46: Pack and Prey (1)

Jacob *The walk back to the manor was quiet in a way that felt heavy rather than peaceful. The path through the grove curved between tall trees whose leaves whispered softly overhead, but neither Krista nor I spoke for several minutes after leaving Elder Lenore behind. The seer’s words lingered between us like smoke that refused to clear.Krista had folded her arms around herself tightly, her fingers curled into the fabric at her elbows as if she was trying to hold herself together. She kept her gaze fixed ahead, her expression unreadable, but I could see tension in the set of her shoulders and the rigid line of her mouth. I understood it well enough.Lenore had practically suggested we resume behaving like mates after years apart and after all the damage I had caused. Even for me, the idea had been jarring. For Krista, it had to feel unbearable.After another stretch of silence, I finally said, “We do not need to do anything yet.”She did not look at me, but I saw her brows pull to

46: Pack and Prey (2)

Jacob*The sunlight filtering through the trees caught against the strands of hair escaping her ponytail, and for one dangerous moment, all I could think about was pinning her under me again and kissing her until that same breathless warmth filled her eyes. I dragged my thoughts away with effort. Krista caught me looking at her, and her smile faded almost immediately as awareness flashed between us. Color rose faintly into her cheeks again before she glanced away.Luke, thankfully oblivious to the strange tension between us, tugged lightly at my sleeve. “Alpha?”I looked back down at him.“If taking the stream is bad,” he asked seriously, “what would you do?”An idea came to me then. I crouched until I was eye level with Luke, then crooked two fingers at the other children. “Come here.”That alone was enough to silence them almost instantly. Pups always loved feeling as though they were being entrusted with something important, and judging by the way they crowded around me with wide

46: Pack and Prey (3)

Jacob*Despite myself, I smiled again. The memory of our kiss still lingered between us like heat under skin, and Elder Lenore’s instructions loomed heavily over everything. But as Krista walked beside me with amusement softening her expression and sunlight catching against the strands of her hair, it became painfully easy to understand why my wolf refused to let her go. A smile tugged at my mouth despite myself as I glanced sideways at her.“What makes you think I was ever caught,” I asked lazily, “just because I happened to be part of the prey?” The late afternoon sun filtered through the trees around us, painting shifting gold across the path as we walked back toward the manor grounds. The breeze carried the scent of pine and earth. “It’s truly a pity we weren’t childhood playmates,” I continued. “You would’ve known then that I always led the prey to victory.”Krista rolled her eyes with immediate disbelief, though there was laughter in it. “Always?” she repeated dryly. “If you’re

47: Wreck of a Talk (1)

Jacob*I shaved in silence, dragging the short blade carefully along the sharp plane of my jaw while steam curled lazily through the bathroom. The room smelled faintly of soap, steel and cedarwood oil, scents so familiar to me that I barely noticed them. My focus remained on the mirror in front of me, on the precise movement of my hand, even when I heard the door to my chambers open without ceremony.There was no knock and no greeting of ‘Alpha’ – there was only one person who would dare to enter my rooms this way: Laurel. I did not turn toward the sound. A second later, I caught sight of her from the corner of my eye. She stood leaning against the bathroom doorway with her arms folded tightly across her chest, watching me with an expression that was difficult to read from this angle.“Was the meeting with Elder Lenore successful?” she asked.I grunted in assent, drawing the blade down the curve of my cheek.The answer clearly was not enough for her, but Laurel did not immediately pr

All Chapters of Second Chance For The Broken Luna: Chapter 101 - Chapter 104

46: Pack and Prey (1)

46: Pack and Prey (2)

46: Pack and Prey (3)

47: Wreck of a Talk (1)