The Luna is a Witch

Chapter 6: Draven

My wolf is pacing.

No—Not pacing. Shredding.

Tearing at the inside of my chest like an animal caught in a burning trap. Claire’s rejection hits him harder than a silver blade. Harder than a curse. Harder than the night I watched my pack die.

He doesn’t understand fear-of-me. He doesn’t understand why she runs. He doesn’t understand why the pup—our pup, our Luna’s pup—flinches when my aura brushes him.

He only understands one thing: She is ours. They are ours. So, why are they running?

A low growl builds deep in my gut. I swallow it down before it escapes. Because if I let it out now? If I let my wolf take even a single step toward them? Claire would vanish into thin air with that boy clutched to her chest. And I would never see her again. The thought makes something inside me splinter. I force myself to stay still. To breathe. To remain human when every instinct screams at me to shift, to chase, to pin her to the earth until she listens—

But she isn’t prey. She’s Luna. And Luna chooses. When she wants. Who she wants. If she wants at all. My wolf doesn’t care about any of that. He snarls, pulling at the edges of my control: She is scared. Fix it. Bring pup. Bring mate.

“Stop,” I whisper under my breath. “I can’t force this.”

My wolf rams against the bars of my ribcage, furious: She ran. She ran from us. Make her stay.

“I won’t,” I grit out silently. “She’s not ready. She doesn’t trust us.”

Trust.

Gods, that word stings. She won’t even look at me. She’s holding Carter like I’m the monster in the night her mother warned her about. Like my shadow is poison. Like destiny is a curse she plans to outrun with every breath she has. And she might succeed. She could take the child and vanish into the deepest realm. She could hide behind magic and fear and the desperate loneliness that clings to her like a wounded spirit.

And what would I do? Chase her? Claim her? Drag her back like some ancient beast?

No.

She’d never forgive me. She’d destroy me before I touched her. So I do the only thing I can:

I stand still. And I watch her. The way her hand shakes as she strokes Carter’s curls. The way she whispers apologies into his hair. The way her magic wraps around him like silver armor, protecting him from everything—including me. A life without me. The thought makes my chest tighten until I can barely inhale. My wolf whimpers.

Actually whimpers. And I press a fist against my sternum because the pain is unbearable. Not physical. Worse. Fear.

Not fear of death.

Not fear of battle.

Not fear of losing to gods or curses.

Fear of losing her. Fear of failing the pup who looks at her like she’s the whole universe. Fear of Claire choosing a world where my existence is nothing but a shadow she avoids. Fear that I am too late.

That the goddess gave me a command I will never be allowed to fulfill.

Still—

Even through the ache, the helplessness, the animal panic clawing at my throat—

One truth roots itself inside me, firm as iron. I will protect them. Even if they never choose me. Even if they hate me for it. Even if Claire shuts every door between us. Because the moment I felt that pup’s magic…The moment I saw the Luna’s power flicker beneath Claire’s skin…

The moment the goddess whispered her command—

My fate was sealed. Even if she runs. Even if she hides. Even if she never lets me close enough to breathe the same air—

I will protect them both until the end of every realm. Whether Claire ever lets me near them again…That’s her choice. And my greatest fear is that she already made it.

…

The classroom empties slowly, students whispering as they slip out, too shaken to look me in the eye. LJ ushers Claire away with Carter in her arms, throwing me one last death-glare over her shoulder. Claire doesn’t look back. Not once. It burns.

By the time they disappear down the hall, the magic in the room has settled into a hollow quiet. Toys lie scattered, papers still charred at the edges. The faint shimmer of the goddess’s presence clings to the walls like cold moonlight. I exhale shakily and sink to one knee.

Not to worship. Not to submit. To ground myself. To keep from tearing the room apart. My wolf still thrashes, desperate to chase.

To follow.

To claim.

But I forced him down. Because this moment isn’t about instinct.

It’s about the truth. I place a hand over the cracked tile where Carter’s magic exploded. The residue hums through my fingers—pure, wild, divine. A pup like that shouldn’t exist. Not in this realm. Not in any realm.

He’s powerful enough to shatter the veil between worlds.

And Claire…Claire is even more dangerous.

Beautiful.

Terrifying.

The Luna the gods hid.

The Luna the wolves were forbidden to know existed. I look up at the faint silver glow only I can still see — the dissolving echo of the goddess. My voice comes out rough.

“Why her?”

No answer. Just the faintest tremor in the air.

“Why me?” I ask again, quieter.

Silence.

Of course. Gods never answer the questions that matter.

They only issue commands.

“Fail the child,” she’d said, “and you fail the Luna.”

My throat tightens.

“Fail the Luna…” I murmur. “And I lose what I didn’t even know I wanted.” My voice cracks.

I hate that it cracks. I lower my head, pressing my hand to the floor harder.

“Listen to me,” I whisper to the empty air. “I don’t know why you chose me. I don’t know what you see. But I will obey.”

My wolf stills at the word, settling into something solemn, ancient.

“I will protect the boy,” I vow, voice deepening. “No matter the cost.” The air stirs faintly, brushing my cheek like a cold fingertip. “And I will protect the Luna.”

A soft pulse of energy travels up my arm — acknowledgement. My wolf kneels fully now, chest to the ground, tail low. Not in submission. In devotion.

“But hear me,” I add quietly, jaw tightening. “I won’t force her bond. I won’t chase her if she runs. I won’t become the monster she already sees in me.”

My hands curl into fists.

“But if danger comes for her…” My voice drops to a growl. “…I will tear the realms apart to reach her.”

The temperature drops again — approval, warning, both.

I bow my head one final time.

“So this is my oath, Goddess. My vow. My life.”

My heartbeat slows. My wolf falls silent and reverent.

“For the Luna.” A final echo hums through the air — a whisper of moonlight, fading but certain.

“Then be ready, wolf. Her storm is only beginning.”

And then it’s gone. And I am alone.

Sworn.

Claimed.

Bound to a destiny that may never want me back.

But I will follow it anyway.

Because Claire De Catherine Quinn may run from me—But gods help anyone who dares run toward her.