All Chapters of Second Chance for the Discarded Luna : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

My father listened without interruption as I laid out everything the herb seller had told me, Rhys standing quietly at my side, adding careful confirmation where his own observations along the road supported what I'd gathered. By the time I finished, his expression had settled into the particular grim focus I recognized from every serious crisis he'd navigated throughout my childhood."A compromised beta," he said slowly, turning the information over. "And a foreign agent, operating with enough freedom to be spotted repeatedly without ever being caught. This is considerably more advanced than simple sabotage, Elena. This suggests months of careful positioning, possibly longer.""Which means," I said, "that whatever Thornveil intends for Blackthorn, they've likely already achieved most of the groundwork necessary. The pack may already be more compromised than even Marcus realizes."My father was quiet for a long moment, and I could see him weighing something difficult before he finally

Finn's point of viewTracking a wolf who knows every inch of his own territory is a slow business, and tracking one who's spent twenty years learning exactly how his Alpha thinks is slower still. I gave Damon three days of ordinary behavior before I let myself believe he'd noticed nothing different in how closely I was watching him. On the fourth night, he finally slipped.I caught his scent leaving the eastern gate a little past midnight, moving with the particular unhurried confidence of a man who believed himself entirely unobserved. I kept my distance, downwind, following at a pace slow enough not to betray my presence, and watched him cut off the main road well before the border patrol's usual checkpoint, disappearing into a stretch of forest that saw almost no regular traffic even during daylight.I'd hunted this territory since I was old enough to run beside my father's patrols. I knew every deer trail and dry streambed within a day's run of Blackthorn's walls, and I used that

Marcus's point of viewI summoned Priestess Wren to the great hall two days after Finn's report, and made certain word of the gathering reached every corner of Blackthorn before I gave Lyra any chance to prepare a response."A bonding ritual," Wren said, studying me carefully once I'd explained what I required. "Formal confirmation of parentage, performed before witnesses. This isn't a request I receive often, Alpha, and never without serious cause behind it.""I have serious cause," I said. "I want it performed today, before the child is born, while confirmation still carries the full weight the Moon Goddess grants such rituals."Wren studied me a moment longer, something knowing behind her eyes that suggested she understood exactly what suspicion drove this request, though she said nothing further, simply nodding and beginning her preparations.Lyra arrived in the great hall flanked by two attendants, her expression carefully composed, though I caught the flicker of genuine alarm cr

"You need to see this."Kellan burst into the trade office without knocking, a folded parchment clutched in his fist, and every head in the room turned toward him at once. Petra's pen froze mid-signature. Corin looked up from his ledger with a frown already forming."Kellan." I stood so fast my chair scraped loud against the floor. "What happened?""Blackthorn." He crossed the room and pressed the parchment into my hands. "Word just came through the border post. You should read it yourself before I say anything."My fingers weren't steady as I unfolded it. The handwriting belonged to one of my father's informants, quick and slanted, clearly written in haste.Damon sentenced to execution in three days' time. Lyra imprisoned, sentencing delayed until her child is born. Both confirmed guilty of conspiracy against Blackthorn's succession.I read it twice. The words didn't shift the second time either."Execution," I said quietly."He confessed openly," Kellan said. "According to this, he

"Form up." Doran's voice cut low and sharp through the dark. "Backs together. Elena, center."I didn't argue. Eight warriors closed ranks around me, blades drawn, eyes scanning the black tree line where the growl had come from. Rhys pressed close at my shoulder, every line of him coiled tight."One wolf," he said quietly. "Maybe two. Moving, not charging yet.""Waiting for an opening," Doran said. "Whoever it is knows we outnumber them."A twig snapped somewhere to the left. Every blade in the circle swung toward the sound."Show yourself," Doran called out, voice carrying command that didn't shake despite the tension in his shoulders. "You're outnumbered eight to one. This doesn't need to end badly."Silence answered him. Then, from the shadows past the drag marks, a low, ragged voice."Please. Don't hurt her."My heart stopped. "Nessa?""Elena, stay back," Rhys warned, but I was already moving, ducking past the ring of warriors before anyone could stop me.She lay curled against the