His Luna, His Obsession

Chapter Three: Broken but not dead

Lura’s POV

The hotel doors closed behind me with a hiss, and just like that, the warmth of Alpha Hulf’s presence vanished.

It felt like stepping out of a dream.

The moment we’d shared replayed in my mind over and over during the bus ride home—his intense eyes, the way his voice dropped when he said I was his, the fire in my veins when he touched me.

I hadn’t stopped trembling since.

But reality had a cruel way of dragging me back down to earth.

As I stepped into the dim, musty apartment I shared with my adopted family, the weight on my shoulders returned like a lead blanket. The lingering thrill I’d felt earlier dimmed beneath the cold slap of familiarity.

“Finally,” Priceless snapped from the couch, not even looking up from her phone. “Took you long enough. Did you forget we exist?”

“I just got off work,” I murmured, clutching my purse tighter. “I didn’t stop anywhere.”

“Well, you should’ve,” she sneered. “Mum’s pissed you didn’t buy groceries. It’s your payday, remember? Or were you planning to keep all that money to yourself like a selfish little rat?”

I bit my tongue.

I’d planned to send some money after getting a proper meal and maybe… maybe saving just a little for myself for once. But I should’ve known better. They always kept tabs on my earnings. Every penny had to be accounted for. Nothing ever really belonged to me.

Not even my time. Not even my body.

I headed straight for the kitchen, ignoring her glare. My stomach growled painfully, but I already knew there’d be no food left. They always ate before I got back.

The sink was stacked high with dishes.

The floor still had mud tracks from Eli’s soccer shoes.

The fridge was nearly empty—except for spoiled leftovers and two cracked eggs.

And somehow, this was all my fault.

“You’re so ungrateful,” my mother’s voice rang from the hallway. “We could’ve left you on the street where you belonged. A girl like you should worship the ground we walk on.”

I turned my back to them, gripping the counter to stop my hands from shaking.

It was always like this.

No matter what I did, I was never enough. Never truly one of them.

Flashbacks

I was seven. I’d spilled a cup of juice on the new rug. My mother screamed at me until I cried. My father didn’t defend me that day like he usually did. Instead, he sighed and muttered, “You’re old enough to know better.”

That night, I heard them arguing behind their bedroom door.

“You should never have brought her into this house,” my mother hissed. “I swear, if I’d known I could have my own children—”

“She was abandoned,” he said. “What were we supposed to do? Leave her to die?”

“I would’ve. She’s not one of us. She never will be.”

I curled into myself under the covers, fighting the tears. Pretending I couldn’t hear.

But I did. I always did.

Present

I shook the memory away and got to work scrubbing the plates in silence. My arms moved on autopilot. If I was fast enough, maybe I could get to bed before another slap came flying out of nowhere.

“Don’t forget to sweep the sitting room!” Priceless called lazily. “Mum said the place stinks, probably because you walk around like a damn stray cat.”

I didn’t reply.

The anger used to burn hot inside me when they spoke to me that way. Now it just simmered like cold coals—dull and constant.

But tonight felt different.

Tonight, something beneath the surface stirred.

Alpha Hulf’s words echoed in my mind.

“You’re not just anything.”

His voice had been so sure. So commanding. Like he knew me.

I didn’t even know myself.

Flashback

I was ten. Lying in bed, feverish and sweating, clutching my stomach as strange pain twisted through me. My skin felt like it was too tight. My bones ached like they were trying to stretch.

I cried for help, and my mother came into the room with a frown.

“Drama again?”

“I don’t feel right,” I whispered. “It hurts. Something’s wrong—”

She pressed a wet cloth to my forehead and muttered, “Probably something you ate.”

But I’d never felt pain like that again.

And I’d never forgotten it.

It felt like my body had been trying to change. Like something inside me had clawed its way to the surface and then… vanished.

Present

I was twenty-four now. And that memory still haunted me.

Was that the moment my powers were sealed?

I didn’t know why the thought suddenly seemed so clear—so obvious. Maybe it was the way Alpha Hulf had looked at me. Like there was more to me than I could see. Like he was waiting for something to wake inside me.

But how could I explain that to anyone?

Even I thought it sounded insane.

A sharp knock jolted me from my thoughts.

I turned just as my mother stormed in, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. She held up a small envelope—my paycheck.

“This all you brought back?” she barked.

“I…” I hesitated. “I haven’t cashed it yet. I thought I’d—”

“Thought you’d what?” She slapped it hard against my chest. “Spend it on clothes? Makeup? That nonsense dream of leaving us?”

My mouth opened. Closed.

There was no point arguing.

I clutched the envelope as she stormed out again.

One day. One day, I would leave. Even if I had to walk barefoot across the country. Even if I had nowhere to go.

But tonight, I had a secret.

Tonight, a powerful man had called me his.

Tonight, something old and powerful shifted inside me—and though I couldn’t name it yet, I could feel it awakening.

I was no one. Nothing.

And yet… someone like him had found me.

Lura.

I could still hear how his voice wrapped around my name like a vow.

Maybe… just maybe… I wasn’t as invisible as they wanted me to believe.