Masuk![LUNA OF ASHES [THE MOON GODDESS RISES AGAIN]](https://acfs1.goodnovel.com/dist/src/assets/images/book/43949cad-default_cover.png)
Katherine Ashford
“Luna Katherine… praise be to the Moon Goddess — you’re pregnant!” The words fell like sunlight through storm clouds. For a moment, I thought I’d misheard her. The healer’s smile trembled as she bowed, silver bangles chiming softly. “It’s true, my Luna. The test confirms it. You’re with child.” For five long years, I had prayed beneath every full moon, whispered my wishes to the stars, and watched them die quietly at dawn. Five years of silence in our chambers. Five years of wondering if the goddess had turned her face away from me. Now — life. My knees gave out before I could stop them. I pressed a trembling palm to my stomach, a laugh breaking through the tears that rushed to my throat. “The goddess… she heard me.” The healer hurried to steady me, her tone tender but firm. “Easy, Luna. You mustn’t strain yourself. The first moons are fragile. Rest, eat well, and avoid the training grounds. The Alpha will be overjoyed.” Her words should have filled me with peace. Instead, something heavy pressed behind my ribs — the thought of Dominic. He’d been distant for weeks. The council meetings ran late, the patrols longer. When he returned to our chambers, he carried the scent of smoke, exhaustion… and something I couldn’t name. Still, I smiled. He’ll be happy. He has to be. I imagined his face when I told him — those cold silver eyes softening, his hand trembling as it brushed over the small life beneath my ribs. For once, Dominic would be speechless. “Here are your tonics and meal plans, my queen,” the healer murmured, placing parchment scrolls and glass vials into my hands. “Don’t forget to rest, Luna. The goddess blesses mothers who guard their hearts.” I thanked her, clutching the bundle to my chest. Only one thought pulsed through me: If only Dominic had come with me today… My happiness would have been complete. As I stepped out into the corridor, the morning light poured through the high windows of the Crescent Peak fortress. My gaze drifted to the training field below — the same place where, years ago, I had first seen him. He wasn’t an Alpha then. Not even a warrior. Just another Omega, sweat-drenched and exhausted, hauling lumber beneath the cruel sun while the high borns watched from the towers. I had followed my parents that day, curious to see the laborers. They had always said I was too soft-hearted for a Luna, too curious for a princess of the Silvermoon line. And perhaps they were right. Because when I saw him — that defiant boy with dust in his hair and fire in his eyes — something in me broke open. Later, when I approached him, he’d looked at me as if I were a goddess fallen from the moon itself. “Can you buy me?” he’d asked, half-joking, half-bitter. And I, foolishly, had smiled. “I can’t buy a man,” I told him, “but I can give him a reason to never be bought again.” I was sixteen. Naive. Believing kindness could change bloodlines. From that day on, I gave him everything. I paid his school fees, sent monthly allowances, secured his parents jobs in my family’s service. Every victory of his was paid for in my loyalty — and every mistake, I covered with my name. By the time we turned twenty-one, he was no longer the poor Omega boy. He was my equal in status, my husband by sacred rite. My parents disapproved. The council murmured. But I was in love — madly, irrevocably, blindly. And now, five years later, as I stood holding the proof of our first child, I told myself that love had been worth every scar. The drive back to the pack house felt endless — a blur of sunlight and shadows streaking across the windshield. My heart was still fluttering, every thought wrapped around one thing: Dominic will finally smile again. He was standing near the training grounds when I arrived, speaking with his Beta. His expression was hard, focused — the same one he wore during council debates. But when he saw me, his gaze softened just enough to let me breathe. “Dominic,” I said, stepping closer, clutching the small vial the healer had given me. “I have something to tell you—” He cut me off with a kiss, brief and distracted. “Not now, love. I have something more important. Come — sign these papers first.” I frowned. “Papers? What are they for?” “Just routine matters. Pack finances. We’ll talk about whatever it is you wanted to say later, alright?” He smiled faintly — but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It can’t be that important.” The words struck like ice. Our baby isn’t important? But he was watching me expectantly, pen already in hand. And like a fool, I signed. He pressed another kiss to my temple. “Good girl. Now — I have a surprise for you.” My heart leapt. “A surprise? Really? Then I have one too!” He chuckled, already turning away. “Later, Katherine. For now, go rest. You’ll need your strength.” He called out, “Seraphina — take Luna Katherine to her chambers. Make sure she takes her tonics.” Seraphina bowed politely, her eyes bright with something I couldn’t place. “Of course, Alpha.” As we climbed the stairs, she hummed softly — a tune I’d never heard before. “You seem cheerful today,” I said, smiling despite myself. Her cheeks flushed. “I have a surprise too, my Luna.” “Oh? And what kind of surprise is that?” She laughed lightly. “Let’s just say… I’m with someone’s husband.” I froze. “Seraphina, that’s not something to boast about. You’re breaking someone’s heart.” She only smiled. “He says his wife already broke his first.” The words stung, though I couldn’t explain why. Later that evening, I lay resting in bed when my phone rang. Dominic’s name flashed across the screen. I smiled, answering quickly. “Darling,” he said, his tone rich and smooth through the speaker. “Turn on the TV. I have a surprise for you.” I did. And my world ended. On the screen stood Dominic — my husband — arm wrapped around Seraphina. They looked radiant together, like a mated pair before the entire pack. My breath caught. “Dominic? What… what is this?” His voice echoed through the broadcast, cold and clear. “Today, I reveal the truth. The Luna of Crescent Peak — my wife — has deceived us all.” The room spun. He went on, presenting falsified images, forged documents, staged recordings — all showing me as a traitor. Plots against the elders. Deals with rogues. Even accusations that I’d tried to poison him. None of it was real. Yet every word was poison. “If you’re watching this, Katherine,” he said, eyes glittering through the screen, “look to your right. There’s a box beside you.” I turned slowly. A black box sat on the nightstand — one I hadn’t noticed before. My hands trembled as I opened it. Inside, neatly folded, was a single document. A divorce decree.KATHERINE ASHFORD I woke to the feeling of his strong arms around me. It felt warm in a way that made the rest of the world feel distant and unimportant.The room was dim, lit only by the low fire in the hearth. Nikolai’s chest rose and fell against my back. His breath stirred the hair at my nape. One arm was wrapped around my waist, the other tucked under my head like a pillow. He hadn’t moved since he’d carried me here. I could feel the tension even in sleep the way his fingers curled just a little tighter when I shifted.I turned slowly in his hold.His eyes opened instantly, alert, searching my face like he was afraid I’d disappear if he blinked.“You’re awake,” he said, voice rough from lack of use.I nodded. “How long was I out?”“Hours. It's almost dawn.”I swallowed. The memories rushed back in fragments: the arena, and the shadows pouring through me, the bowing wolves, Dominic’s retreat, the blood on my palms. The way the pack had knelt. The way *he* had carried me out li
NIKOLAI VOLKOV The sound from the war horns still entered the Arena, when Dominic's wolves breached the eastern gate. black-furred, gold-eyed. They weren’t here to negotiate.They had their claws out, fangs bared, and tore into the outer guards before the pack could even rise from their seats. People screamed as they sought for a safe place to hide. Elena shrieked something about treason; Thorne bellowed for order. I didn’t look back. My eyes were locked on Katherine.She stood alone in the center of the ring, blood still dripping from her palms onto the sand in slow, deliberate drops. The runes they used in binding her were already shattered. Her eyes now burned pure molten gold, the same gold as Dominic’s, but darker and more dangerous. The attackers reached the arena floor. Three wolves lunged for her at once, She didn’t flinch.I watched her change. It wasn’t a shift like any I’d ever seen, not the clean snap of bone and fur that marked a lycan turning. This was something el
KATHERINE ASHFORD The arena was wide and contain thousands of Volkov pack member. Elders in embroidered robes, warriors in leather that carried the pack symbol, Common folks were precent too to see what was amiss. I stood at the entrance tunnel. Despite Nikolai's decision to not chain me. They wanted it like that and I had to let them win on that aspect, they could play safe but it would get them no where. “For the pack’s safety,” Elena liedwith that thin smile that irritated me. Thorne had nodded like a loyal dog. Liora waited patiently, ready to step in if I fell.Nikolai stood beside me, his hand brushing mine one last time before the rules forbade it.“You are stronger than their chains,” he said quietly. “Remember Mara’s words. Pull from the mark. Ground it in you.”I nodded, throat tight. “If I lose control…”“You won’t.” His fingers squeezed once. “And if you do, I’ll drag you back myself.”The horn sounded. I stepped into the light.The crowd roared some cheering, most wat
AUTHOR It was still very early in the morning, Katherine stood in the clearing with Mara, Nora at her side. The surviving witches watched from a distance, arms crossed, faces still hard with distrust. They didn't want her learning how they survived, if anything they wanted her to fail, the same way she failed them. Mara tapped her staff once. “Power is not a gift. It is a storm. You do not command it. You survive it. Show me, How you call the spirits that hunt you.” Katherine closed her eyes and reached inward. The darkness answered, tendrils rising from the ground, coiling around her wrists. They snapped forward, striking a nearby log and splintering it clean. Mara nodded once. “Good. Now balance it.”Katherine tried to pull back. But it resisted, tightening, and hungry. Pain lanced through her temples. One tendril whipped toward Nora.“Stop!” Katherine gasped, forcing her will through the bond. It hesitated, then retreated—slow, reluctant.Mara’s eyes narrowed. “Better. But slo
KATHERINE ASHFORD It was dark when we finally set out to find the witches. Nikolai rode beside me, silent and watchful. Nora sat behind me on the horse, arms tight around my waist, her breath uneven. We’d slipped out of the palace under cover. Nora's work, fragile but it was enough to fool the outer patrols. The council thought we were still in the tower. They’d never known we were hunting for answers. We followed the faint pull Nora felt. She called the magic deep into the northern wilds, past Blackthorn borders and into the forest, where no pack claimed dominion. Hours passed and my thighs ached from the ride. I sighed in relief when the path opened before us: small cottages huddled in a circle. We dismounted. Nikolai’s hand hovered near his blade.Nora stepped forward first, palms up. “We mean no harm. We seek the daughters of the old blood. The ones who remember the veil.”Figures emerged from the darkness—women mostly, some young, some bent with age. Their eyes glowed faintly.
KATHERINE ASHFORD The next morning when I woke up, Nikolai’s arm was heavy across my waist, his breath slow and warm against the nape of my neck. Last night’s escapades had left us tangled in the sheets with our bodies still pressed together like we were afraid the space between us would separate us. I could feel him already, thick, hard, nestled against the curve of my ass even in sleep. I shifted deliberately, rolling my hips back just enough to drag along his length.A low growl rumbled in his chest at the sweet sensation. His hand flexed on my stomach, fingers spreading possessively.“You’re awake,” he murmured. I smiled at the sound of his sexy morning voice. “I Couldn’t sleep,” I whispered. “Too much in my head.”He pressed a slow, open-mouthed kiss to the mark on my throat. “Then let me take it out.”I turned in his arms, straddling his hips in one fluid motion. The sheets fell away. His eyes snapped open, hungry as I settled over him, knees bracketing his waist. His cock







