All Chapters of Luna’s Second Chance : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

~Luca~Dinner was a fucking circus. It always was in this house.Every glance, every carefully placed word—it was all part of the show. A goddamn performance Visha had perfected long before I even understood what the game was.I knew what tonight would be before we even stepped into that dining room. I felt it the second I laid my hand on Aria’s back, guiding her inside like she needed me to hold her up. Maybe she did.She was nervous. I could feel it in the way her shoulders tightened under my palm. Hell, I couldn’t blame her. She had no idea what she’d walked into.Visha was already seated when we reached. Turning to us, she took a small sip from my glass of wine and then her lips curled up into a smile. The kind of smile that made you feel small before she even said a word.I pulled out Aria’s chair. She sat stiffly, trying so hard to seem like she belonged. I admired that, even if I knew it was useless. This house, this family... it ate people like her alive.Visha’s eyes lingered

AriaI barely made it through the day.School was… noise. That’s the only way I can describe it. Loud, constant, pressing in from every side.Teachers talking but I didn’t catch half of it. People laughing in the hallways but it sounded far away, like I was underwater. Then there were the stares—the ones who knew who I was, what I was married into. The looks were subtle, mostly. Quick glances, lowered voices.But I felt them.Every single one.Some still didn’t know, though. That was almost worse.Some girl in my psych class whispered to her friend, loud enough for me to hear—Why does she act like she’s better than everyone?I wanted to turn around and tell her, I don’t. I just don’t know how to breathe here.But I didn’t say anything.I didn’t say anything all day, actually.By the time I got home, I felt wrung out. My limbs heavy, my brain buzzing but blank at the same time.The house was empty.No Luca.No footsteps, no sound of him moving around in the kitchen, or his low voice on

~Aria~I woke up to the faint noise of footsteps. Slow. Steady. Familiar.For a moment, I didn’t think. Didn’t remember. Just lay there, warm, tangled in blankets, floating in that quiet space where nothing felt real yet.Then—It hit me.My stomach turned.Today.The Elders. The meeting. The thing I’d been dreading ever since I found out it was coming.My chest felt tight. Too tight.I inhaled, forcing the feeling down, trying to shake the heaviness clinging to me, and then—Oh.Oh, God.My brain short-circuited.Luca was standing by the dresser. Shirtless. Back to me. Muscles shifting as he moved.Not just shirtless—just a towel. Slung low on his hips, barely hanging on, like gravity could win at any second, and—My face burned.I immediately looked away, like I hadn’t just looked. Like my brain hadn’t just cataloged everything.The scars along his back, some deep, some faint. The way the morning light caught his skin, made him look even sharper, even broader. The solid lines of mus

~Luca~I stepped through the castle doors, the weight of everything pressing down on my shoulders. But I didn’t show it. Wouldn’t.The second I walked in, every gaze snapped to me.The guards stiffened. The servants lowered their heads. The air fucking changed. Because I was home. And everyone knew what that meant.Aria was a step behind me. Silent. Tense.Too stiff, too wary.She should be.This place? It chewed people up. Spit them out.And Aria?She had no clue what she’d walked into.But I didn’t have time to ease her into it.Boots against stone. Sharp. Purposeful.Elijah.My Beta. Eyes flicked to Aria—assessing, always fucking assessing—then landed on me.“We need to talk.”I nodded once. Then, to Aria, “I won’t be long.”She hesitated. Like she wanted to say something.Didn’t.Just nodded.I turned and followed Elijah down the hall.The meeting room was dim, shadows stretching too far, wall sconces doing jack shit to brighten the space.Arkif was already there, arms crossed, fa

Chapter 20AriaThe second I walked into that chamber, I knew I was fucked.The Elders were waiting.“She’s late.”One of the elders' harsh voice hit me.I looked up.His gaze was on me.“Undisciplined.” A slow, deliberate shake of his head. “Just as I expected.”My jaw clenched. Fingers curled into a fist behind my back.I said nothing.The air was thick, suffocating, the weight of their gazes pressing down on me like they already knew how this was going to end. Like they had already decided before I even opened my mouth.And maybe they had.The room was too grand, too cold, too damn intimidating. The elders sat like gods on their thrones, their faces carved from stone, their eyes sharp, waiting. Luca was there too, standing near the front, looking—hell, I don’t even know. Unreadable. Silent. The same way he always did when he was pretending not to feel a damn thing.Then the elder spoke again. I believe he was elder Kian, the most senior of them.Elena managed to give me a rundown