All Chapters of The Unclaimed Luna, Chasing Her Back: Chapter 1 - Chapter 6

Eliana Hart’s POV “You heard me,” Kai said. He picked the letter back up like the matter was already closed. “Get ready. The ceremony is tomorrow night.” “I—” I didn’t know what to say. My chest felt too full and too empty at the same time. “Thank you.” He didn’t answer. He didn’t even look up again. “You can go now,” he said. “I have more work to do.” I stood on legs that felt like jelly and walked out of his study. The door clicked shut behind me, and I stood in the hallway for a moment, just breathing. - - - Sleep didn’t come easy that night. I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling. What if it’s a joke, I thought. What if he just wants to see how I’ll react, and tomorrow he’ll take it back. The tears I had held back in his study finally came. Two years of insults, two years of being invisible in my own home, and now, out of nowhere, he was finally doing right by me. ‘I’m going to be crowned Luna of the Silver Crescent Pack,’ I thought. Do I even deserve

Eliana Hart’s POV The cell door opened before dawn. Two guards pulled me to my feet. My legs were stiff after a night on the freezing stone floor, and I stumbled between them as they dragged me down a narrow, torch-lit hall. Every breath sent pain through my ribs. “Where are you taking me?” I whispered. They didn’t answer. They pushed me into a small, bare room with a single chair bolted to the floor. Beta Marcus stood waiting, arms crossed, his face hard. I had known this man for two years. He’d eaten dinner at the same table as me. He’d once thanked me for staying up all night with his sick daughter until her fever broke. None of that showed on his face now. “Sit.” I obeyed, shaking. The guards tied my wrists behind the chair, rope cutting into skin that was already raw from the cell floor. My whole body still ached from the night before, and the rope only made it worse, but I didn’t cry out. I had learned already that crying out only seemed to please them. “Who gave

Kai’s POV The pack had been dying slowly for three months, and I still didn’t have an answer for them. I stood at the window of my study, looking out over the training grounds where fewer and fewer wolves gathered each week. Four years ago this pack had been strong. Now half the fighters could barely hold a blade steady, and the healers had run out of things to try. Behind me, Selene sat curled in the chair by the fire, painting her nails a deep red that matched almost everything she owned. She hadn’t looked up once since I’d walked in. “You’re brooding again,” she said, not unkindly, though there was an edge under it there lately. “It doesn’t help them, you know. Standing there staring at nothing.” “I’m thinking.” I said turning to face her.“You’re always thinking. It would be nice if some of that thinking involved me for once.” She blew on her nails and finally glanced my way, her mouth curved into the same soft smile she’d worn since the day I marked her. It didn’t reac