His Broken Luna

Chapter 8: The Warning

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I couldn't sleep that night.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Kade's face in the library. The way he had looked at me like I was the only woman in the world. The way my heart had betrayed me by aching for something I had sworn to forget.

I sat by the window, watching the moon drift behind the clouds, my mind racing.

Aria was safe. She was healing. Her wolf was awake, and Maeve said she was strong. By all accounts, I should have been relieved. But instead, I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff, waiting for the ground to crumble beneath my feet.

Because the truth was, Selene was right about one thing.

Aria was a threat.

She was the Alpha's blood. The Alpha's true heir. And in a world where power meant everything, her existence was enough to start a war.

I wouldn't let that happen.

I couldn't.

No matter what it cost me.

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The next morning, I woke to the sound of knocking.

At first, I thought it was Aria stirring in the next room. But then I heard it again—soft and urgent, coming from the door.

I slipped out of bed and crossed the room quietly, my wolf on full alert. When I opened the door, I found Maeve standing in the hallway, her expression tight with worry.

"Get dressed," she said quietly. "We need to talk."

My blood ran cold.

"What's wrong? Is Aria—"

"She's fine," Maeve cut me off. "But there's something you need to see. Now."

I followed her without question.

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Maeve led me through the back passages of the packhouse, the ones only the oldest members knew about. The walls were damp and narrow, lit only by the occasional torch. The air smelled of earth and secrets.

"Where are we going?" I whispered.

"Somewhere we won't be overheard."

She stopped at a heavy wooden door at the end of the passage and pushed it open. The room beyond was small and windowless, lit by a single candle on a rough-hewn table.

"Sit," Maeve said.

I sat.

She closed the door behind us and turned to face me, her eyes grim.

"I've been watching Selene for days," she began. "At first, I thought she was simply jealous. But it's more than that."

My chest tightened. "What do you mean?"

Maeve pulled something from her cloak and placed it on the table between us. It was a small glass vial, half-filled with a dark, shimmering liquid.

I stared at it. "What is that?"

"Moonberry extract. It's a rare and dangerous substance. In small doses, it can be used to suppress a wolf's heat. But in larger quantities..."

She didn't finish the sentence.

I swallowed hard. "Larger quantities?"

"It can stop a she-wolf's cycle entirely. Or worse—force a false heat, make her body believe it's ready to mate when it isn't."

My mind raced. "Why would Selene have this?"

Maeve met my gaze. "I found it in her chambers. Hidden beneath a loose floorboard. She's been using it, Layla."

"Using it on herself?"

Maeve shook her head slowly. "I don't think so."

The implication hit me like a blow.

"You think she's been using it on Kade."

"I think she's been using it to manipulate him," Maeve said. "To make him believe the bond between them is real. To keep him tied to her, even when his heart is elsewhere."

The room spun around me.

Everything I thought I knew about that night—the night Kade rejected me—suddenly felt wrong.

"What are you saying?" I whispered.

Maeve leaned forward. "I'm saying that Selene may not be his true mate after all. And if that's true..."

"Then the rejection was based on a lie," I finished.

She nodded.

I stood up, my legs unsteady. "Does Kade know?"

"No. And we can't tell him yet. Not without proof."

"Why not?"

Maeve's eyes darkened. "Because Selene is not the only danger in this pack. There are others who support her, others who benefit from your absence. If we move too soon, they'll bury the truth before it ever sees the light."

I sank back into the chair, my mind spinning.

For five years, I had believed Kade rejected me because he didn't love me anymore. Because Selene was his true mate and I was just a mistake.

But what if it was all a lie?

What if the life I had lost could have been saved?

What if everything I had suffered was because of her?

I looked at Maeve, my voice shaking. "What do we do?"

She placed a wrinkled hand over mine. "We wait. We watch. And when the time is right, we make her expose herself."

I nodded slowly.

But deep inside, I felt something I hadn't felt in years.

Hope.

Dangerous, fragile, intoxicating hope.

And I wasn't sure if it would save me—or destroy me all over again.

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### End of Chapter 8