The Lunar Queen Chapter 41

Mason POV

Seeing Lyric being herself—the carefree girl I’ve always known her to be—feels really good. It hits deeper than I expect, like something tight in my chest finally loosens just watching her move without hesitation, without that constant weight dragging her down. She is finally shining the way she always should have been able to.

“She is going to make a great Queen,” Kane says.

“Yeah, she will,” I reply. And for once, there’s no resistance behind it—no jealousy, no what-ifs—just acceptance settling in where everything else used to sit.

“Hey, where did you go?” Aria asks, squeezing my hand.

I smile at her. “I’m just thinking about how good it feels to see Lyric come out of that shell Summer stuffed her in,” I tell her.

Even saying it out loud makes something in my chest twist—because I saw it happen, piece by piece—and didn’t stop it. But looking at her now… you’d never know how close she came to breaking completely.

“Was she like this when she was younger?” she asks.

“Yeah, she was always a free spirit and carefree,” I reply. Always moving, always laughing, always pulling everyone else into whatever she was doing—even me, even when I didn’t want to admit I liked it.

“I’m glad you got her back,” she says.

I don’t correct her. Don’t tell her Lyric was never something to get back. I just nod, because this version of her—the one that isn’t hiding—that’s enough.

“So, can we go to the range? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you shoot, Sunny,” I suggest, looking behind me.

“I mean, if you all want to watch me embarrass you all, then sure,” she says.

“Hey, you won’t embarrass me. I’m a good shot,” Elias chimes in.

Dom and Xavier start laughing, and even Cole chuckles.

“Yeah, that’s because you haven’t seen your new sister shoot,” Dominic mutters.

“She smoked Cole out of the water,” Xavier adds.

“Head shots only, moving, at different distances and everything,” Cole says, looking at Lyric with awe.

I catch the way he looks at her—steady, locked in, like everything else fades when she’s in front of him—and I don’t feel that old pull to compete. Just something quieter. Respect.

“He is really good for her,” Kane comments.

“I know,” I reply.

“Well then, can we go there first? I need to see this,” Elias says.

“Hey, it’s my birthday, and I want to skate first,” Lyric pouts.

“You heard the Queen,” Cole says, smirking.

And nobody argues. Nobody pushes back. The room just moves with her, like it’s always been that simple—even though it never was before.

“So, Lyric, what kind of powers do you have?” Aria asks.

“Powers?” Felicity, Hunter’s mate, says.

“Yeah, have you ever heard about the first Luna Queen?” Aria inquires.

“Yeah, we heard stories about her growing up, but nobody has ever seen pictures unless they have actually been to the palace,” Felicity explains.

“Well, there she is—no pictures needed. Lyric is the exact replica, height and everything,” Aria states.

Her eyes widen in surprise. “Seriously?” she asks.

Lyric laughs.

“You are so adorable, and yes, I am Eloise reincarnated. My mother’s bloodline traces back to her pup with her fated mate,” I declare.

The words should feel heavier than they do—but the way she stands there, like it’s just another fact about herself, makes it feel… normal.

“Wait, I thought it was said she was going to return to wipe out the royal bloodline. How are you mated to Cole?” Iris, Elias’s mate, questions.

“She did, but the Moon Goddess and her siblings decided to change that because they saw that not every royal thought like the first king. So, they mated us and created the prophecy,” I explain.

“What’s the prophecy?” Felicity asks.

“‘She who was broken by the crown shall return, born into suffering, shaped by loss. Her pain shall awaken what was buried, and the blood that once ruled through fear shall be judged. At her side stands the heir spared by the Moon, and together they shall face the war of corrupted blood. What was silenced will rise until balance is restored,’” Lyric and Nova recite together.

The space shifts when they speak—quiet, heavy, like something bigger than all of us just pressed into the room and then stepped back out.

“Wow, how did you do that?” Felicity marvels.

“That wasn’t really me. I guess the Moon Goddess wanted to recite it herself,” Lyric responds.

“So, it’s more about the royals who want to take the throne?” Iris asks.

“Yeah, that’s too heavy for today,” Lyric says, shaking her head.

“I’m sure there will be plenty of time to discuss my destiny, but today is about fun,” she adds.

And just like that, she shifts the entire mood, pulling everyone out of that heavy space like it never settled there at all.

I notice Cole whispering in her ear, and whatever he says seems to calm her because his shoulders are less tense.

They move like they already know each other—like whatever this bond is, it didn’t wait for time to build.

“Okay, we are here,” Hunter says, and both cars stop as we all get out of the two SUVs.

When we step into the skating rink, Lyric is in her zone. Everybody just looks and smiles; you would never know she just woke up from a coma.

Like none of that ever touched her. Like she didn’t almost not come back at all.

Lyric POV

When we step into the skating rink, I’m instantly in a better mood. It hits me fast—the music, the noise, the movement—like something in my chest finally loosens instead of staying tight and waiting for the next thing to go wrong.

They are blasting Sweet Honey Buckin’ by Beyoncé, and I’m immediately ready to skate.

We all grab skates and change.

The moment I step onto the rink, I take off.

I let the music take me somewhere else and skate in my own world. No thinking. No remembering. Just moving—fast enough that nothing can catch me.

“Are you trying to have me take you in front of all your friends, my queen?” Cole teases me.

I turn around and start skating backward as I make eye contact with him.

“Not all my kings, maybe you should take your mind out of the gutter,” I respond.

“With you looking like that—dancing and skating like that—never,” he replies, and my panties are instantly wet.

The heat hits quick and low, catching me off guard enough that my rhythm stutters for half a second before I push through it.

“I can smell your arousal all the way over here, my little wolf,” he teases me, and I turn and skate away faster.

“You know Zeus and I love a game of cat and mouse,” he teases as he skates to catch me.

When he skates up behind me and picks me up, I yelp and giggle.

“Put me down, Cole,” I say through laughter.

“You ran; I thought you wanted me to catch you,” he says, kissing my mark and pulling a moan from me.

That one touch travels straight down my spine, sharp and electric, and my grip tightens on him without me meaning to.

He growls, “Later, little wolf,” as he nips my neck and puts me back down.

We all skate for a few more hours before heading over to the archery range.

When we step into the range, Ryan’s youngest pup spots me and runs from behind the counter.

“Lyric, you’re here!” Sierra screams, jumping into my arms.

“Hey, little one, I missed you,” I say to her.

“I thought you forgot about me; you didn’t come for a while,” she says sadly.

“I know, I was in the hospital. I had a lot of booboo’s,” I reply.

“Are you better now?” she asks.

“Much better,” I say. More than better, but I don’t even know how to explain that yet.

She looks behind me at Cole and leans close.

“He’s the tallest and biggest,” she whispers.

“Yes, well, he has to be if he’s going to protect all the wolves in our kingdom,” I say.

She gasps. “He’s the king?” she asks.

“Yes, and my mate,” I say, smiling.

She screams, “YOU’RE GOING TO BE THE QUEEN!”

We all laugh at her.

“Yes, I am. Want to meet him?” I ask.

She nods.

“He looks scary,” she whispers.

“He isn’t, he’s like a teddy bear,” I say, and Cole growls, making her hide behind me.

I shoot him a look instantly, my brows pulling together just enough for him to catch it.

“I’m sorry, princess,” he says to her.

“I’m not a princess,” she says.

“I can make you one,” he says, winking at her.

“Yes, please,” she squeals.

“You are now officially a princess,” he says, tapping both her shoulders.

Then, we all bow.

“Your highness,” we all say, and she giggles.

I walk to the counter with Sierra in my arms.

“Hey, Lyric, it’s good to see you again. Hopefully no more accidents,” he says, raising a brow.

“Nope, all handled,” I say.

“Bigger crowd this time,” he says.

“Yeah, well, I’m leaving in two days and today is my birthday, so we wanted to hang out,” I reply.

“No, you can’t leave,” Sierra says.

“But I have to, I can’t be Queen from here,” I say.

“Can I come?” she asks.

“I think your daddy will miss you,” I say.

“Let me get two lanes again, same rotation, add extra targets, and throw in some small targets,” I say.

“Coming up, need rentals?” he asks.

“Yeah, I didn’t come from the pack house,” I reply.

When we walk out to the lanes, Sierra holds my and Cole’s hands the whole way there.

“She likes you, my king,” I link him.

“She’s a cute pup. I can’t wait for our own,” he links back.

That lands deeper than it should, settling somewhere warm and heavy in my chest instead of just passing through.

“Soon, my love,” I say, and he freezes, looks at me, and I just wink at him.

“What did you see?” he links.

“A lot, my love. We will talk tonight,” I say, closing the link.

“Ready, Eli?” I ask.

“Oh, you are on,” he says, setting his bow up.

When the buzzer rings, we both get head shots.

By target four, he’s sweating.

When the buzzer rings and the targets come back, he looks at me in shock.

“All head shots. You didn’t miss a single one. How?” Eli asks.

I shrug my shoulders.

“When Mason and I were younger, he bought me a practice bow for my sixth birthday, and we used to practice behind the packhouse, using the warriors as targets. As I got older, we started coming here. Even after Mason stopped coming, I came with Winter or alone every day,” I explain.

“Teach me your ways,” he says, in awe.

“I will be teaching every wolf at the royal pack, and I hope to add it as part of the Royal Warrior Program. They don’t learn weapons at all,” I say, looking at my mate.

“You can do whatever you want, my queen,” he says.

“We just had to find your mate to get what we wanted?” Dom says, laughing.

“Okay, I’m hungry, so lunch?” I suggest.

Everybody quickly agrees.

“What activities are going on today?” Eli asks as we walk to the cars.

“I think there is a couple’s relay and trivia, as well as a pack run tonight and tomorrow night after the ball,” Mason says.

“Ohh, Nova can’t wait to be let out,” I say.

“I don’t think that is wise, my Queen,” Cole says as we climb into the car.

“It will be fine, I trust me. Nova and I got this,” I say, winking at him as we drive back home.

And I do trust myself…

but there’s a small part of me—quiet, almost buried—that knows this is the calm before something shifts again.