Rise Of The Fallen Luna

Chapter 8

••• Leicia's POV •••

The moment Reinald heard my words, his smile faded, but he nodded.

“Let me drive you there.”

I hesitated, but maybe having him there would be great. I would need all the support I could have.

Still, I couldn’t help but tease him, “Don’t tell me you are stalking me.”

He laughed—warm and rich. “Not gonna lie, I was planning to visit you. Though I didn’t exactly feel like showing up at that bastard’s pack. So yeah… call it a lucky and happy coincidence.”

I chuckled and shook my head helplessly. As he said, some parts of him hadn’t changed.

Under all the scars, there was still the boy I had known since childhood—someone who always cared about how I felt, even when I pretended to cry and he knew it. He would still comfort me.

Reinald led Annisa and me to his car. He had a driver, which meant I could sit in the backseat with Annisa. I was thankful for that. For him to offer to drive us there because I didn’t trust my hands on a steering wheel right now.

The drive to the Dawn Guardians Pack was filled with a suffocating tension. My calmness cracked, and I couldn’t stop fidgeting, twisting my fingers together until Annisa, bless her heart, reached over and took my hands. Her silent comfort was enough to keep me breathing.

I quickly mindlinked Kyle to meet us there and gave him some instructions about the inspections and what to bring. I needed his calm, logical presence. And also for one specific reason, just in case it happened.

As we slowed in front of the iron gates, Reinald turned his head toward me, asking me softly, “Do you have the key?”

I nodded and reached into my purse, pulling it out carefully. Although the royal family had the key, as they had helped maintain the pack, I also had one.

I always kept it with me, no matter where I went. It was the smallest, simplest thing I still had from home. Having it with him all the time reminded me of my past, no matter how horrific the last time I stepped foot in here.

“Take it,” I said softly, handing it to him.

Reinald took it and then passed it to the driver. I caught the way his fingers curled around it for a second longer than necessary before letting go.

Seeing the gate was like being punched in the chest. Where there used to be guards, laughter, and idle conversation, there was only silence now and rusted chains.

The gates creaked open slowly, metal grinding against metal, but they opened—for me. For us.

I didn’t need to touch them. I didn’t need to force my way in. I had never been locked out.

Once the driver returned, the car rolled forward slowly. My hands itched to cover my eyes, but I made myself look.

I didn’t want to see the memories of the pack members lying in pools of their own blood, but I kept my eyes open.

I had to see it. I had to remember. If I couldn’t even face the ghost of my past, how could I possibly live here and rebuild the pack?

The streets were too clean. That was what struck me first. No fallen leaves, no overgrowth. I didn’t know what came over me, but I rolled the window down, and the silence that hit me was deafening. No laughter, no children’s footsteps pounding on the pavement, no scent of roasting meats or fresh-baked bread.

It was too quiet…

Annisa’s grip tightened around my fingers. I hadn’t even realized I was shaking.

The buildings and houses stood tall, but they felt hollow. Like the heart had been ripped out of the pack, and all that remained was an empty shell. And I guessed that was the truth.

Finally, we reached the pack’s main house. The place where I used to live with my parents and my brothers. My family.

I stepped out first. Reinald was at my side, silent, watchful. I felt his gaze, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him.

I focused on the house instead.

It somehow looked…smaller. Duller. Like time had crushed the place.

But the garden…

The flowers were still blooming. I was sure this was the Alpha Queen’s work. She must have asked someone to keep them alive. I was grateful for her to remember how my mom loved the garden. That small, fragile beauty brought tears to my eyes that I refused to let fall.

We entered through the back door. I didn’t want to use the main entrance. Not yet. Not when I knew what waited for me in the grand hall.

I walked slowly through the kitchen. My fingers grazed the marble counter. I could still hear the Omegas laughing as they did their tasks, preparing meals, and hearing my mom humming in the background when she decided to help.

I closed my eyes and took a breath. Then, I took one step. And another until I reached the hallway, where I paused.

I could still see it—my brothers lounging against the walls in their training gear, teasing each other. The scent of sweat and spice from their skin after long training sessions. Also, the sound of my nieces’ and nephews’ feet and the clutter of forgotten toys whenever they visited us.

And my dad’s booming laugh from his office.

I pushed the door open.

The room was clean. There was no dust anywhere. But everything else was untouched. The shelves were still full of maps, of tactical books, and ledgers. His mahogany desk still stood strong and sturdy, just like the rest of the furniture, and my fingers found the crack my brothers and I had made when we were younger.

How many hours had I spent in here, trying to absorb my father’s brilliance? How many times had he lifted me to the window when I was still a child to show me the warriors training below?

“You’ll be stronger than me,” he had always said. “Stronger than your brothers. Stronger than anyone.”

And I had believed him. I still believed him.

Tears blurred my sight, but I forced them away. I would not break here. I refused to.

I turned around to look at Kyle and Annisa. “We’ll make this our home again,” I told them. “I will make sure this pack isn’t silent anymore.”

Kyle nodded firmly. Annisa was crying, but she nodded too.

Even Reinald’s eyes seemed darker, more determined.

Honestly, I didn’t know how I was going to do it. It seemed impossible to fill the pack with people again. I couldn’t simply poach werewolves from other packs, but I would find a way, and that was my promise to myself, Kyle, and Annisa, who had kept their loyalty to me, also to my parents, brothers, and pack members who didn’t deserve to meet their cruel fates.

I took one last glance around my dad’s office, letting the silence press into my skin. It wasn’t just a room—it was a legacy. And I was the last one left to carry it. That thought alone nearly crushed my chest.

Every step I took toward the grand hall felt heavier than the last. My limbs stiffened. My chest tightened. I didn’t want to remember—but I couldn’t forget.

Would my mom be proud of me? Would she have forgiven me for not being here? For surviving when she didn’t?

I wasn’t ready.

But I couldn’t back down.

“Leicia,” I whispered to myself. “You are going to be the Alpha of this pack. You have to face it.”

The doors opened, and light flooded the vast space.

And then I saw it.

The corner…

The exact spot…

Time stopped, and my lungs seized.

My mother’s eyes. Empty. Beautiful. Looking regal even in death, forever frozen in the last moment of her life. Her head had been placed there like a final insult.

I could still see it—blood soaking the floor. I could still feel the cold, clinging to that space like the memory hadn’t faded, and yes, no matter how much I tried to forget it, I couldn’t.

Then I felt everything at once — Pain. Grief. Fury. The shamefulness that I had lived when they all had died.

Behind me, I heard Reinald call my name, his voice tight. But I couldn’t respond. I didn’t want him to see me like this.

Not like this. Not broken. I managed to keep myself strong. To keep myself calm. And I needed to be that version of myself now.

But my body wasn’t listening.

The walls swayed. The ground seemed to tilt as well.

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t cry.

I couldn’t even scream.

And then… I heard it.

Soft. Faint.

Like a memory clinging to the walls.

“Welcome home, Leicia.”

My mom’s soft voice.

I didn’t know if it was real or just something my heart needed to hear.

But I swayed.

And then I simply… collapsed.

And everything just… went black.