His Abandoned Luna Chapter 186

|| Lilac’s POV ||

One moment, I was staring death in the face.

The next, I stood by the crystal-clear waters of our shared mindscape, the waterfall’s mist cooling my skin. And there stood my wolf.

“Runa.” I cried out her name.

My golden wolf stood proud and whole, her fur glowing faintly in the ethereal light. Whole. Awake. Furious.

“Finally, you’re here,” she snapped, ears flat against her skull.

I didn’t care about her anger. I threw my arms around her neck, burying my face in her fur. She smelled of lavender, of home.

“Don’t hug me!” Runa wriggled free, baring her teeth. “How dare you run off with that witch? Do you know how much strength it took to show you our true mate? And what do you do? Leap into the arms of the first impostor who—”

I choked on a laugh. “In my defense, you said ‘mate’ and vanished! And you did warn me about Elias making everything more confusing.”

“Of course I did!” Her tail lashed. “I could smell the magic on him. Like rotting lilies and burnt hair—”

“Runa.” I cupped her muzzle. “We don’t have time. The pack— they’re dying. We need to shift.”

Her silver eyes dimmed. “It will cost us.”

Light erupted beside us, and suddenly She stood there— tall and radiant, her silver hair flowing like moonlit water.

The Goddess.

I dropped to my knees. “Moon goddess.”

“Rise, Lilac.” Her voice was both whisper and thunder. “Your wolf speaks the truth. To shift now would shatter the bond between you. Your life will be shortened. Your healing will fade. You would live as neither wolf nor human— a half-life, a cursed one.”

My hand flew to my stomach. “And the baby?”

The Goddess’s gaze softened. “The strain could be too much.”

Runa pressed against me, her warmth seeping into my skin.

“The choice is yours,” the Goddess murmured. “Save your pack now, or live whole for your mate and child.”

I looked into Runa’s eyes— her eyes, the ones that had seen me through death and rebirth. Slowly I knelt to her height.

“We died once already,” I whispered. “What’s the point of living if it’s built on others’ graves?”

Runa huffed, nudging my cheek. “We’ll come back. Together. For our mate. For our pup.”

Tears streamed down my face as I nodded. “Then let’s save them.”

The Goddess smiled. “I am proud of you both.”

Then the world burned.

Fire raced through my veins as my bones snapped and reformed, muscles twisting beneath skin that prickled with the emergence of thick fur. A scream tore from my throat— or tried to— but it came out as a roar, deep and thunderous, shaking the very earth beneath my paws.

Paws.

I looked down. Massive, golden furred paws dug into the dirt, claws like curved daggers glinting in the moonlight. My breath came in hot, ragged pants, each exhale sending plumes of mist into the cold night air.

Runa took over slowly. She surged forward in my mind, her presence wrapping around me like armor. “Let’s hunt.”

The rogue pinning Marcus never saw me coming.

One moment it was snarling in his face, jaws dripping with saliva. The next, hundred eighty pounds of golden fury slammed into its side. My teeth found its throat before it could react, the coppery tang of blood flooding my mouth as I twisted.

The rogue went limp with a crack.

Marcus scrambled up, eyes wide. “L-Luna?”

No time to answer. Another rogue lunged for a pup— tiny, trembling, frozen in terror near the smoldering remains of a storage hut.

I moved.

Muscles coiled and released, propelling me forward in a blur of golden fur. My shoulder connected with the rogue’s ribs, sending it flying into a tree. It hit with a sickening thud, but I was already on it, claws raking across its belly before finishing it with a bite to the spine.

The pup whimpered.

“Run to the tunnels,” I mindlinked, nudging it gently with my muzzle. “Now.”

Rogues feel like wheat before a scythe.

One came at me from the left— I ducked, letting its momentum carry it past me before sinking my teeth into its hind leg. It yelped, stumbling, and I finished it with a slash across its exposed throat.

Two more charged together.

“Move, now,” Runa growled in my mind.

I fainted right, drawing the first rogue out of position, then whirled left to meet the second head-on. Claws met claws, but I was faster, ducking under its guard to rip open its underbelly. Hot entrails spilled onto the dirt as I spun to face the first again— just in time to catch its snapping jaws on my own.

The taste of rotten meat filled my mouth as its skull collapsed between my teeth.

The alpha rogue stood nearly as tall as my shifted form, its patchy black fur matted with old blood. It circled me, yellow eyes gleaming with unnatural intelligence.

It was witchcraft!

“Careful,” Runa warned.

It struck like lightning— but I was faster.

We collided in a tangle of teeth and claws, rolling across the blood soaked earth. Its teeth grazed my shoulder, drawing fire along my flesh, but I barely felt it. My hind legs raked its belly, opening four parallel wounds that gushed dark blood.

The rogue howled— a sound cut short when I clamped my jaws around its throat and squeezed.

For a heartbeat, it struggled.

Then silence.

Panting, I stood over the corpse as the battlefield fell quiet.

Rogues lay strewn about like broken toys. Pack warriors moved among them, checking for survivors— both friend and foe.

“We did it,” Runa huffed, her mental voice tired but satisfied.

Slowly, painfully, I let the shift take me. Bones realigned, fur receded, until I knelt naked and shivering in the gore strewn dirt.

Marcus appeared instantly, draping a thick wool blanket around my shoulders. His hands trembled. “Luna... are you ok?”

I touched my face. “I am fine. How are the others? Move them to the healing center.”

“Yes, Luna.” He said.

As he left, a chill ran down my spine. The Goddess’s warning echoed in my mind— a half-life, cursed life. I looked for Runa and she was gone. So that was it!

But then I heard her.

“I am still here.”

Runa’s voice, clear as day. Not just in my mind, but there, a warm presence curling against my soul.

“The choice was a test. And we passed.” She howled in joy.

Light erupted before me, resolving into the shimmering form of the Moon Goddess. I gasped, our surroundings dissolved, and her gaze was only for me.

“A true Luna does not hesitate to sacrifice,” she murmured, reaching to touch my forehead. “But a wise queen knows when to claim her due.”

Fireworks exploded behind my eyes as power surged through me. When I blinked, the world was sharper, clearer— the scents of blood and fear and pine overwhelming in their intensity.

Runa howled within me, strong as she’d ever been. The goddess had blessed us.

The wounded packed the healing center, but they made space for me the moment I staggered in.

Endora took one look at my bleeding shoulder and clicked her tongue. “Sit. Before you fall.”

I collapsed onto a cot, my muscles screaming in protest. Around me, the warriors whispered.

“Did you see her?”

“Like golden lightning...”

“The way she moved—”

“She is our Luna!”

I closed my eyes, letting their voices wash over me.

Runa stretched lazily in my mind. “Told you we would be fine.”

I huffed a laugh that turned into a wince as Endora pressed a poultice to my wounds.

“Your wolf! She is back,” Endora said.

“Yeah,” I smiled.

“Your pup is fine too. But don’t go reckless next time,” she said.

“Thanks, Endora. I am fine now. You look after others. I will help out too,” I said.

“Very well.” She nodded.

Outside, the first rays of dawn painted the sky in shades of rose and gold.

Alaric would be home soon. Till then, I have to keep the pack safe.

And we’d have so much to talk about.