All Chapters of Erasing the Luna: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

The message arrived shortly after breakfast.Rhea had just returned from the lower garden when Nadine met her outside the southern suite with a sealed envelope resting on a silver tray. The maid’s expression revealed nothing beyond polite curiosity.“A courier from Obsidian delivered this for you, Lady Moonmere.”Rhea’s steps slowed.The seal was black, but it did not carry the full Alpha crest.Her heart reacted before her hands did.She took the envelope and waited until Nadine left before breaking it open.There were only a few lines.Rhea,I remembered something I need to tell you in person, if you are willing to hear it.I am asking permission to come to Northwyck. I will not cross the border unless you invite me.MaddoxRhea read it again.Then a third time.The bond stirred beneath her ribs as if it had been waiting for her to understand.He was asking.The difference should not have felt so enormous.It did.There had been a time when Maddox Stormhaven crossed rooms as if spac

Alaric extended the invitation before Maddox had fully released Rhea’s hand.“You may remain in Northwyck until tomorrow morning,” he said.Rhea looked toward him from the winter garden path.Alaric had approached slowly enough that neither she nor Maddox could mistake his presence for an interruption. Two Northwyck guards waited farther back near the arch, while Darian and the second Obsidian guard remained where guest law required them.Maddox’s expression changed almost imperceptibly.“Under what terms?” he asked.“Guest law. You retain your guards, your weapons stay peace-bound, and you do not issue commands to Northwyck wolves.”Maddox glanced toward Rhea.She felt the resistance in him through the bond.Obsidian Alphas did not enjoy standing on ground they did not control. His wolf had already tolerated another pack’s guards, another Alpha’s permission, and the knowledge that Rhea had slept safely for several nights beneath Northwyck protection.Remaining overnight would demand

By the time the wounded were carried back to the Northwyck estate, the first dark clouds had swallowed the mountains.Maddox should have been halfway to Obsidian territory.Instead, he stood in another Alpha’s entrance hall with four claw wounds closing slowly across his back, blood dried along one sleeve, and Darian arguing with a Northwyck healer about whether a head wound truly required bed rest.“It requires you to stop speaking for at least ten minutes,” Corinne told him.Darian looked offended. “That sounds medically questionable.”“It is mostly for my benefit.”Rhea would have smiled if the afternoon had not left her hands trembling.The injured Northwyck guard was already in the healer’s wing. The second Obsidian guard had suffered a deep cut along his thigh and could not ride for at least two days. One attacker remained unconscious under silver restraint. Another had died before the healers reached the road.The one who escaped had vanished into the forest before patrol wolve

The political discussion began before noon.No council banners were raised. No formal chamber was prepared. Alaric refused to turn the attack into a spectacle, so he received Maddox, Rhea, two Northwyck advisers, Corinne, and the captain of the border patrol in a smaller strategy room overlooking the eastern road.The atmosphere remained controlled.That did not make it gentle.One Northwyck guard had nearly died. An Obsidian wolf was still recovering from a deep wound. Masked attackers had crossed close enough to sanctuary ground to spill blood beneath both packs’ protection.Someone had wanted consequences.Alaric stood beside the long table, one hand resting near the strip of scent-muddied cloth recovered from the road.“We cannot pretend yesterday changes nothing,” he said.Maddox sat opposite him, his back still stiff beneath healing claw wounds.“I’m not pretending anything.”“Good. Then we agree Lady Moonmere’s position is being used to provoke conflict.”Rhea watched Maddox ca

Rhea’s return frightened the council more than her disappearance had.She understood that before the first formal meeting began.The elders had known what to do with a desperate woman.They could question her stability, dismiss her memories, demand proof she could not produce, and wait for humiliation to make her either obedient or reckless. Every time she raised her voice, they used the anger against her. Every time Maddox defended her, they called his judgment compromised.But the woman who entered the council chamber now was harder to contain.Rhea wore no Luna crown.She did not need one.The black cloak pin remained at her throat, and the faint warmth of the bond sat beneath her skin without controlling her steps. Scarlett entered with her and took a place among the noble witnesses rather than beside Lady Maerwynn. Corinne and Lady Eleanor represented Northwyck under the temporary sanctuary agreement.Maddox walked beside Rhea until they reached the council floor.Then he stopped