Loving Luna

The King Beneath Their Home

The trip back to Blackwood should’ve taken six hours.

Darius did it in four.

Snow streaked past the windows as the convoy tore south. Luna sat beside him, while Gabriel lay stretched across the back seat, his head resting against Ethan’s leg.

Every few minutes, Ethan checked their father’s pulse.

And every time, Gabriel cracked one eye open.

“I’m still alive.”

“Stop talking,” Ethan said.

“You used to complain when I was quiet.”

“I was fourteen.”

“You complained a lot.”

Ethan just stared at him.

Gabriel’s faint smile faded.

“Sorry.”

The silence after that hit harder than the joke.

Luna reached over and squeezed Ethan’s arm.

He didn’t look at her, but some of the tension eased from his shoulders.

Healing wasn’t forgiveness.

Not yet.

For now, it was just sharing the same vehicle.

Darius drove with both hands locked on the wheel. Black veins still traced his palms, and the mark of Command had darkened since they left Varden.

Luna could feel the crown whispering through the bond.

Faster.

Take control of the road.

Command the mountain winds.

Darius ignored it.

His jaw stayed tight.

“You’re hurting,” Luna said.

“I’m driving.”

“That wasn’t an answer.”

“It was close enough.”

“That line stopped being charming like three chapters ago.”

His eyes flicked to her.

“Chapters?”

“Never mind.”

A small almost-smile tugged at his mouth.

Then the reflected Book opened on Luna’s lap.

The map of Blackwood Estate appeared.

The silver light beneath the manor had shifted.

It wasn’t under the Hidden Archive anymore.

It was rising.

Luna’s stomach tightened.

“She’s moving through the estate.”

Lyra leaned forward from the third row.

“No. Something’s carrying her.”

Darius pressed harder on the gas.

“Who?”

The Book answered.

A black symbol spread beside Elara’s silver light.

Not Lucian’s mark.

A crown made of bone.

Gabriel’s eyes opened fully.

“The ancient king.”

Cassian’s voice came through the comms from the vehicle behind them.

“His name was erased from every record.”

“Then give us something useful,” Darius said.

Cassian went quiet.

Darius’s black mark flared.

“Cassian.”

The single word hit like a strike, making the speakers crackle.

Luna put her hand over Darius’s wrist.

He eased his grip on the wheel immediately.

“I’m sorry,” he said into the device. “Tell us what you know.”

Cassian’s breath came through the static.

“He was called the First King because no ruler existed before him.”

“That’s a title,” Lyra said. “Not a name.”

“He stopped using his name when the crown chose him.”

Luna stared at the bone symbol.

“What did he rule?”

“Everything that could be bonded.”

The air in the vehicle seemed to drop a few degrees.

“Packs?” Ethan asked.

“Packs. Families. kingdoms. mates.”

Cassian’s voice lowered.

“He believed love was too dangerous to stay voluntary.”

Darius’s hands tightened again.

“So he created Command.”

“Yes.”

“And Elara stopped him,” Luna said.

“The first Balance broke his crown and erased his name. Without a true name, he couldn’t fully return.”

Gabriel shifted weakly.

“But we opened the Chamber.”

“We opened the path to his body,” Cassian replied.

Lyra’s expression darkened.

“And Lucian brought back the corruption needed to wake him.”

Luna looked at Darius.

Lucian hadn’t been serving the ancient king out of loyalty.

He’d been rebuilding him, piece by piece.

The crown.

Command.

Choice.

The hidden chamber.

Every conflict had opened another door.

“He used us,” Luna whispered.

Darius reached for her hand without looking away from the road.

“Yes.”

Guilt moved through the bond.

Luna held on tighter.

“We didn’t know.”

“I should’ve.”

“No.”

“I brought the crown into Blackwood.”

“And I opened the Book.”

“Luna—”

“We either share the blame or neither of us takes it.”

Darius glanced at her.

“That feels unfair.”

“It’s love. We can be unfair together.”

A rough laugh slipped out of Gabriel.

Ethan looked down.

“You’re supposed to be resting.”

“I like her.”

“She’s your daughter.”

“I’ve missed most of her personality.”

Luna looked back at him.

“You missed the hard years.”

Gabriel’s tired smile softened.

“I’m starting to think they all were.”

“They were,” Ethan said.

For a moment, it almost felt like a family.

Then every screen in the convoy went black.

The engines cut out.

The vehicles rolled to a stop on the forest road.

Darius immediately tried the ignition.

Nothing.

Outside, the trees stood perfectly still.

No wind.

No birds.

No sound from the other vehicles.

The Book’s pages began turning.

One line appeared.

THE KING HAS CLAIMED BLACKWOOD.

Darius’s pack bond vanished.

He went rigid.

Luna felt the absence through him.

Not broken.

Blocked.

“Mason,” he whispered.

He reached again through the bond.

Nothing answered.

Fear surged through him.

The crown latched onto it.

Command them.

Call them back.

Make them hear you.

Black light raced up Darius’s arm.

Luna grabbed his face and turned him toward her.

“Don’t.”

“My pack is gone.”

“They’re not gone.”

“I can’t feel them.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re gone.”

His eyes started to darken.

Gabriel pushed himself upright.

“The First King can silence bonds.”

Darius looked at him.

“How do I reach them?”

“You don’t.”

The black in Darius’s eyes deepened.

Luna held his face tighter.

“Listen to me.”

“I left them.”

“You trusted them.”

“I left them with something older than Lucian.”

“You didn’t know.”

“That won’t keep them alive.”

“No.”

The honesty hit him hard.

Luna pressed her forehead to his.

“But losing control right now won’t help them either.”

His breathing stayed rough.

The crown pushed harder.

She opened their bond fully.

Not to calm him.

Just to stand with him in it.

Darius felt her fear too.

Evelyn.

Mason.

Serena.

Amara.

The newly awakened prisoners.

Their home.

Luna was just as scared.

She just refused to let fear turn into an order.

Darius closed his eyes.

The black slowly receded.

When he opened them again, they were gray.

“What do we do?” he asked.

Luna kissed him once.

Quick and sure.

“Now we walk.”

They left the vehicles and moved through the forest.

Gabriel couldn’t walk, so Darius carried him.

Ethan protested.

Darius ignored him.

“You’re injured,” Ethan said.

“So is he.”

“I can carry him.”

Gabriel looked between them.

“I’m enjoying being fought over.”

“No one’s fighting over you,” they said at the same time.

Luna glanced at Lyra.

“They’re getting alike.”

“I heard that,” Darius said.

The road climbed toward Blackwood’s northern ridge.

By sunset, the manor appeared through the trees.

Every window was dark.

The gates were open.

No guards.

Darius stopped.

Blackwood had never looked empty.

Even at night, it always felt alive.

Now it felt like a body without a pulse.

Luna’s silver Varden bonds still hummed under her skin.

But Darius’s pack connection was still gone.

Ethan drew his knife.

Ronan shifted, claws extending.

Cassian and the guards came up behind them.

Lyra looked toward the highest tower.

“He’s there.”

Darius lowered Gabriel carefully against a tree.

“You stay here.”

Gabriel glared.

“I spent eighteen years chained in a mountain.”

“Then you should appreciate sitting.”

“That was almost rude.”

“It was fully rude.”

Gabriel’s mouth twitched.

Ethan crouched beside him.

“I’ll stay.”

Luna looked at her brother.

“You don’t have to.”

“I know.”

His hand settled on Gabriel’s shoulder.

“I’m choosing not to let him disappear again.”

Gabriel went very still.

Ethan didn’t look at him.

But he didn’t move his hand either.

Luna kissed her brother’s forehead.

Then she walked with Darius to the gates.

He stared into the dark courtyard.

“Can I ask you something?”

She slipped her fingers through his.

“Always.”

“If the king has my pack…”

“He hasn’t taken them.”

“If he has.”

Luna waited.

Darius’s voice dropped.

“And they come for you?”

Pain moved through the bond.

He couldn’t order them to stop.

Not without feeding the crown.

Not without becoming what they were fighting.

Luna understood what he was really asking.

“Protect me,” she said.

His eyes closed briefly.

“Even from them?”

“Without killing them.”

“That might not be possible.”

“Then we make it possible.”

Darius looked at her.

“You have way too much faith in me.”

“No.”

She touched the black mark on his wrist.

“I have informed faith.”

“That sounds made up.”

“It is.”

A quiet laugh slipped out of him.

Luna squeezed his hand.

“One step?”

“One step.”

They stepped through the gates together.

The courtyard was empty.

Weapons were scattered across the stone.

No blood.

No bodies.

At the center stood Mason’s sword, planted upright exactly where he’d sworn to stop Darius if Command ever took him.

Evelyn’s silver key hung from the hilt.

Luna moved forward fast.

Darius caught her waist.

“Wait.”

A shadow shifted near the manor doors.

Serena stepped out.

Her blond hair hung loose. Her face was blank.

In one hand, she held a sword.

In the other, Mason’s severed pack insignia.

“Serena?” Luna called.

She lifted her eyes.

Empty.

Not red.

Not black.

Just… gone.

Darius went still.

Serena raised her blade.

Behind her, the manor doors opened.

Blackwood wolves walked out in perfect rows.

Mason.

Evelyn.

Maris.

Adrian.

Talia.

Every warrior who had stood with Darius.

All of them silent.

All of them armed.

The ancient king appeared at the top of the steps.

Bone crown on his head.

One hand resting on Elara’s shoulder.

She stood beside him in a silver gown, awake but unmoving.

The king looked at Darius.

“You gave them freedom.”

His voice filled the courtyard.

“So they gave it to me.”

Darius’s mark exploded with black fire.

Luna held on to him.

The king smiled.

“Command them, young Alpha.”

Mason lifted his sword toward Luna.

Evelyn’s silver eyes filled with trapped horror.

The ancient king spread his arms.

“Or watch everyone you love choose her death.”