The Lunar Queen Chapter 21

Mason POV

I’m standing in the pack dining room as all the packs gather for dinner, and Kane is driving me crazy.

Every scent, every voice, every movement feels too loud, too sharp—like my body is here, but my mind is still stuck in that hospital room where she opened her eyes and I wasn’t there.

My dad walks up to me.

“Hey son, walk with me,” he says, guiding me out of the dining hall.

The second we step out, the noise dulls, but the tension doesn’t. It just settles deeper under my skin.

“Do not react. Lyric is awake.”

My heart stops as we keep walking.

Everything in me locks up—relief hitting first, fast and brutal, followed immediately by something darker that twists in my gut. Because I wasn’t there. Again.

“How are the borders?” he asks loudly.

“Everything is secure,” I reply.

“Are you sure?” I link him.

“Yes, Donovan linked me. She is asleep, alive, but she still needs to rest,” he links back.

Alive. The word should calm me. It doesn’t. Not when I know how close we came to losing her. Not when I know why.

“I need to see her,” I say.

“I don’t think that is a good idea,” he responds.

My jaw tightens instantly, heat crawling up my spine.

“Why? She is my mate,” I growl.

“Yes, but you are also the cause of her being there, even if you didn’t actually do anything,” he says.

That lands. Hard. Like a hit straight to the chest I can’t block. Because deep down—I know he’s right.

“Is the king there?” I snarl.

“I’m not sure, but it’s likely since he’s not here,” he responds.

Of course he is. He’s always there when she opens her eyes. Always there when I’m not.

“Why is he always there when she opens her eyes? She is my mate. MINE,” I roar.

“Calm down, son,” he says before cutting the link and walking away.

“We need to go to mate,” Kane roars in my mind.

He’s not just angry—he’s frantic. Pacing, clawing at the edges of my control like he’s ready to tear through me to get to her.

“We can’t, we have plans with Summer soon,” I grit out.

He roars again.

“NO,” he snarls.

The force of it makes my head pound, my vision flashing for a second as instinct and logic crash into each other.

I shut him out and head inside to look for Summer.

But even as I walk back into that room full of people, full of noise, full of everything that should matter—there’s only one thing stuck in my head.

She woke up… and I wasn’t there.

Lyric POV

I feel a bright, blinding light behind my eyes, making me groan.

It’s too sharp, cutting through me like it doesn’t belong here—like I don’t belong here yet.

“Too much,” I groan groggily.

“Close the blinds,” the deep voice says.

The light dims, and I open my eyes slowly.

Everything comes back in pieces—shapes first, then colors, then the dull ache that never really left.

“Better?” he asks.

I just nod.

My throat feels tight, dry, and like sandpaper.

“Water,” I rasp out.

A few seconds later, a straw is brought to my lips, and I swallow gulps of water, easing the tightness in my throat.

The relief is instant, but fragile—like it could disappear just as fast if I move wrong.

“Slow down,” he says with a chuckle.

I look up at him, and he is the most gorgeous wolf I have ever seen.

Not just handsome—something about him feels… steady. Grounding in a way I don’t understand yet.

He has tattoos down his arms and neck. His deep blue eyes look like they can see into my innermost hidden parts. A full beard and a strong jaw.

“Who are you?” I rasp out.

He smiles, and oh goddess, his smile is perfect.

Too easy. Too warm. It makes something in my chest shift when it shouldn’t.

“I’m Cole,” he says.

I look around for Winter. I know I heard her.

“What day is it?” I ask.

“Saturday, the 18th of May,” he says.

Three days.

Three days gone. Three days I don’t remember. Three days where anything could’ve happened.

“What happened?” I ask, memory foggy.

“I don’t think we should talk about that now. Winter should be back soon,” he says.

“May I have more water?” I ask, my throat drying too fast.

He grabs me more water.

“Do you know if I can sit up? It’s kind of weird talking to you while looking at a window,” I say.

He laughs, deep and real, and it sends chills through my entire body.

That doesn’t make sense. None of this does. Mason is my mate… so why does this feel… different?

“I will go get the doctor. She said your back needed to heal some before they flipped you,” he says before turning and walking out of the room.

Who is this man? Why is he so nice?

A few moments later, he walks in with Dr. Grant.

“Good morning, Lyric. It is good to see you awake,” she says warmly.

“Good to be awake. Glad it was after my birthday. I got out of going clubbing with Winter,” I say.

“Not a chance,” Winter says, walking into the room.

She comes and sits at my side.

“I’m so happy to hear your annoying voice. I have missed it,” she says, crying.

Her voice cracks halfway through, and that’s when it really hits me—how close this was. How close I came to not hearing her at all.

“Please don’t cry,” I say.

“So, doc, about me sitting up or lying on my back—I would rather not stay like this,” I say.

She walks to the bed and unwraps the bandages on my back.

“Your back has healed faster than I expected it to. I still want to keep them wrapped, and I have a cream for you to apply three times a day to lessen the scarring when it heals completely. But yes, you can sit up. Your Highness, if you don’t mind?” she says to Cole.

Your highness?

That word lands differently. Heavy. Like I should’ve recognized it sooner. Like I should know exactly who he is.

“Mind if I help you sit up, princess?” he asks gently.

He rolls me gently onto my back, then lifts me in his arms and sits me upright in the bed.

The second he touches me, my body reacts—subtle, but there. Not fear. Not pain. Something else I don’t want to look at too closely.

He smells so good, like coffee and cigar smoke.

After he puts a pillow behind me and gets me settled,

“Hey, doc, I can’t hear Nova. Is that permanent?” I ask.

The silence in my head is louder than anything else in this room.

“Probably not. You had a massive amount of silver in your body, as well as traces of wolfsbane,” she says. She will be back soon.

“So, you know what I am going to say, right?” she asks me, her voice stern.

“What happened?” I ask.

“Precisely,” she says.

“Can we wait until everyone is here? I would rather not relive that experience more than twice,” I say, feeling the rush of emotions way too fast.

It hits like a wave—too much, too fast, like my body remembers before my mind does.

My heart starts beating rapidly; my breaths are short.

“Lyric,” Winter yells.

“Hey, hey, look at me,” Cole says, grabbing my face in his hands.

“Breathe, you are safe. Tell me three things: one, what you see; two, what you smell; three, what you feel,” he says calmly.

“I see your eyes, blue like clear waters. I smell cigar smoke on you. And I feel your hands on my face,” I say my breathing evening out.

It works. It actually works. The panic loosens its grip just enough for me to breathe again.

“GET OFF MY MATE,” I hear Mason snarl, and panic takes over me again.

Not slow. Not gradual. Instant. Violent. Like my body doesn’t even hesitate before throwing me right back into it.

Tears fall before I even register them, and I’m thrown back into the school.

“No please, please I stayed away, please I swear I will leave him alone, I’m so sorry, I promise please,” I cry.

“Lyric,” I hear someone say.

I see Mason step closer, and I almost climb out of my bed until Cole grabs me.

“No please, tell him to leave, I don’t want him here, please—everything is worse when he is here. I just want to be free of this pain. Please, please,” I beg, voice cracking.

I don’t even realize what I’m saying until it’s already out—but it’s the truth. Being near him… makes everything worse.

Cole holds me in his arms.

“Hey, it’s okay, breathe, he’s gone,” he says.

His voice cuts through the panic again, steady, controlled—pulling me back piece by piece.

Next thing I know, I’m sucked into darkness.

But this time… it’s not just the pain pulling me under.

It’s the realization that the one person who’s supposed to be my safety…

is the one my body is trying to run from.