Semua Bab Not Their Luna: A Female Alpha Story: Bab 121 - Bab 130

FinleyI sit in the archives long after the pack has settled into evening routines, surrounded by leadership texts I can't focus on and historical records that blur together through the tears I refuse to let fall. Ryleigh's words echo in my head with devastating clarity, each cruel observation mixing with my own guilty thoughts until I can't tell where her manipulation ends and my genuine fears begin.You were nothing special. Just a childhood friend with a convenient bond.The words shouldn't hurt this much—I know Liam has changed, know what we have now is real—but combined with everything else, they feel like proof of what I've been trying to deny. That loving me is dangerous. That I'm not worth the cost. That everyone would be better off if I just... stopped.Through our bond, I feel distant echoes of both Dane and Liam's concern, their growing alarm at how completely I've shut them out. But I can't deal with their love right now, can't handle the weight of their devotion when it fe

LiamThe sudden shift in our bond hits me like lightning—after days of feeling Finley's walls grow thicker and higher, the connection opens with startling clarity. Not just awareness of her presence, but actual communication, deliberate and warm and achingly familiar.I'm ready. I'm coming home. I'm sorry it took me so long to remember who I am.I'm off the couch and moving toward the door before the message fully registers, Storm surging forward with desperate hope that this isn't just another false alarm, another moment of connection before she disappears behind her barriers again."She's coming," I tell Dane, who's already rising from his position by the window where he's been maintaining his own vigil. "She reached out through the bond. Deliberately. For the first time since—""I felt it," he confirms, relief evident in both his voice and the emotions flowing through our connection. "She's... different. Still fragile, still processing, but different. Stronger somehow."Through the

DaneI wake to warmth that's been absent for over a week—Finley's body pressed against mine, her breathing deep and peaceful in a way I'd almost forgotten was possible. For the first time since our return from the between-space, she's not tense with guilt or rigid with self-imposed distance. She's simply here, finally allowing herself to accept comfort instead of pushing it away.The bond hums with contentment, her emotional state flowing through our connection with startling clarity. Not completely healed—I can still sense fragile places where grief and doubt linger—but stable in ways that make Summit rumble with satisfaction beneath my skin.On her other side, Liam shifts slightly, his movement careful not to disturb her rest. Through our connection, I feel his matching relief at having her between us again, his quiet amazement that she's finally letting herself accept what we've been trying to give her.But underneath the relief flows something more primal, more urgent—the mate bond

FinleyThe council chamber feels smaller than usual as I enter, though that might be due to the tension radiating from every person present. Ward sits at the head of the curved table with the satisfaction of someone who's engineered exactly the confrontation he wanted, while his supporters arrange themselves strategically around the room. My allies—fewer in number but no less determined—occupy the remaining seats with expressions that range from concerned to openly defiant."Alpha Candidate Bennett," Ward greets me with false formality as I take my designated position. "Thank you for joining us on such short notice.""Councilman Ward," I reply with equal politeness that doesn't hide the steel in my voice. "I understand you've called an emergency session to discuss pack leadership matters.""Indeed," he confirms, rising to address the full assembly. "Recent events have raised serious concerns about the stability and effectiveness of our current leadership structure. The supernatural cri

Finley"Again," Dane calls from his position at the edge of the training mat, his voice carrying the authoritative tone he uses when he's completely focused on tactical assessment. "The attack pattern needs to be more decisive. You're hesitating at the crucial moment."I wipe sweat from my forehead, breathing hard from the intensive combat sequence Liam and I have been running for the past hour. The training session was supposed to prepare me for potential physical challenges during the leadership trials, but it's become something else entirely—an exercise in restraint that's testing all three of us in ways that have nothing to do with combat skills."I'm not hesitating," I argue, though we both know that's not entirely true. "I'm being cautious. There's a difference.""Caution is good," Liam agrees from where he's been serving as my sparring partner, his training shirt damp with perspiration in ways that make it cling to muscles I'm trying not to stare at. "But overthinking can be jus