His Abandoned Luna Chapter 196

|| Alaric's POV ||

The healers said I should rest.

I tore the throat out of the first one who tried to pull me from her bedside.

They stopped suggesting it after that.

The room smelled of blood and dying flowers. Someone— probably that fool Ezra— kept replacing the wilted moon blooms on the windowsill, as if their rotting petals could somehow sweeten the stench of death clinging to my mate.

I counted her breaths.

Eleven seconds between each.

Too slow. Too shallow.

Endora's warning slithered through my mind like poison: "The dagger's curse lingers. Our potion can't do much."

My claws dug into the armrests of the chair I'd dragged to Lilac's bedside. The wood splintered beneath my grip.

Fourteen seconds. Even shallower.

I was on my feet before the next inhale, my palm pressed to the too-cold skin of her chest. The steady thump-thump of her heartbeat beneath my fingertips was the only thing keeping Hunter from tearing free and painting the walls with my grief.

They brought me food I didn't eat. Reports I didn't read.

My father came once, his crown gleaming in the candlelight as he studied the woman in the bed. "The kingdom needs its king."

I didn't look up. "It has one."

A sigh. The creak of old bones kneeling beside me. "She wouldn't want you to—"

"Don't." My snarl sent the candles guttering. "Don't presume to know what she would want."

Silence. Then the rustle of robes as he stood. "Agatha is still there. What if they attack?"

Let them come. Let them destroy everything. I don't care.

Night bled into day.

I memorized the way the moonlight caught on Lilac's eyelashes. The faint freckle beneath her left ear. The way her fingers would twitch—just once every hour—as if reaching for something only she could see.

Runa.

The bond between us stretched thin, but I felt it when her wolf stirred. Felt the echo of her pain.

Hunter howled in answer, the sound trapped behind my teeth.

The healers whispered when they thought I couldn't hear.

"The babe won't make it."

"She may never wake up either."

"The king has gone mad."

I let them whisper. Let them fear.

Because nothing meant sense without her.

\-----------------

On the third night, she even felt more fragile. The moon beam touched her face softly, giving her an eternal glow, as if it was calling for her.

"Come home, dove. Come back to me," I begged.

But she didn’t respond. My heart raced with anticipation.

'She is fading... I can't sense her...' Hunter howled in my head.

My limbs shivered as she let out even a shallower breath. No... please! Don't leave me, Dove. With you gone, I have nothing to live for.

☆☆☆☆☆

|| Lilac's POV ||

The sacred waterfall roared around me, its mist cooling my skin as I stood knee-deep in the glowing pool. Runa pressed against my side, her golden fur damp with spray.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice echoing strangely in this in-between place.

Runa nuzzled my hand. "We saved him."

A weight lifted from my chest. "That's good."

But then Runa's ears drooped. "But our pup..."

I pulled her close, burying my face in her fur. The ache in my chest was sharper than any blade.

"He'll have another," I whispered, though the words tore at my soul.

The water stilled.

"You did well, my child."

The Moon Goddess stood before us, her silver robes flowing like liquid moonlight. Her presence warmed me from the inside out, easing the edges of my grief.

"But Agatha is still out there," I said.

"Not a threat for now," she replied, cupping my cheek. Her touch hummed with power. "I'm proud of you. You saved them all by saving your mate."

"He's my other half," I said without hesitation. "I will do it again."

Runa yipped in agreement.

The Goddess smiled. "That's what makes you a true queen."

I bowed my head. "Thank you... for this second chance."

"Do you regret anything?" Her starry eyes searched mine.

The truth spilled out. "Only that I didn't find him sooner. That we didn't have more time."

Her smile turned knowing. "Do you wish to go back?"

"No. You have given me enough chance. He'll finish what we started. I'll wait... until our next life." I reached for her hand. "Just promise me you'll look after him. He will be so broken.."

"He's fighting for you right now," she murmured. "Willing to lose the child to keep you."

Pain lanced through me. "I know. And it breaks my heart that we're both leaving him when happiness is so close. Give him another chance in love. He deserves happiness and a family. Who will love him unconditionally."

My heart broke as I spoke. Runa whined, pressing closer.

The Goddess opened her arms. "Come."

We stepped into her embrace. Her lips brushed Runa's head as she whispered, "I'm giving Alaric another chance in love. Go back. Your story isn't finished yet."

Light exploded behind my eyes—

—then darkness.

A gasp tore from my lips as reality crashed back.

Pain. White-hot and searing along my spine.

Voices. A cacophony of shouts and sobs.

"Goddess! She's awake!"

"Thank the moon! Oh thank the moon!"

"The baby! It's fine too."

"It's a miracle!"

My vision swam into focus just as he appeared above me—wild-eyed, disheveled, more beautiful than anything in this world or the next.

"Dove."

"Alaric." His name was a prayer on my lips.

Then I was crushed against his chest, his heartbeat thunderous under my ear. His scent—pine and earth and home—wrapped around me like armor.

"You scared me," he growled into my hair. His arms trembled. "Don't you EVER pull that stunt again."

I clung to him, my fingers digging into his back. Behind him, I saw my parents weeping. Endora slumped against the wall, exhausted. Ezra's hands covered his face. Did he cry?

And through the window—the first light of dawn.

So I survived once again!