Reclaiming My Broken Luna by Selene Souchon

Chapter 396: The Return

Astrid's POV

The forest was dark, the faint light of dawn barely piercing through the dense canopy above.

The weight of what had happened pressed down on us, so heavy it felt as though the air itself had thickened,

making it hard to breathe.

No one spoke as we began the journey back to the Shadowfang Pack. Even the sounds of the forest seemed

muted, as though nature itself understood the gravity of what had occurred.

Killian walked a few paces ahead of us, his posture stiff, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. The faint

tremor in his shoulders betrayed the storm raging within him.

I wanted to reach out to him, to offer skind of comfort, but the words wouldn't come.

What could | possibly say to ease the loss of a mother who had both scarred and saved us?

Nova walked beside me, her arms wrapped around herself despite the warmth of the night. Her usual fire was

gone, replaced by a quiet stillness that unnerved me.

Drystan, ever vigilant, kept close to her, his expression hard, unreadable.

| glanced back, half expecting to see Rowena striding along behind us with that sharp, knowing look she always

wore. But there was only empty space, and the memory of her lifeless eyes staring into the sky stabbed at my

heart.

The silence between us was deafening. Every step we took seemed louder than it should have been, the crunch

of leaves underfoot a cruel reminder that we were still here, still moving, while Rowena was not.

| couldn't stop replaying the moment in my mind-the look in her eyes as she shovedaside, the quiet

resignation as she accepted her fate.

Rowena, who had always been selfish, calculating, and cold, had done the unthinkable. She had saved us. She

had saved me.

My throat tightened as | thought about it. Her sacrifice had been so sudden, so unexpected, that I still hadn't

fully grasped it.

For all the pain she had caused, for all the mistakes she had made, in the end, she had given us the chance to

keep fighting.

The rogue king's words echoed in my mind as | think of Rowena's sacrifice.

"She planned this! She planned this all along!"

Rowena has always been a scheming and cunning woman. She would do even the most despicable thing just for

her survival.

If it were true that she had it in mind to sacrifice her life for us, then that would mean that Killian and | had read

her wrong.

Killian's pace slowed slightly, his head lowering as we passed through a grove of gnarled trees.

He hadn't said a word since we left the clearing. His silence felt like a living thing, heavy and suffocating,

wrapping itself around all of us.

| quickened my steps, closing the distance between us. "Killian..." | hesitated, unsure of what to say.

Killian sighed, but he didn't bother to turn to look at me. With his back turned on me, | could feel the weight of

his emotions radiating off him.

| fell back, letting him have his space, though my chest ached at the distance between us.

Rowena's death hung over us like a shadow, dark and unyielding. None of us had expected it. None of us had

been prepared for it.

She had always seemed

Qu

untouchable, her sharp mind and ruthless nature making her appear invincible. And yet, in her final moments,

she had proven that even

sw

she was capable of sac

The gates of Shadowfang territory loomed ahead, tall and foreboding against the backdrop of the faintly glowing

moon.

The familiar sight should have brought relief, but the weight in my chest only grew heavier.

The scent of the Packlands surrounded us-home, safety, family-but none of it could erase the ache that had

settled deep in my bones.

As we neared the entrance, movement stirred within the shadows. Asha stepped forward first, flanked by

warriors, her sharp eyes scanning us with the precision of someone who'd spent hours waiting and worrying.

Her expression flickered between relief and dread as she took in blood, the exhaustion, and the

lingering grief that clung to us like a second skin.

"They're back!" one of the warriors exclaimed, the tension in his voice breaking into a shaky laugh.

Asha's shoulders sagged, her composure cracking for just a moment before she regained it.

She approached swiftly, her wolf

pacing beneath RODE dyes

derted from Oh&of us to the next.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice tight, her gaze locking on Killian.

Killian stopped just beyond the gates,

his back still to us, Ris @storestift

apdunyieléing. He didn't respond.

Asha's eyes narrowed, worry deepening the lines of her face as she turned to me. "Astrid?"

| swallowed hard, forcing myself to meet her gaze. The words didn't ceasily,

the weight of them sticking in my throat like lead.

"We destroyed the amulet," | said quietly, the truth of it landing like a stone.

Asha blinked, her breath catching. "The Forsaken Amulet? It's gone?"

"Yes," | said, my voice hollow. "But..."

| hesitated, and Asha's gaze sharpened. "But what?"

Nova stepped forward then, her arms still wrapped tightly around herself, her

voice trembling as she spoke. “We lost Rowena."

Asha's mouth parted, but no sound cout. The warriors around her exchanged

glances, their relief at our return tempered by the weight of the news.

"She sacrificed herself," Nova

continued, her gcrEskeashe

took {hepmuets b wer and

destroyed it... to save us." The

content is on novelenglish.net! Read

the latest chapter there!