His Abandoned Luna Chapter 50

|| Alaric’s POV ||

Something felt off about Lilac. The moment she woke up, I could sense it, a shift in her energy, a distance in her eyes that hadn’t been there last night. She had been so open, so vulnerable with me just a few hours ago, but now she seemed guarded, almost hesitant. Was she unhappy with me? Had I done something wrong? The questions gnawed at me, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask. Not yet.

I watched her as she moved around the house, her movements stiff and hurried. She was avoiding my gaze, her mind clearly elsewhere. And then there was the name she had called out in her sleep— Runa. Her wolf. Why had she been calling for her wolf? Was something wrong with Runa? The thought sent a chill down my spine.

To think about it, I had never seen Lilac shift. She never talked about her wolf, never mentioned her in passing. Even when my wolf, Hunter, tried to reach out to hers, there was no response. Just silence. It was unsettling, like a shadow lingering at the edge of my consciousness, always there but never fully seen. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, something deeper than I could understand.

‘I told you, there’s nothing wrong with her wolf,’ Hunter said, his voice firm but tinged with something I couldn’t quite place. A sadness, maybe. A quiet ache that mirrored my own.

‘What do you mean?’ I asked, my mind racing as I glanced at Lilac. She was sitting beside me in the car, her gaze fixed on the passing meadows outside the window. Her expression was calm, almost serene, but there was a distance in her eyes, as if she were lost in a world I couldn’t reach.

‘When I reach for her, she smiles. I can feel her presence, but she doesn’t talk. It’s like she’s been weakened somehow,’ Hunter explained, his tone heavy with concern. ‘She’s there, but… she’s not whole.’

‘Weakened? You mean, wolfsbane or silver?’ I asked, panic rising in my chest like a tidal wave. My eyes flicked to Lilac again, scanning her for any signs of distress. Her skin was clear, her movements steady, her breathing even. She didn’t look like she had been poisoned. But something was definitely wrong. Something I couldn’t see.

‘I don’t think so. If it were wolfsbane or silver, it would have harmed her in a different way,’ Hunter confirmed, his voice steady but laced with worry. ‘This is different. It’s like her wolf is… dormant.’

‘Dormant?’ The word felt heavy on my tongue, like a stone sinking in my stomach. A dormant wolf was rare, almost unheard of. It meant Lilac couldn’t shift, couldn’t access the strength and instincts that came with her wolf. She was vulnerable, exposed in a way that made my chest ache with a protectiveness so fierce it threatened to consume me.

‘What do we do then?’ I sighed, running a hand through my hair. The helplessness was suffocating, a weight pressing down on my chest. I hated feeling powerless, especially when it came to her. Lilac was my mate, my Luna, and the thought of her being in any kind of danger— even if it was just the absence of her wolf— was unbearable.

‘I don’t think we can do much. But we can check with Endora once,’ Hunter suggested, his tone thoughtful. Endora, the pack’s healer, was wise and experienced. If anyone could help, it was her. But the idea of involving someone else, of admitting that Lilac’s wolf might be in trouble, made me uneasy. This was supposed to be my responsibility. Mine. I was her mate, her protector. I should have been enough.

‘Good point,’ I said, though the words felt hollow. My mind was already racing, trying to piece together what could have caused this. Had she been hurt? Was it something from her past, something she hadn’t told me about? The questions swirled in my head, each one more unsettling than the last.

‘But if her wolf is dormant, that means she can’t shift. She’s vulnerable,’ I said, my voice low, almost a growl. The thought of Lilac being defenseless, of her not having the strength of her wolf to rely on, made my blood boil. I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I fought to keep my emotions in check.

‘Yeah, but that doesn’t matter,’ Hunter said, his voice filled with determination. ‘She’s our Luna. We’ll keep her safe. Even if she had the strongest wolf in the universe, it’s still our responsibility to protect her.’

His words hit me like a punch to the chest, sharp and grounding. He was right. Lilac was mine to protect, mine to cherish. Whether her wolf was strong or dormant, it didn’t change the fact that she was my luna. My responsibility. My heart.

‘You’re right,’ I replied, my resolve hardening. ‘It means I only have to work harder to build a safe haven for her.’