Semua Bab THE ALPHA'S CURSED LUNA: Bab 41 - Bab 50

Planning the bonding ceremony became obsession. For everyone. Not just me and Thorne. Entire pack threw themselves into preparations. Like creating something beautiful would protect us. Would prove something. Would matter.Maybe it would. Maybe it wouldn't. But it gave purpose. Gave direction. Gave something to focus on besides disappearances. Besides flickering reality. Besides slow ending of everything.Kira appointed herself coordinator. Organizing everything. Delegating tasks. Creating schedules. Finding joy in control. In doing. In making something happen."Flowers," she said. Third planning meeting. Notebook full of lists. Full of ideas. "Traditional white moon lilies. They bloom under full moon. Symbolize eternal bonds. Eternal love. Perfect for ceremony.""Moon lilies are rare," Selene pointed out. Not objecting. Just stating fact. "Grow only in certain territories. Might be hard to find. Hard to get enough.""I'll find them," Kira said. Determined. Certain. "I'll search every

Morning came too fast. Too slow. Simultaneously. Time doing weird things. Stretching. Compressing. Being strange.I woke early. Before dawn. Unable to sleep longer. Too much energy. Too much anticipation. Too much everything.Thorne was already awake. Watching me. Soft smile. Loving smile. Present smile."Couldn't sleep either?" I asked. Voice rough from sleep. From emotion. From everything."Didn't want to," he admitted. "Wanted to watch you. Memorize this moment. This morning. Last morning before we're officially bonded. Officially witnessed. Officially everything.""We're already bonded," I reminded him. Hand finding his. Fingers interlacing. Bond warm and steady."I know. But today it becomes real. To everyone else. Today they witness what we've known. What we've been. What we've chosen. That matters. That's different. That's everything."He was right. Today was different. Was important. Was beginning of something. Even though bond already existed. Already was real. Today made it

Waking up bonded felt different. Not the bond itself. That was same. But knowing it was witnessed. Knowing everyone knew. Knowing it was official. Public. Real to everyone.That changed something. Made it heavier. More real somehow. More permanent.Thorne was already awake. Again. Watching me again. Soft smile. Content smile. Happy smile."You're always watching me wake up," I said. Voice sleepy. Voice content. Voice real."Best part of day," he said simply. "Watching you return. Watching you become present. Watching you choose to be here. With me. Every morning. That's gift. That's everything."I reached for him. Pulled him close. "I'll always choose this. Choose you. Choose us. Always.""I know," he said. Kissing my forehead. My nose. My lips. "I feel it. Through bond. Through everything. Your choice. Your love. Your presence. I feel it all. Constantly."We lay there. Just being. Just together. Just basking in bonded bliss. In witnessed love. In official everything.But reality intr

Four days in sanctuary. Four days of just being. Just resting. Just being Aria instead of Luna.And slowly something shifted. Something healed. Not completely. Not perfectly. But enough. Enough to breathe. Enough to feel human. Enough to return."I'm ready," I told Thorne. Fifth morning. Feeling different. Feeling restored. Feeling more whole. "Ready to return. To be Luna again. To lead. But different now. Different than before.""How different?" he asked. Curious. Supportive. Present."More human," I said. Thinking through it. Understanding forming. "Before I tried to be perfect Luna. Perfect leader. Perfect everything. Tried to have answers. Solutions. Strength always. That broke me. That wasn't sustainable. Now I'll be human Luna. Vulnerable leader. Real everything. I'll admit when I'm tired.When I don't know. When I'm scared. I'll be real. That's different. That's new. That's what changed."Thorne smiled. Bond warm with pride. With love. With understanding. "That's better," he sa

Two weeks after revealing the pattern. Fifty-three newly bonded pairs had disappeared. One hundred and six wolves. Gone. Erased. Nothing.The numbers were staggering. Devastating. Impossible to process fully. Each one was person. Life. Story. Love. All gone. All nothing.Pack mourned constantly. Grief became background noise. Became normal. Became just how things were. People cried while working. Grieved while eating. Mourned while living. All of it simultaneously. All of it real.Dr. Chen worked overtime. Dozens of sessions daily. Grief counseling. Trauma support. Survival coaching. She was exhausted. Everyone was exhausted. Exhaustion became normal too."We can't sustain this," she told me. Private session. Her needing support too. "The grief. The loss. The constant mourning. It's destroying people. Breaking them. They're surviving but not living. Existing but not present. We need something. Some hope. Some relief. Some reason to keep going.""I don't have hope," I admitted. Honest.