Loving Luna

The Family That Knelt

The words beneath the earth faded slowly.

AT LAST.

Blackwood Manor went quiet.

The seven armored strangers stayed outside the shattered windows.

Their leader was still bowed toward Luna.

Darius stood in front of her, shoulders tight, claws out.

Luna touched his arm.

“Stay with me,” Luna said.

He glanced back.

“They broke every window,” Darius said.

“Yeah,” Luna replied.

“They came into Blackwood territory without permission,” Darius said.

“They’re still outside,” Luna said.

“Technically,” Darius muttered.

The white-haired woman straightened.

Her bright blue eyes moved between them.

“You correct each other pretty openly,” she said.

Luna frowned.

“Is that weird?”

“Among rulers?” the woman asked.

The woman’s smile was faint.

“Very.”

Darius’s expression cooled further.

“She said she isn’t your queen,” Darius said.

“I heard her,” the woman replied.

“And yet you bowed,” Darius said.

“I bowed to Choice,” she said.

Luna stepped around Darius.

He moved with her, not letting any space open between them.

“My name is Luna Vale,” Luna said.

The woman lowered her staff.

“I know,” she said.

“That wasn’t an invitation to call me anything else,” Luna said.

Something like approval crossed the stranger’s face.

“Then Luna Vale it is,” the woman said.

Darius’s claws slowly retracted.

Not trust.

Just a temporary decision not to rip anyone’s throat out.

Luna felt that clearly through their bond.

The woman looked toward the broken windows.

“Can we come in?” she asked.

Darius raised an eyebrow.

“You shattered the glass before asking,” Darius said.

“The glass was already compromised by the Hollow King’s influence,” the woman replied.

“That sounds convenient,” Darius said.

“It was still rude,” Luna said.

The woman inclined her head.

“Yes,” she said.

The seven strangers waited.

None of them moved forward.

Luna looked at Darius.

“Your home,” Luna said.

“Our call,” he replied.

Warmth moved through her.

She turned back to the strangers.

“You can come in. No weapons,” Luna said.

The leader lifted her empty hands.

“We don’t have any,” she said.

“Your staff,” Darius said.

“Isn’t a weapon,” she replied.

“Then leaving it outside should be easy,” Darius said.

The woman studied him.

Then handed the staff to one of her companions, who set it down in the snow.

All seven stepped carefully through the broken windows.

Glass crunched under their silver boots.

They lined up, but didn’t kneel again.

The white-haired woman touched two fingers to her chest.

“My name is Isolde Aurelis,” she said.

Luna waited.

Isolde’s mouth curved slightly.

“You were expecting a title,” Isolde said.

“I was expecting a few,” Luna replied.

“Titles set expectations before people even speak,” Isolde said.

Darius glanced at Luna.

“You might like her,” Darius said.

“Don’t rush it,” Luna replied.

Isolde’s gaze shifted to Kael.

He was still on the floor beside Ronan, one hand pressed over the black fragment under his skin.

“The anchor is unstable,” Isolde said.

Darius stepped closer.

“His name is Kael,” Darius said.

“I know,” Isolde replied.

“You keep saying that,” Darius said.

“Because we’ve been watching your family for generations,” Isolde said.

Gabriel’s expression hardened.

“Watching?” Gabriel asked.

The six behind Isolde turned toward him.

A woman with braided silver hair lowered her head.

“Gabriel Vale,” she said.

Gabriel stared.

“You knew I was in Varden,” Gabriel said.

“Yes,” Isolde replied.

“And you left me there,” Gabriel said.

The admission landed hard.

Luna felt her father’s anger spike.

Ethan stepped in beside him.

“Careful,” Ethan said. “Our family’s pretty much done with people who knew things and said nothing.”

Isolde didn’t react.

“We didn’t know if freeing Gabriel would break the lower boundary,” Isolde said.

“He was dying,” Luna said.

“We knew,” Isolde replied.

Darius’s voice went quiet.

“That was the wrong answer,” Darius said.

The room shifted around him.

No Command entered his voice, but Alpha power still pressed through every word.

Isolde looked at him directly.

“You would have opened the prison,” Isolde said.

“Yes,” Darius replied.

“Even if the Hollow King escaped?” Isolde asked.

“I would’ve asked the prisoners what risk they were willing to take,” Darius said.

Isolde glanced at the silver lines on Luna’s arm.

“And together, you did something our bloodline thought was impossible,” Isolde said.

“Then your bloodline wasn’t very creative,” Luna said.

Cora made a soft sound that might’ve been a laugh.

Isolde looked at her.

Her confidence cracked a little.

“You named yourself,” Isolde said.

Cora sat up on the bed.

“Yeah,” Cora replied.

“What did you choose?” Isolde asked.

“Cora,” Cora said.

Isolde repeated it quietly.

“Cora,” she said.

No disbelief.

No attempt to replace it with Solara.

Cora’s shoulders eased slightly.

“You knew about me too?” Cora asked.

“We knew Solara’s body was preserved,” Isolde said.

“But not who would wake up inside it?” Cora asked.

“No,” Isolde said.

Cora studied her.

“Good,” Cora said.

Isolde looked surprised.

“Why?” Isolde asked.

“I’m tired of people knowing who I am before I do,” Cora said.

Luna smiled faintly.

“That might run in the family,” Luna said.

Selene stood near Gabriel, keeping her distance clear.

Her gray eyes stayed on the House Aurelis crest.

“You said the Hollow King was running from you,” Selene said.

Isolde’s expression darkened.

“Not from us,” Isolde replied.

The manor shuddered.

Dust drifted from the ceiling.

Something moved far below Blackwood.

Not coming toward them.

Circling.

Darius reached through the pack bond.

The wolves answered.

Frightened.

Alert.

Still free.

Mason came into the medical wing with Evelyn beside him.

“We’ve got a problem,” Mason said.

Darius looked at him.

“Only one?” Darius asked.

“Seven underground tunnels just opened under the estate,” Mason said.

Isolde closed her eyes.

“It’s started,” Isolde said.

Darius turned to her.

“What has?” Darius asked.

“The awakening of Aurelia’s sisters,” Isolde said.

Luna stared.

“Aurelia had sisters?” Luna asked.

“Seven,” Isolde said.

Isolde looked at the armored figures behind her.

“Every branch of House Aurelis comes from one source,” Isolde said.

Evelyn folded her arms.

“And they’re under Blackwood?” Evelyn asked.

“Their bodies are,” Isolde said.

Mason exhaled.

“Of course they are,” Mason said.

“Their names were hidden,” Isolde continued. “Their power was split and placed into the first seven bloodlines.”

Luna looked at the seven-star crest.

“Choice wasn’t one power,” Luna said.

“No,” Isolde replied.

Isolde’s blue eyes settled on her golden mark.

“Choice had seven forms,” Isolde said.

She counted them slowly.

“Consent. Truth. Mercy. Defiance. Desire. Release,” Isolde said.

Her gaze moved to Darius.

“And devotion,” Isolde said.

The last word shifted the bond.

Not painfully.

Just deeply.

Darius’s hand found Luna’s.

Isolde noticed.

“The Hollow King fears devotion the most,” Isolde said.

“Why?” Luna asked.

“Because from far away, devotion looks like obedience,” Isolde said.

Darius’s expression tightened.

“But it isn’t,” Darius said.

“No,” Isolde replied.

Isolde looked at their joined hands.

“Obedience is taken or trained. Devotion is chosen again and again,” Isolde said.

Luna felt Darius take that in.

The crown had spent weeks trying to convince him that protecting her meant ownership.

Now an ancient stranger was naming the difference he’d been fighting to understand.

His thumb brushed her knuckles.

A quiet choice.

Private, even in a room full of people.

“What does the Hollow King want with the seven bodies?” Darius asked.

“To twist the forms of Choice,” Isolde said.

Isolde pointed at Kael.

“It already carries Command through him,” Isolde said.

Then at Evelyn.

“Balance through her bloodline,” Isolde said.

Finally at Luna.

“And Choice through you,” Isolde said.

Evelyn’s silver mark flashed.

Mason immediately moved closer.

She touched his chest.

“I’m fine,” Evelyn said.

“I know,” Mason replied.

“You don’t look like you believe that,” Evelyn said.

“I don’t,” Mason said.

Her expression softened.

“Stay anyway,” Evelyn said.

“Gladly,” Mason said.

The Hollow King’s voice rolled through the manor again.

Not scared this time.

Amused.

DEVOTION IS JUST A PRETTY CAGE.

Darius’s jaw tightened.

Luna looked up at the ceiling.

“No,” Luna said.

The voice came from inside the walls.

HE WOULD DIE FOR YOU.

“Yes,” Luna said.

Darius turned to her.

Luna kept going before he could.

“But I never asked him to,” Luna said.

The darkness below shifted.

HE WOULD KILL FOR YOU.

Darius didn’t deny it.

Luna faced him.

“Would you?” Luna asked.

His gray eyes held hers.

“If someone tried to kill you, I’d stop them,” Darius said.

“That wasn’t the question,” Luna said.

Everyone went very still.

Darius didn’t look away.

“Yes,” he said. “I could kill for you.”

The truth moved through the bond.

No pride.

No romance hiding behind violence.

Just honesty.

Luna stepped closer.

“And would you stop if I asked?” Luna asked.

Something painful crossed his face.

“If stopping meant losing you?” Darius asked.

“Yes,” Luna said.

He breathed in.

Then out.

“I don’t know,” Darius said.

The room stayed frozen.

The Hollow King laughed beneath them.

It thought it had found a c***k.

Luna cupped Darius’s jaw.

“Thank you,” Luna said.

He frowned.

“For what?” Darius asked.

“For not giving me the answer you thought I wanted,” Luna said.

His hands settled at her waist.

“Honesty isn’t always pretty,” Darius said.

“This is,” Luna said.

Heat flickered in his eyes.

“Luna,” Darius said.

She smiled a little.

“My name first,” Luna said.

“Always,” Darius replied.

He leaned his forehead against hers.

“I would try to hear you,” Darius said.

“That’s enough for today,” Luna said.

The darkness under Blackwood pulled back.

Isolde watched them like she couldn’t quite believe it.

“You make devotion negotiable,” Isolde said.

“No,” Darius said quietly.

“We make actions negotiable. The love stays mine to give,” Darius said.

Luna’s chest tightened.

She kissed him.

Not for show.

Just a soft press that said she understood.

The manor shook again.

Seven lines of golden light split the floor.

Each shot off in a different direction.

Toward seven hidden tunnels.

The armored members of House Aurelis dropped to one knee.

Not for Luna.

For the light.

Isolde stayed standing.

“The sisters are calling their descendants,” Isolde said.

Luna looked at the seven paths.

“What happens if you answer?” Luna asked.

“We reclaim what was stolen from our bloodlines,” Isolde said.

“And if the Hollow King gets there first?” Luna asked.

Isolde’s eyes went cold.

“Then Choice becomes compulsion,” Isolde said.

Kael screamed.

The black fragment burst through his shirt, forming a symbol across his chest.

Seven dark stars around an empty moon.

The Hollow King spoke through him.

YOU TAUGHT ME LOVE CHOOSES AGAIN TOMORROW.

Kael’s black eyes locked on Luna.

SO TOMORROW WON’T COME.

Every clock in Blackwood Manor stopped.

Outside, the sun froze on the horizon.

The world held its breath between one second and the next.

Isolde went pale.

“It’s taken Time,” Isolde said.

Darius pulled Luna close.

She felt the bond lock into a single endless moment.

No tomorrow.

No new choice.

Just now.

Forever.

And the Hollow King whispered through the frozen estate:

LET’S SEE HOW LONG LOVE STAYS FREE WHEN IT CAN’T CHOOSE AGAIN.