All Chapters of The Luna They Buried : Chapter 41 - Chapter 49

ZELDA's POVWhat was funny?I looked over at Leah. She was smiling, slow and satisfied, the kind of smile that made my stomach drop before my brain even caught up. She even winked at me.I snatched the diary out of Vance's hand so fast the pages fluttered, and for one heartbeat I felt triumphant. Then I looked down and the ground seemed to tilt under me. Same leather cover. Same worn gold clasp. But the pages staring back at me weren't the ones I remembered, the ones packed with secrets I'd have burned Leah alive for. These pages held caricature sketches, badly drawn stick figures with round bellies, lists of baby names circled and crossed out, doodles of how "Zelda" would look at nine months pregnant, cartoonishly huge and waddling.I flipped through it like a woman possessed, my fingers tearing at the corners, searching for even one page, one line, one word of what I'd actually seen that night. Nothing. Every eye was on me now, and I could feel the weight of every single one pressi

Zelda's POV"No, no, no, nooooo," I screamed at the top of my lungs, the sight in front of me refusing to leave my eyes. The servant's body hung lifeless, swaying slightly. My vision blurred, the world tilted, and then everything went black.When I opened my eyes again, I was in the hospital, lying flat with Vance sitting beside me.“Stay still, Zee.” He said, easing me back down before I could sit up."Did she make it?" I asked, tears rolling down my cheeks before I could stop them. The look on his face answered before his mouth did. She was dead, and I was the reason."She left this behind." He reached into his pocket and placed a folded sheet of paper in my hands.I opened it slowly, my heart already breaking before I read a single word. Line by line, I made it through, until I couldn't anymore. The tears came fast after that, and I let them.Vance pulled me into his arms and held me until the shaking stopped."Someone killed her." That was the first thing I managed to say once I c

ZELDA'S POVAfter the pool incident, everyone seemed extra nice to me, the snobby maids included, and even the old women who used to whisper when I passed.Mia and I were deep in an afternoon gist when a knock cut us off mid-sentence.“The Alpha sends this,” the servant said, smiling as I opened the door. She held out a bouquet and a shopping bag.“Thanks,” I said, and closed the door behind me.“What is it this time?” Mia asked, giggling.I rolled my eyes. “Just flowers and...” My voice trailed off as I set the flowers down and dug through the bag. Silk and lace spilled over my fingers, cool and impossibly soft.“Whoa!” Mia said, pulling out one swimsuit after another and holding them up to the light. “This is beautiful.”I wanted to stay unbothered, but the fabric shimmered under my touch, and I couldn't deny it.“Zeeeeee, what's going on?” Mia pinched my arm.I swatted her hand away, laughing despite myself. “Nothing.”“He built you a pool. He's been dropping gifts here and there,

ZELDA'S POVVance's arrival that day felt like life handing me another chance to survive.The moment I saw the shift in Elder Jonathan's eyes, I had already closed mine, bracing for the end, my whole life flashing past in an instant.And here I was now. Rescued, but my cheeks were swollen so badly I could barely eat, a soft bandage taped over my chin, painful massages every single day. And the culprits? They claimed they thought I was a servant. Really?"Elder Jonathan is suspended from pack duty." That was all Vance had said. Resentment sat heavy in my chest, but there was nothing I could do about it.One day, lying on Vance's bed, I got up to take a shower. Vance rushed into the room before I made it two steps."Whoa. Where are you going?"I glanced at the bathroom, then back at him."You should have called me to help you," he said, his eyes drifting to the button he'd installed by the bed since bringing me here. A button for help, apparently."I'm fine, Vance. You don't have to ove

Author's POVAfter the hospital visit, something between Zelda and Vance changed. They became closer, drawn together by the little life growing inside Zelda, the new life they had created together.Vance, however, seemed to be taking it all a little too seriously. He had pictures of the ultrasound saved everywhere, and he carried them with him like they were the most precious thing in the world. Whenever he had the chance, he would pull out the picture and stare at the tiny image, smiling to himself as though he could already see their baby staring back at him.Even at night, he refused to stay far from Zelda. He would sleep close to her, his hand resting gently over her stomach, sometimes rubbing it softly as if the baby could already feel his touch."The baby could start moving any day now," the doctor had said, and Vance was determined not to miss it.While Vance floated in quiet wonder, the Jonathan household was unraveling. The daughters were seething, and their father was one wo