Semua Bab TO DENY A LUNA: Bab 141 - Bab 150

VELARA'S POV“I’ll be back shortly,” I assured, the words leaving my mouth without the slightest pause.On the other end, Kylie’s voice came fast, layered with urgency. “No, you don’t have to. I already found someone to take your shift. I thought you might still be resting after the concussion. But Elysia isn’t answering her phone, and I’m scheduled to work tonight. Mom’s hurt her knee again, so she can’t watch both girls. Can you and Damon please, seriously, please come get Selene for the night?”My brow furrowed. “What do you mean she’s not answering? Did you try knocking?”There was a faint, pointed clearing of her throat before she lowered her tone, as if afraid someone else might overhear. “I did knock,” she admitted, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “But I doubt she could hear me… with all the shower noises coming from inside,” she added, drawing out the last part with heavy implication.A short, incredulous laugh slipped from me before I could help it. Of course.

VELARA'S POVSelene squealed, throwing her hands over her mouth as if to stifle her own words. “Yeah, they do! Otherwise, Dante would see Mom’s… private parts!” Her wide eyes sparkled with both shock and mischief, and she bounced on the balls of her feet, unable to contain herself.Kael leaned against the edge of the couch, his expression calm and matter-of-fact. “So? People see private parts all the time when they shift,” he said casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. He smirked slightly, recalling a memory. “Remember that hippy woman at the reserve? She stripped down before shifting. We saw her butt… and, well… that hairy front area too.”Selene blinked rapidly, her small hands still hovering near her face. Then a giggle slipped past her lips, bright and carefree. “Oh! I completely forgot about that. You really know your stuff, Kael.” Her admiration shone through in her voice, mingled with the thrill of new understanding.Her excitement deepened, radiating from

VELARA'S POVMy voice trembled as the truth spilled out of me, heavy and raw, as though every word carried the weight of years of silence. “I gave up everything for our son, Damon. Everything. When the world abandoned me, he was all I had left, the only soul who tethered me to life. I was discarded, humiliated, left to carry a burden too heavy for one person to bear. And in that loneliness, I stumbled across that place—the only refuge that opened its doors when every other one slammed shut. No one offered a hand, not even my father, who couldn’t stomach the sight of me, whose shame was greater than his love. Society spat on me, branded me a filthy woman who destroyed families, and the weight of that label clung to me like a curse that would never lift. The other rogue women endured it too, and together we learned to live beneath the scorn. But I will not lose what little I have built from the ashes. I cannot return to that shadowed place where hope mocked me, where I let myself believ

VELARA'S POVDamon’s voice cracked with frustration, the weight of his words pressing heavily between us. “I don’t know anymore, Velara. What do you expect me to do when you keep believing I’ll strip everything away from you?” His tone carried both hurt and exasperation, as though he had reached the edge of his patience.I bit down hard on my lip, the metallic tang of blood sharp against my tongue, as my thoughts scrambled for clarity. My chest tightened, every breath shallow, yet I forced my voice steady. “I won’t take anything from you,” I whispered, almost pleading. “You keep accusing me of wanting to cast you aside or to stop you from helping the rogues, but that’s never been my intention. They are your people—Kael’s people—his family. If you can’t bring yourself to trust me not to wound you, then at least believe this: I will never harm our son.”The words trembled on my lips, but even as I spoke them, a quieter voice escaped me, no louder than a breath. “You would never hurt him

VELARA'S POVThe first thing that pulls me from the depths of sleep is the heat of hands sliding along my skin, warm and insistent against the coolness of the sheets. I had tried to wait for him, to fight the drowsiness tugging at me, but the weight of exhaustion had pressed down too heavily. After the first hour, my body had surrendered, carrying me into restless dreams. It is only when a sudden grip tightens around my legs that reality jerks me awake.Still fogged with sleep, caught in that fragile place between dreaming and waking, my body reacts before my mind can process what’s happening. My knee snaps upward, my leg kicking out instinctively. But the tingling caress crawling up my thighs halts me mid-motion, confusing instinct with recognition.“God, are you alright?” I blurt, words tumbling out in a breathless rush. My heart hammers with guilt, afraid I hurt him, though another thought pushes through: why couldn’t he just nudge me awake like any ordinary man?A low grunt escape