potential threats. He hadn’t spoken much since his mother’s revelations the night before.

I knew he was struggling to process it, to reconcile the woman who had betrayed us with the woman who now claimed she wanted to save the Pack.

I couldn’t blame him. I didn’t trust her either. Especially when she confessed that she had dealings with the rogues before.

We asked her what dealings she had, but she refused to tell us anything, making it harder for us to trust her.

If it weren’t for the safety of the Pack, we wouldn’t have given her the benefit of the doubt.

“Rowena says the Rogue King has been planning this for years,” I said, breaking the silence. “If that’s true, we need to act quickly. Waiting for him to come to us will only put more lives at risk.”

“Or,” one of the elders cut in, his tone sharp, “this is another one of her schemes, meant to manipulate us into doing her bidding. How do we know she’s not still working with the rogues?”

The room murmured in agreement, and I saw Killian’s hands clench into fists on the table.

His silence wasn’t helping. They needed to hear from him, to know that their Alpha was in control.

“She’s not working with them,” Killian said finally, his voice cutting through the noise like a blade. “I don’t trust her, but I believe she’s telling the truth about the Rogue King. We can’t afford to dismiss her information.”

The murmurs quieted, but the tension remained.

“And what do you suggest, Alpha?” anAlpha from another Pack asked, her gaze critical. “That we trust her? That we let her dictate our strategy?”

“No,” Killian said firmly. “We verify everything she says. But we don’t ignore it. If she’s right, and we do nothing, it won’t matter whether we trusted her or not. The Pack will fall.”

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In the Shadows…

Far from the safety of the Silvermoon Pack, in a darkened camp deep in rogue territory, a fire burned low in the center of a circle of wolves.

The figures gathered around it were scarred and lean, their eyes glinting with hunger—for power, for revenge, for blood.

At the head of the circle stood a man, his face obscured by the flickering shadows. He spoke softly, but his words carried, commanding attention.

“They’re divided,” he said, his voice smooth and cold. “Rowena’s return has done more damage than we could have hoped for. She always did have a talent for chaos.”

The wolves chuckled, the sound low and guttural.

“Soon,” he continued, “they’ll tear themselves apart. And when they do, we’ll be waiting to claim what’s ours.”

One of the wolves stepped forward, his head bowed slightly in deference. “And the Packs that resist?”

The man smiled, his teeth glinting in the firelight. “Burn them.”