The Lunar Queen Chapter 29

Lyric POV

This week flew by my dad came and signed the papers for me to graduate early. The countdown officially begins. It feels unreal, like everything is speeding up at once and I’m just trying to keep my footing before something pulls me under again. This does mean spending more time on Mason’s orbit at school, but I will try my hardest not to actually be seen talking to him, even though just feeling him close by is already enough to make my chest tighten in ways I don’t know how to control yet.

Today is our final exam because the next three weeks will be all about graduation and prom, which I am absolutely not going to.

“You know he will ask us to be his date,” Nova says.

“We can’t say yes; too many people will see me leave with him,” I say, already picturing the looks, the whispers, the way Summer’s eyes would lock onto me like she’s been waiting for this exact moment.

“Unless we don’t leave with him,” she suggests.

“Are you actually considering going with him?” I ask her, my stomach twisting because part of me already knows the answer before she says it.

“Yeah, he is our mate and he loves us, and we love him. We’ve been staying away from him; one night won’t kill us,” she replies.

“What about Cole?” I ask, and just saying his name makes something softer—and more dangerous—shift in my chest.

“I like him, but he isn’t our mate right now. Mason is, and he wants us,” she huffs.

“What about Summer?” I ask.

“She’s been quiet. We can’t prepare for an attack we don’t know is actually coming. We will just stay alert,” she says before retreating, leaving me alone with that uneasy feeling that quiet doesn’t mean safe—it just means waiting.

“So I’ve been thinking,” Mason links me.

“Uh-oh, that is never good,” I reply.

He laughs through the link, and the sound wraps around me in a way that feels too familiar, too easy, like slipping back into something I’m not sure I’m allowed to have anymore.

“Prom is coming up, and since you are technically a senior, I thought maybe we can go together,” he says hesitantly.

“What about Summer, Mason?” I ask, because her name is always there, always sitting between us whether we say it out loud or not.

“She won’t know. I will leave with Hunter and Micah, and Lucas will be your date,” he replies.

“You thought this through already?” I say, laughing, but there’s something about how quickly he answers that makes it clear this wasn’t a random idea—he’s been holding onto this.

“Yes, just say yes, please, my sunflower. It will be the only chance I have to spend time with you before I go to Alpha training. I’ve already missed so much time with you,” he says almost pleading, and that pulls at something deep in my chest that I don’t want to name.

“Say yes to our mate,” Nova urges.

“Fine,” I say.

“You don’t know how happy you just made me,” he responds, and I can feel it through the link—the warmth, the relief, the way his emotions brush against mine like they belong there.

As happy as I am that I said yes, something in my chest sinks instead of lifts, like I just agreed to something bigger than a dance—like I stepped into something I won’t be able to step back out of. I have a bad feeling about what that yes just cost me.

My phone ringing pulls me from my thoughts. Cole. My heart stutters hard enough that I have to steady my breathing before I answer, because for a second it feels like I got caught doing something wrong.

I answer after four rings. “Hello,” I say, trying to keep my voice normal.

“Hey, princess, what’s wrong?” he asks, instantly picking it up, and the way he says it—like he already knows something shifted—makes my throat tighten.

“He will be a good mate; he reads us well,” Nova says.

“Shut it, he isn’t our mate, remember,” I reply.

“Yeah, yet,” she says, retreating again.

“Mason just asked me to prom, and I said yes. We’ve been talking here and there through the link,” I tell him, my fingers curling slightly around my phone like I’m bracing for something I can’t see coming.

“So why does that make you sad?” he asks.

“Not sad, just confused,” I reply. Even to my own ears, it sounds like a lie I’m trying to make real.

“I’m confused about my feelings for him and my feelings for you. I’m confused about my feelings about rejecting him, and I’m scared about what Summer is planning,” I say, the words coming out faster now, like once I start I can’t stop them.

“I understand, and you don’t have to be confused about your feelings for me. I created an opportunity for them to grow, and I also told you who I am to you. I didn’t make this easy for you. So I’m sorry, princess,” he says.

“But I know you are worried about Summer, but if he has a plan for you and him to go without her finding out, you should go. He is your mate, princess, and he deserves the chance to show you what kind of mate he can be,” he says, and something in my chest tightens painfully at how steady his voice is, like he’s forcing himself to say the right thing instead of the thing he actually feels.

“But what does that mean for us?” I ask, my voice quieter now, because suddenly this feels like more than confusion—it feels like losing something before I even understand it.

“I’m not sure, but we will figure that out,” he says.

“Anyway, I just wanted to hear your voice. Enjoy your day. I will text you later,” he says before hanging up.

“He’s hurting,” Nova says.

“I know,” I reply, staring down at my phone longer than I should, like it might somehow give me an answer if I wait long enough.

“But we can’t change where we are right now,” I add as I head to therapy, even though it feels like every step I’m taking is pulling me deeper into something I don’t fully understand yet.

Cole POV

I didn’t realize how much it would bother me hearing about her and Mason. Just thinking about them being at prom together has me on edge, my jaw tightening without me realizing it, my wolf restless in a way that doesn’t settle no matter how much I try to ignore it.

Elias walks into my office.

“Hey bro, mom has been looking for you. She said the council has set up dates for you to find your chosen mate.”

I growl, “I already said I am not picking a chosen mate. I found my mate.”

“Hey, don’t kill the messenger. I’m just telling you what she said. What’s got your panties in a bunch?” he asks, and I glare at him.

“I just got off the phone with Lyric. She said Mason asked her to prom, and she said yes,” I say, the words tasting bitter the second they leave my mouth, like saying it out loud makes it more real.

“I’m honestly surprised she said yes after what happened,” he says.

“She’s strong, and she loves him. She said they’ve been talking through links here and there, and it’s been nice,” I say, annoyed, because even repeating it makes something in my chest tighten harder.

“What if she decides not to reject him?” he asks, sitting in the chair across from me.

“That is what scares me about all of this. Now that I have her in my life and have met her, I can see her in it. I can see her swollen with our pups in the future. I can see all of it,” I say, and the images hit too clear, too real, like something I’ve already lost instead of something I haven’t had yet.

There’s a knock at the door, and my Gamma, Caleb, walks in.

“Hey, Alpha, did anybody notice that our future Queen looks like the moon goddess’s only daughter, Eloise?” he says.

“What are you talking about? I’ve seen pictures of her, and no, she doesn’t,” I say.

“Yeah, that is because that is the way the packs over the centuries described her. But in the library, there is a painting of the first King standing next to her, and she is the exact replica of your mate,” he says.

“Show me,” I say, standing up, a strange unease settling in my chest before I even know why.

We walk to the library, and there in the hall of all the Kings and Queens before me, at the very beginning, is my great-great-great-grandfather and his mate.

Eloise Blackwood, the mate to Lucian Blackwood.

She was said to be the most powerful werewolf to live and was the only descendant of the moon goddess and her mate.

And when I look at her… it’s not similar. It’s not close. It’s exact. The same eyes. The same presence. The same pull that made my wolf recognize her before I ever understood why.

“So what does this mean?” Elias asks.

“Do you think this is why the council is pushing to have you choose a mate? Are they trying to keep the prophecy from coming true?” Caleb asks.

“Yes, but they don’t know I already found my mate,” I say, my voice quieter now, because suddenly this feels bigger than anything I thought I was dealing with.

“The rogue attacks have increased; they are searching for her more thoroughly now,” Chris says.

“I know, which is why nobody knows about her except us. I won’t even tell my parents, although my father and I need to talk,” I say, walking out of the library.

I find my father in the gardens in the middle of the palace; he has enjoyed coming here since he handed over the throne.

“Ah, my son, it is good to see you out of your office. What do I owe this visit?” he asks.

“I need to talk to you about Lucian,” I say. “What happened to his mate?”

That stops him in his tracks.

“Why do you want to know about that?” he asks.

“Dad?” I say.

“Son, some things are better left in the past,” he replies.

“Okay, so tell me about the prophecy about me and my fated mate,” I say.

His eyes snap to mine.

“How do you know about that?” he asks.

“Grandpa told me before he died. He said I needed to protect my mate with my life because on her 18th birthday, when she shifts, they will start looking for her,” I explain.

“Have you even found your—” he begins.

“Wait, you wouldn’t be asking any of these questions unless—” he says, putting it together.

“Oh my boy, you must not bring her here. It isn’t safe for her here. The council is waiting for their moment to strike. They are working with your uncle to steal the throne. If they get a hold of her, we are all doomed,” he warns.

“Why? What is so special about her?” I ask, even though something deep in my chest already knows I’m not going to like the answer.

“Son, your mate is the goddess’s daughter reborn. She is Eloise reincarnated—in physical form and wolf form. She possesses her same gifts and is just as powerful. She is more powerful than you,” he explains.

And for the first time since I found her… the fear isn’t about losing her to another male.

It’s about the entire world realizing exactly who she is… and coming for her before I’m strong enough to stop them.