Library
Search
Home / Werewolf / The Alpha's Plump Luna / Chapter 20: When Protective Instincts Stir

Share

Chapter 20: When Protective Instincts Stir

Author: Valencia Robertson
last update Last Updated: 2025-12-11 03:06:39

[KAEL]

"To what?" She stepped closer, eyes searching mine. "To claim me? To tell the pack the truth?"

"To love you the way you deserve." The admission stripped me bare. "Without fear. Without hesitation."

Her breath caught. "Kael..."

"I'm not asking you to forgive me." I held her gaze. "I'm asking for time. To prove I can be better than I've been. That I can be the mate you need."

"I don't need perfect." Her voice was soft but firm. "I need honest. I need someone who won't hide me because he's afraid of what loving me might cost."

"I know." My hands clenched at my sides, fighting the urge to reach for her. "And I'm done hiding. Done pretending the bond doesn't exist. Done watching you from a distance like you're something I'm not allowed to want."

She swayed slightly, and I caught her elbow to steady her.

The touch sparked between us—electric and immediate. Her scent flared, sharpening with emotion.

"What changed?" she asked quietly. "Between this morning and now?"

"Melissa." The name
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Locked Chapter
Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Latest chapter

  • The Alpha's Plump Luna   Chapter 40: When Belonging Feels Like Coming Home

    [ARIE]Harvest Feast Day always started too loud, too busy, and too alive.I woke to laughter echoing through the packhouse halls, crates dragging across stone, and the sharp sweetness of baking bread drifting from kitchens below. The pack hummed like a living thing preparing to celebrate.I loved it. Every chaotic, overwhelming minute of it.My feet hit the floor already in motion. Within the first hour, I'd tied ribbons to lantern posts outside, handed herb bundles to decorators, and relayed messages between Cora and the musicians setting up near the firepit.This was where I belonged—in the middle of everything, useful, included. Part of the pack's heartbeat instead of just listening to it from the edges.The old oak in the courtyard needed one more strand of amber leaves. I climbed the lower branches easily, tying the decoration with practiced fingers.Memory caught me without warning.My father lifting me onto his shoulders during the last Harvest Feast he'd attended. "Higher, Pa

  • The Alpha's Plump Luna   Chapter 39: When Protection Becomes Promise

    [KAEL]I couldn't unsee it.The way Rhiannon's had healed that pup. Just inevitable. Like healing had decided to happen through her whether she understood it or not.I stood outside the infirmary longer than necessary, listening to normal pack sounds resume after the pups dispersed. Laughter. Training calls. Life continued.Everything felt different now.The feeling tightening my chest wasn't awe. Wasn't fear alone. It was responsibility—the kind that settled deep and refused to leave.I'd planned battles. Led warriors through impossible odds. Strategized against threats I could see and measure.Miracles were different. Couldn't be commanded. Couldn't be controlled.The infirmary door opened. Mira emerged, grey hair pulled back, expression knowing."You have questions," she observed."What is she?" Direct. No preamble. "Not if she healed. How."Mira studied me with eyes that had witnessed decades of pack life. "Come inside."The infirmary smelled like herbs and old stone. Symbols carv

  • The Alpha's Plump Luna   Chapter 38: When Power Answers to Love

    [RHIANNON]The sun sat high when I joined Arie near the pups' training circle.Dust hung in warm air, mixing with laughter and the earthy scent of young wolves learning their bodies. I rolled up my sleeves without thinking, ready to help however needed.This had become routine. Natural. Belonging without fighting for it."You're early." Arie grinned, handing me a water container. "Eager to be tackled by enthusiastic pups, I see?""Someone has to keep them from destroying each other.""That's what I keep telling people, but no one believes omegas make the best referees." She nudged my shoulder affectionately. "Too soft, they say.""Soft isn't weak.""Preach." She moved toward a cluster of pups arguing over who got to demonstrate the next drill.I settled near the practice dummies, steadying wobbling pups and offering gentle corrections. Not commands. Just encouragement delivered with patience Bloodstone had never taught me.Nyx stirred faintly in my chest. Watchful. Calm. Almost smug.

  • The Alpha's Plump Luna   Chapter 37: The Bond He Refused to Name

    [KAEL]"Isn't it?" She tilted her head. "What happens when caution becomes paralysis? When protection becomes abandonment? When fear of future loss prevents present connection?""Unresolved bonds attract instability." Elowen's tone shifted to warning. "The pack senses uncertainty at the top. Melissa's behavior is only the beginning if ambiguity remains unaddressed. Nature abhors a vacuum, Kael. And pack hierarchy especially.""I'm handling it.""By waiting? By hoping time will make the choice easier?" She shook her head. "Claiming isn't dominance. It's protection. Clarity. Choice made public so others stop testing boundaries. The pack needs to know their Luna. Rhiannon needs to know she's wanted—not just tolerated, not just protected, but chosen. And you need to stop punishing yourself for surviving when Lyra didn't."The final observation cut deepest because it was true."What if she rejects it?" The fear spilled free. "What if the bond isn't enough? What if I'm not—""Enough?" Elowe

  • The Alpha's Plump Luna   Chapter 36: When Restraint Becomes Fear

    [KAEL]The Elder chamber's authority still echoed in my bones long into the corridors.Pack members dispersed around me; voices low with speculation about the hearing. Melissa's humiliation. Rhiannon's vindication. The subtle shift in social standing that would ripple through Crescent Moon for weeks.My attention fixed on Rhiannon's retreating form—shoulders tight despite victory, chin lifted in composure that cost more than anyone watching would understand.She'd stood before the Elders and told the truth without embellishment. Had faced judgment with the same quiet strength she brought to everything. Had proven herself worthy of respect she still didn't believe she deserved.I caught up to her before she reached the guest wing."Rhiannon."She stopped and turned. Her hazel eyes met mine with exhaustion she couldn't quite hide."Alpha.""Kael." The correction came automatically. "Just Kael."A small nod. Uncertainty in the gesture."I'm sorry." The words felt inadequate. "Not for the

  • The Alpha's Plump Luna   Chapter 35: When Truth Demands Witness

    [ELDER THALOS]The council chamber felt wrong before anyone spoke.Sixty years of service taught me to read pack energy like weather patterns. This morning carried the particular tension that preceded fractures—not violence, but something equally dangerous to cohesion."The air feels uneven," I observed, settling into my chair.Elowen nodded from across the table. "Strained. Like something's been pulled too tight.""Third disturbance involving the same wolf," Zelda added, fingers drumming on aged wood. "Melissa. Always at the center, never quite culpable."Apollo leaned back, expression thoughtful. "Pattern or coincidence?""Patterns don't apologize." Silas' voice carried the weight of someone who'd witnessed too many manipulations disguised as accidents.We'd convened earlier than planned. The incident last night—Melissa's theatrical accusation, Alpha Kael's careful handling—required Elder attention before gossip solidified into faction."Summon both," I decided. "Not for punishment.

More Chapters

You may also like

Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status