Semua Bab Beyond The Moon's Promise: [The Forsaken Luna]: Bab 1 - Bab 10

The moving truck sat in the driveway like it was waiting to swallow the last seven years of my life. I picked up another box labeled *Kitchen Misc.* in my own handwriting from years ago and tried not to think about how pathetic it was that everything I owned fit into seventeen boxes and four garbage bags. “Mommy, can I bring Mr. Whiskers?” I turned and found my son clutching his stuffed wolf—the one Damien gave him on his third birthday. Back when I still believed in fairy tales. Back when I thought the Moon Goddess had handed me a mate who would actually choose me. “Of course, baby.” I pushed brightness into my voice, the same fake cheer I’d been faking for the last seventy-two hours. “Mr. Whiskers goes where you go.” Ezra’s face lit up, and for a second the knot in my chest loosened. Five years old and he still looked at me like I hung the moon. He didn’t understand why we were leaving home. He didn’t understand why Daddy wasn’t here to say goodbye. He didn’t know Daddy was

“Something that’s been here longer than Pinehaven,” Margaret said. “It has an agreement with the town: it doesn’t bother us, we don’t bother it. But people who break that agreement…” She let the words hang there. “Let’s just say the forest has claimed more than a few idiots who thought the rules didn’t apply to them.” My wolf stirred, flashing me silver eyes and that crushing power from the highway. “What kind of something?” “The kind you don’t ask questions about if you want to stay alive.” Margaret drained her coffee and stood. “I’m not trying to scare you, Sera. I’m trying to keep you and your boy breathing. Pinehaven is a good place for wolves who need to disappear. We look out for each other. But the forest is off-limits. No exceptions.” I should have nodded, thanked her, and gone straight home to Ezra. Instead I heard myself ask, “Have you ever seen it?” Margaret’s face closed up tight. “Once. Ten years ago. It was…” She searched for the words. “Magnificent. Terrifying. Wrong

On the fifth day, I found a box on my doorstep.No return address, no note. Just a simple wooden box tied with black ribbon.I should have thrown it away unopened, have Margaret or Lydia called, or just someone who knew how to handle supernatural gifts. Instead, I brought it inside.The box contained a single silver pendant on a delicate chain—a wolf's head with eyes made from tiny diamonds that caught the light and threw it back in rainbow refractions. It was beautiful, intricate and clearly expensive.And when I touched it, I felt him. Like he'd poured a piece of himself into the metal.There was a card tucked beneath the pendant, written in elegant script: A gift, not a claim. Wear it or don't—the choice is yours. But just know that I'm waiting. I'll always wait. -KMy wolf whined, wanting to put it on immediately. Wanting to accept this token from a male who'd promised I was his."Absolutely not," I said, dropping it back in the box like it burned.But that night, I dreamed of wea

The afternoon passed in a strange, almost normal haze, with a quiet awareness underneath.I could feel Kael's constant presence at the edge of my consciousness. When I made lunch, I felt his amusement at my burnt grilled cheese. When Ezra fell and scraped his knee, I felt Kael's instant alertness followed by relief when he sensed no real danger.It should have been uncomfortable. Instead, it was... comforting like having a quite reserved partner who actually paid attention to everything."You're doing it again," Ezra said, waving his hand in front of my face.I blinked. "Doing what?""You're being spacey. Like you're listening to something I can't hear." His little face scrunched up. "Are you okay, Mommy?""I'm fine, baby. Just thinking.""About Daddy?"The question caught me off guard. "Why would you think that?"Ezra shrugged, dragging his dinosaur across the carpet. "You always got quiet like this when Daddy made you sad. I thought maybe he called again."My heart breaked. How much

We stayed at Marcus's house that night. Ezra never woke, thank the Moon Goddess, and by morning Marcus had installed additional wards and Lydia had made coffee strong enough to dissolve steel."The hunters are dealt with," Marcus reported, setting his phone down. "They were hired through an intermediary, but I traced it back. It wasn't Damien.""Then who?" I asked, exhausted from a sleepless night spent feeling Kael's protective vigilance through the bond."Someone in his pack. His Beta, actually. Guy named Richard Chen."I froze. "Richard? Why would Richard—""Because Damien told him you'd bonded with a Silverblood, and Richard took it upon himself to 'solve the problem.'" Marcus's expression was grim. "He didn't think Damien was thinking clearly. Thought removing Kael would bring you running back.""So he tried to murder someone." My voice came out flat. "To force me back to a mate who rejected me.""Pack loyalty makes people do stupid things," Lydia said quietly.Kael, who'd been s