All Chapters of FROM SLAVE TO LUNA : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Serena.The wind stills. The forest holds its breath. “Welcome home, child of Seraphine,” the hooded man says, his voice smooth as silk laced with steel.I can’t move. Not even when Kaelion’s body tenses like a bowstring in front of me, his hand hovering protectively near his dagger.I know that voice.Not from now. From before. From the dream-memory. My mother’s memory. That quiet moment when she whispered to someone unseen, asking him to watch over me if she didn’t return.The man pulls back his hood.And there it is, the same eyes as mine, only older, darker. Lined with grief. His hair is long and braided loosely, silver streaks glinting at the edges like moonlight caught in shadow.“My name is Vaelen,” he says gently. “I’m your uncle.”Kaelion doesn’t relax. “Prove it.”“I don’t owe you proof,” Vaelen snaps, then looks at me. “But I owe her everything.”I swallow hard. “You knew my mother?”“She was my sister.”Kaelion stiffens even more.Vaelen lowers his voice. “When Elira died,

Serena. We walk for what feels like hours. The trees here are wrong, too tall, too perfect, like someone drew them and forgot to add the danger. The air doesn’t hum with pack energy. There’s no scent trail, no warning growls, no prey. Just silence and the sound of our footsteps crunching over brittle leaves.“This place smells… empty,” Kaelion mutters behind me.I don’t respond. My legs are shaking. Not from exhaustion, but from the gnawing realization that we really left.This isn’t home. Vaelen finally stops when we reach a large gravel clearing.Then we see it. A massive black machine sits there, shiny and still. It has four round legs and glass eyes. “Serena, get a grip, it’s not alive”. Vaelen says mid laughter, making me realise I'm growling.I snap out of it, but the way it sits there, all steel and quiet, I instinctively reach for Kaelion’s hand.“What is that?” he asks, voice low.“A car,” Vaelen says with a small grin. “Don’t touch it like that. It bites.”I glare at him

Serena.Two days after Vaelen’s “this-is-not-a-hotel” speech, we start job hunting. Or, well... attempting to.Kaelion gets rejected from the hardware store for “aggressive aura and inappropriate questions about flammable adhesives.” Thorne nearly gets hired as an electrician,until he says he’s most efficient when “slightly electrocuted.”Sylvaine doesn’t even try. She insists she’s “freelance fabulous” and has decided to become a TikTok witch with a surprisingly loyal following after one potion tutorial went viral.Tristan? He won’t admit it, but he’s spiraling. He doesn’t know how to be normal. Not without orders, not without a mission, not without the pack. He walks like he’s still ready to snap someone’s neck. He talks like every word is a burden. And he watches me like I might vanish if he blinks.I’m not vanishing. But I don’t know how to reach him either. He feels like a far away dream I can't seem to reconnect with.Elle finally drags us into a local community center job fair.

Serena.The new house creaks like it’s breathing with us. The walls hold a stillness that doesn’t echo with ancient grudges or old battles. It smells like pine and dust. Kaelion swears he saw a rabbit this morning and declared it a good omen. Sylvaine rolled her eyes and said it was a sign they needed to vacuum.We’ve been here five days. That’s five days without a knock on the door in the middle of the night. Five days without cryptic messages or claw marks on the windows. Five days of waking up in my own room, choosing what I want to wear, not what I'm obligated to wear. It feels good to not be a slave, almost feels like peace. Almost. I still feel on edge from time to time.Elle and Vaelen still check in every morning like clockwork. It’s sweet, and also suffocating. Elle brings food like we’re still starving werewolves, new to the taste of human food. Vaelen won’t stop bringing “useful things”, a flashlight, a toolbox, a secondhand waffle maker. I don’t know how to tell him we n

Thorne“We’re all playing roles anyway.” that line hits like a curse wrapped in charm. Classic Tristan, one second he’s grinning like an idiot.Serena laughs too quickly. I feel it in my chest. She’s still watching him and I know that look. I’ve worn it myself.The fire crackles. No one says anything for a beat too long. Sylvaine picks at her nails. Kaelion throws a stick into the fire and watches it burn like it wronged him. Tristan leans back on his elbows, eyes half-lidded, like none of this is serious. Serena’s still pretending nothing happened. She has gotten really good at pretending.“I’m heading in,” I say, standing. No one argues.Serena glances up at me, eyes searching, but I don’t give her anything. I walk into the cabin and shut the door behind me.I sit on the bottom bunk and stare at the floor.There’s a lump in my throat I can’t swallow. Not because I’m angry, but because I finally let myself want this. I want her, even though I know it'll not end well especially for