All Chapters of Luna To Alpha Ace: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Everything hurt. That was my first coherent thought as consciousness slowly crept back into my mind. My head throbbed like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it, and my body felt like I'd been hit by a truck. Or like I'd collapsed on the side of a road. The memory came back in fragments—walking through unfamiliar streets, the cramping in my abdomen getting worse, my vision blurring at the edges. Then nothing. I tried to open my eyes, but they felt impossibly heavy. The effort alone exhausted me. Where was I? The surface beneath me was soft—a real mattress, not the hard plastic chairs of a train station or the cold pavement where I'd fallen. Clean sheets that smelled like fabric softener and something else. Something warm and masculine that made my pulse quicken for reasons I couldn't explain. Voices drifted from somewhere nearby, too low for me to make out words—male voices discussing something in hushed tones. Fear shot through me like ice water. James. Had James

Two days. It had been two days since Ace promised to tell me why he'd been following me. Two days of careful conversations and loaded glances, of questions dancing on the tip of my tongue that I couldn't quite bring myself to ask. Two days of being treated like I mattered. I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders and stared out the bedroom window. The view was beautiful rolling hills dotted with trees, a landscape that seemed to stretch on forever. It was so different from the cramped apartment I'd shared with James, where the windows looked out onto a brick wall and the neighbor's garbage bins. Here, I could breathe. Ace had been nothing but attentive since our conversation. He brought me meals on actual plates instead of paper ones. He made sure I had fresh water, clean clothes, and books to read when the silence became too much. He talked to me like I was a person, not a problem to be solved. And slowly, carefully, I was starting to remember what it felt like

The hallway blurred past me as Marcus and I rushed toward the front of the house. My mind was split between two urgent needs protecting my pack and returning to Lily. The mate bond was pulling at me, demanding I stay close to her, but duty came first. *She's safe in the house,* I told myself. *She'll be fine.* Lucas wasn't convinced. *We shouldn't leave her.* *We have to. The pack needs us.* I spotted Derek near the front door, one of my most trusted security team members. Relief flooded through me. "Derek!" I called out. He turned immediately, his face already set in the serious expression that meant he was ready for orders. "I need you to guard the woman in the east bedroom," I said, not bothering with explanations. "Don't let anyone near her. Don't let her leave the room. Understand?" "Yes, Alpha." He nodded once and headed toward Lily's room without question. That was one problem solved. Now for the bigger one. "Marcus," I said as we burst through the front do

The door opened and I got the shock of my life. James. "No, no, no." The words tumbled out of my mouth as my entire world tilted sideways. "What are you doing here?" He looked the same with the same cold eyes, the same cruel smile, and the same presence that made my skin crawl and my chest tighten with familiar panic. "Hello, darling," he said, stepping into the room like he owned it. Like he owned me. "I came to take you home." "This is my home." The words came out stronger than I felt. "I'm not going anywhere with you." His smile widened, and I saw that flash of anger in his eyes that used to make me run and hide. "Away from this monster who's been trapping you here," he continued, ignoring my protest. "I know all about him, Lily. I know what he is." "What are you talking about?" "Ace isn't human." James stepped closer, and I pressed myself back against the headboard. "He's a monster. A werewolf. And he's been using you, manipulating you, making you think you're

The creature lunged at me with impossible speed, its claws extended like knives. I didn't have time to scream. Ace threw himself between us, taking the full force of the attack. The creature's claws raked across his left arm, tearing through flesh and muscle like paper. Blood sprayed across the forest floor. "Ace!" The scream tore from my throat as he stumbled backward, crimson streaming down his arm. But he didn't fall. Instead, he shifted mid-stumble, his human form dissolving into the massive black wolf I'd seen before. The transformation was so fluid, so natural, that for a moment I forgot to be terrified. The creature whatever it was snarled and circled him. It looked like a wolf, but it was wrong. Too big, too angular, with eyes that glowed sickly yellow and fur that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. Ace lunged forward, his jaws snapping at the thing's throat. They rolled across the forest floor in a tangle of teeth and claws, snarling and snapping at e