His Abandoned Luna Chapter 63

|| Lilac's POV ||

I lay on the couch, my head resting against Alaric’s arm, the steady rise and fall of his chest a comforting rhythm beneath me. The room was quiet, save for the soft crackling of the fire in the hearth, its warm glow casting flickering shadows across the walls. But despite the peacefulness of the moment, guilt gnawed at me, a relentless ache that refused to be ignored. Why do I feel so restless? Why I had pulled away from him before? The questions swirled in my mind, each one heavier than the last.

I closed my eyes, trying to quiet the storm inside me, but it was no use. The guilt was a living thing, twisting and turning in my chest, refusing to let me breathe. And then, faint but unmistakable, a voice whispered in my ear.

Lilac

.

My eyes flew open, and I jolted upright, my heart pounding in my chest. That voice— it was her. My wolf. Runa. It had been so long since I’d heard her, so long since I’d felt her presence. But there she was, faint but there, a flicker of life in the darkness.

“Runa?” I whispered in my mind, my voice trembling with hope. “Are you there?”

There was no response, just the faintest echo of her presence, stronger than before but still dormant. Was she healing? The thought sent a spark of joy through me, but it was quickly overshadowed by the weight of everything else. If Runa was waking up, did that mean I was closer to finding my mate? Or was it just a cruel trick of fate, a reminder of what I might never have?

I felt Alaric shift beside me, his warmth leaving my side as he sat up. His grey eyes searched my face, concern etched into every line of his expression. “What happened, dove?” he asked, his voice soft but urgent.

I shook my head, forcing a smile that felt brittle on my lips.

“Nothing,” I lied. I couldn’t tell him about Runa, about the possibility that my wolf was waking up. What if he found out I was almost wolfless? Would he still want me then? The thought terrified me, because what I felt for him was so intense, so raw, yet so fragile. It was everything I had ever wanted, and yet it felt like it could shatter at any moment.

Alaric’s gaze didn’t waver, and I knew he could see right through me. He always could. But he didn’t push, didn’t demand answers. Instead, he reached out, his hand brushing against my cheek in a gesture so tender it made my heart ache.

“Tell me one thing, Alaric,” I said, my voice shaking as I finally gave voice to the question that had been haunting me. “Are we mates?”

He sighed, a sound heavy with regret, and looked away for a moment before meeting my eyes again.

“I wish I could say yes to that,” he said, his voice low and rough. “But does it matter?”

I froze, his words hitting me like a blow. He had always been so warm, so open with me, and yet I had betrayed him, hurt him by cutting him off so suddenly. The guilt I felt was almost unbearable, but beneath it was something else— a desperate, aching need to know if what we had was enough.

“Tell me, dove,” he said, his voice breaking through my thoughts. “Is it important for you to find your mate? Isn’t it enough, what we have here?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but the words caught in my throat. It was enough. Goddess, it was enough. What I felt for him was everything— a fire that burned so brightly it threatened to consume me. But what about destiny? What about the Moon Goddess’s warning? If I didn’t find my mate, everyone I loved would die— my parents, Elara… and Alaric. The thought was like a knife to the heart, twisting and turning until I could barely breathe.

I’m trying, I wanted to scream. I’m trying so hard. Why is this still so difficult?

But I couldn’t say any of that. Instead, I just sat there, frozen, tears streaming down my face without me even realizing it. Alaric reached out, his thumb brushing away the tears with a gentleness that made my chest ache.

“That’s fine,” he said softly. “You don’t have to answer.”

His arms wrapped around me, pulling me into his embrace, and I let myself melt into him. His warmth was a balm to my frayed nerves, his presence a steady anchor in the storm of my emotions. For a moment, I allowed myself to forget everything— the guilt, the fear, the weight of destiny— and just be.

But the moment couldn’t last forever. Alaric pulled back slightly, his hands cupping my face as he looked down at me, his grey eyes soft and filled with something I couldn’t quite name.

“Now tell me,” he said, his voice light but with a teasing edge that made my heart skip a beat. “Besides me, what do you want to eat? I bet you’re hungry.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, the sound shaky but genuine. He always knew how to lighten the mood, how to pull me out of my own head.

“I could eat... anything,” I admitted, my voice still trembling but with a hint of a smile.

Alaric grinned, that familiar, cocky smirk that made my stomach flip. He stood, his movements fluid and confident, and I couldn’t help but admire the way his muscles flexed beneath his shirt, the way he carried himself with such ease. He was the opposite of everything I was feeling— calm, collected, sure of himself.

“Like what you see?” he asked, his voice dripping with amusement.

I felt my cheeks flush, but I didn’t look away.

“How did you know?” I shot back, trying to sound indignant but failing miserably. “Your back was to me. Do you have eyes in the back of your head or something?”

"I know everything when it comes to you," he laughed, the sound rich and warm, and it sent a shiver down my spine.

“You can look all you want, Princess,” he said, turning his head just enough to catch my eye. His grin was wide, almost touching his ears, and there was a sparkle in his eyes that made my heart race. “After all, I’m yours.”

His words hung in the air between us, heavy with meaning, and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe. He was mine. In that moment, with his eyes on mine and his smile lighting up the room, I believed him. And for the first time in what felt like forever, I allowed myself to hope that maybe, just maybe, we could defy destiny together.