All Chapters of The Stand-In Luna: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

AshleyI could already see the Tribe getting ready for the day from the balcony of our chamber. Warriors taking their morning rounds, merchants getting ready to set up shop, and other passerby going about their.Bright clothes stretched across the square, with stalls erected for food and games, and the clang of hammers echoed as decorations were set for what was coming.It was all for Luna. The gift I had picked up in a twist of fate from the rubble of her human village. There are some things I'll have to thank Jace for in the end, even if it was a little crazy to think about.Her tenth birthday was more than just a little milestone to mark her life, it had become a symbol. The child of the Divine Lycan Queen and the Lycan King, raised among the Lycans in peace rather than war. Not as a slave or as a servant, but as something more; one of us. The Tribe saw her as a promise of continuity, the bridge to a future and new beginnings.At least, that was what some of the Tribe believed. Und

AshleyWith what I had seen the night before, I didn’t want her to spend anymore time in her room alone. Zane hadn’t noticed anything when he realised that I had spent the night with her. I planned on telling him about them once we had some time alone, but he was out on some important business before I was done bathing.While I waited for his return, I thought about the day before, hoping to remember any little details I might have missed as I tried to connect the dots.Some hours later, Zane and I carried Luna home after we were done with our evening stroll. She had insisted on walking at first. But looking at her small legs dancing in the dirt, still connected to the beat of the festival drums didn’t stop me from carrying her. I was in a protective mode. Before long, though, her head had tipped against my shoulder, and I’d felt the weight of her surrender to sleep.Her voice, soft and drowsy, slipped out as we entered the house. “Father… did I do well yesterday?”Zane had chuckled,

LunaThe first thing Luna noticed when she opened her eyes was the dampness. The air was very full and heavy, and it hurt to breathe a little because it smelled so bad.She sat up slowly, wincing at the cold stone beneath her palms. The walls curved around her in a rough semicircle, very much like she was in some kind of pot carved with strange markings she couldn’t understand. Symbols that seemed to shine a little in the very dark place.Her heart started beating very fast. This wasn't home. Her parents weren’t with her.The last thing she remembered was going under her blanket, excitement going through her little body from the best birthday she had ever had. Her mother had tucked her into bed, giving her a kiss on her forehead.She had entered into a very bad dream in the middle of the night, one where her mother and father were taken away from her, leaving her all alone and sad in the dark. She had tried to scream, but her voice didn’t come out, and all she could hear was nothing a

AshleyThe forest was still heavy with dawn mist when we rode out. Even now, five days after Luna vanished, I woke each morning with the same empty feeling in my chest.Zane rode beside me, silent. I could feel his own rush of emotions underneath. My husband, my mate, the strongest Lycan I had ever known, was fraying at the edges because our daughter was gone.Bryce and Clara followed close behind, their horses keeping a steady pace as the rest of the search party fanned outward. Clara was back in her Warrior outfit, ready to slay and destroy all that would dare to harm her goddaughter. When this was all over, I was going to tell her about the vision I had seen about her bearing a child, disregarding whatever fears I had.The scouts had returned before sunrise with a report of strange marks carved into tree trunks along the river path, a trail not made by rogues, but by something organized.A hand had left those symbols.So we followed the river, hoping to find something at its end.—

Ashley I couldn’t sleep that night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Luna’s face. The way her small hands clutched my robes when storms frightened her, her laughter echoing through the Sacred Grove, the way her eyes lit with wonder when she spoke about the stars. And now she was out there, captured by those . . . despicable zealots. Mad men that ruined my life ever since they came into it. When dawn broke, the Tribe was already waking up. Patrols doubled, scouts dispatched, and whispers spread like wildfire. Everyone had seen the emissary vanish from our halls, and even though they tried to hide it, I could see how Luna’s disappearance had somehow affected them. They feared what would happen next. Maybe I was going to lose my mind and wreak havoc searching for her. Some looked at me with pity. Others with fear. And some… some with a dangerous glimmer in their eyes, as though this proved everything the cult had claimed about me being above mortals. I had little patience