All Chapters of Mated to the wrong Alpha, reborn as the strongest Luna: Chapter 21 - Chapter 27

Morning came slowly.I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling, unmoving, as if shifting even slightly would disturb whatever fragile thing had settled inside me overnight.The gathering. The bench.The quiet.The way his voice had softened when he said he would wait.And then—The kiss.My breath caught faintly at the thought of it, my chest rising a little deeper than before. My heart responded immediately, picking up in a way that felt unfamiliar and yet… not.My wolf stirred. Not urgently. Just — present. Aware.I closed my eyes briefly, pressing my lips together as if that would stop the memory from replaying—but it didn’t.It had been real.Not something borrowed.Not something I was pretending to understand.Something I had chosen.Slowly, I exhaled and opened my eyes again, staring back at the ceiling.Last night, I had been ready to tell him the truth.And somehow—I hadn’t.Instead, I had stepped closer and kissed him.“Ahhh!” I screamed, embarrassingly, kicking my feet u

I looked at him. At the question still sitting in the air between us, unanswered and patient. “Where did you learn to move like that?” I let out a slow breath and glanced down at my hands — still holding the sword, knuckles faintly dusty from the dirt. “I don’t know,” I admitted. The words felt strange in my mouth. Honest. But incomplete. “Maybe the cave changed something. Or maybe—” I paused. “Maybe the moon goddess decided I needed something back.” Lucian was quiet for a moment, turning that over. Then, unexpectedly, the seriousness in his face gave way to something warmer. “You were incredible,” he said simply. I blinked. “I surprised you?” I asked. “You did.” His tone was calm and certain. “I’ve sparred with warriors who’ve trained their whole lives and they don’t move the way you just moved.” He tilted his head slightly. “That last move — ducking under the strike, sweeping my legs — that wasn’t training. That was instinct.” “I surprised myself too.”

“Mila?”Amira’s hand landed lightly on my shoulder.I hadn’t heard her approach.I flinched anyway.“Hey.” Her voice dropped slightly. “What’s wrong?”I blinked, the room snapped back into focus around me—the shelves, the table, the quiet weight of the library pressing in from all sides.“Nothing,” I said quickly.Too quickly.Amira didn’t look convinced.Her gaze lingered on my face, searching, like she was trying to piece together something I hadn’t said out loud.“You’ve gone the color of old parchment.”“I’m fine,” I added, softer this time. “I just… need some air,” I said, stepping back slightly. “It’s warm in here.”That wasn’t true.The room was cool.But the words were already out.Amira studied me for another second, then nodded.“Okay,” she nodded. “Come on then.”We left the library.Outside, the air felt sharper.Cooler.I exhaled slowly as we stepped away from the pack house, the open space easing the tightness in my chest just enough to let me breathe properly again.But

The room they prepared for him was quiet and warm, lantern light low against the walls, the smell of Hessa’s medicinal herbs already sharp in the air by the time we arrived.Lucian sat on the edge of the bed without complaint, which told me more about how much pain he was in than any expression would have. He didn’t sit still when he wasn’t hurting. He paced, he stood at windows, he found reasons to stay upright. Stillness, for him, was a concession.I stood close but didn’t hover. I had learned the difference.Hessa worked efficiently and without commentary, cleaning the cut at his temple with movements that were precise and unhurried, the practiced ease of someone who had done this a hundred times and found nothing in it to be unsettled by.Lucian didn’t flinch.Not once.Only the slight tightening at his jaw gave anything away.“The wounds are not severe,” Hessa said finally, straightening. “Rest and time. A few days and he’ll be functional again.”The relief that moved through me