The Lunar Queen Chapter 75

Cole POV

When I get back to the pack, Mason and Hunter are waiting outside the gate.

My pace slows for half a second. Not hesitation—control. Barely.

I shift back as soon as I stop.

“Didn’t I say I would kill you if you stepped foot on my pack again, pup?” I say to Mason.

My voice is low, even—but my aura isn’t. It presses out hard enough that the guards shift their weight behind me.

“I’m not on your pack. I’m at the border,” Mason says.

“Cole, I’m sorry. I tried to keep him from showing up, but—” Hunter starts.

“He alpha-commanded you not to try and stop him,” I say, annoyed by this pup.

Hunter’s mouth shuts instantly. Good. I don’t have patience for explanations right now.

“What the fuck do you want, Mason?” I ask, walking toward the gate.

Each step deliberate. Measured. Like I’m deciding if I’m going to end this right here.

“I want to know what’s going on. Have you found her? Are you even looking?” he asks.

My jaw tightens. Teeth press together hard enough I feel it in my temples.

“Yes, I have found her, and I’m going to discuss getting her back now,” I say.

“Let me in. I need to be part of that conversation,” Mason says, stepping toward me.

That step? Wrong move.

“When I have a meeting with all the Alphas in the kingdom, then I will call you. Until then, I don’t need to tell you anything,” I say to him.

He growls.

“She was mine first,” he snarls.

“Just kill him already,” Zeus says.

My fingers curl at my sides, nails digging into my palms. One snap—that’s all it would take.

“That’s too easy,” I say to him.

“Mason, even when she was yours, she wasn’t yours. Not really,” I say.

“She was terrified to even be around you. The one time she let her guard down for you, she almost died,” I snarl at him.

I step into his space now. Close enough that if he breathes wrong, I’ll take his head off.

“So miss me with your ‘mine’ bullshit,” I say.

I look at Hunter.

“He’s becoming a problem. How is my sister?” I ask him.

“She called your parents and said she wanted to come home,” Hunter says.

And Mason growls.

“She is my mate and Luna. She isn’t going anywhere,” he says.

I laugh.

Short. Dry. No humor—just irritation.

“If you are here worrying about your ex-mate while your mate is home and pregnant, she needs to go home because clearly your priorities are messed up,” I say.

That one lands. I see it in the way his shoulders stiffen, the way his eyes flick—just for a second.

“Look, I have things to do to work on saving MY mate,” I say as the guards open the gate and let me in.

I don’t wait for another word. If I stay another second, I will kill him.

I shift back into Zeus and run to the palace.

The ground tears under my paws. Too slow. Still too slow.

“Meet me in my office,” I link Dom, Elias, Xavier, James, and the twins.

I’ve been trying to keep the twins out of things, but I have an offer for them.

When I get to my office again, Winter is there.

Same couch. Same position. Eyes hollow. She hasn’t moved—not really.

“Hey, little sis,” I say softly.

She’s lost so much weight, and the doctor is worried about their pup because she has barely been able to keep anything down and barely wants to leave my office.

“What are you doing in here, Win? You need to be resting,” I say.

“I can’t. She isn’t resting,” she says.

That hits. Quiet. Sharp. I don’t respond right away.

“I found her,” I say gently.

Her eyes go wide.

That’s the first real reaction I’ve gotten out of her in days.

“So why isn’t she here?” she asks.

“I need a witch just as powerful as Lyric or more to break the spell on the rogue settlement,” I say.

“Or we have to kill the dark witch who cast it,” I say just as all the guys pile into the office.

Dom does what he’s been doing every day since the coronation—he walks in and sits her on his lap.

His hand moves automatically, grounding her. He doesn’t even think about it anymore.

“Okay, a few things. Mason has posted himself at the border because he isn’t allowed in the pack. I’m hanging onto control by a thread. Zeus wants to kill him,” I say.

“Why is he doing all of this?” Winter asks.

“Lyric gave him his memories back,” I say.

Her eyes go wide.

That one hits harder than the rest.

“Why would she do that?” she asks.

“He asked her to, and he promised her he would let her go,” I say, shaking my head.

I scoff under my breath. Promises mean nothing now.

“Aria is going to reject him,” Elias says.

“Yeah, I know. Especially if he doesn’t get his shit together,” I say.

I wave my hand in the air.

“Enough about the pup. I found my mate,” I say, and silence fills the room.

No shifting. No breathing. Everyone locks in.

Jace speaks first.

“Why haven’t we left to go get her yet, then?” he asks.

“Because the rogue settlement is being hidden by a blood spell, and we need a very powerful witch or kill the witch who cast it,” I say to them.

“So why can't Sable do it?” Elias asks.

James shakes his head.

“Sable isn’t even as powerful as Lyric, and she just started learning magic,” James says.

“She taught her what she knows, but there’s a lot of stuff Sable doesn’t know, and she is a mid-level witch and not what we need,” he adds.

“Okay, so does she know one?” Logan asks him.

“I don’t think so. She was living with the humans when she discovered she was a witch, and then she found her mate, who is a bear. She is basically self-taught,” he says.

“Okay, so then we search for a powerful witch and work on killing the witch,” Dom says.

“Wait,” Winter says,

and we all pause and look at her.

“How did you find her?” she asks, looking at me.

Her voice is steadier now. Focused. That’s better.

“We ran back to the spot we felt the pups the strongest that day, and there was a witch waiting there. She said she knew Lyric, and she was waiting for me to come back every day. Her mate is close to David, and they are trying to get her out, but she can go into labor any day now, so that makes things harder. Then she told me about the spell and told me I was standing on the grounds of the settlement, but the spell makes it look empty to everyone who isn’t part of it or the witch,” I say.

“Fuck, that complicates things,” Logan says.

“Yeah. Back to the witch—the girl says she has a shop in the unclaimed territory, and she is also her mother. But if Lyric is willing to help her and trusts her, then I trust her,” I say.

No hesitation. I don’t question Lyric’s instincts. Ever.

“Okay, so are we going to go pay her a visit to this witch?” Dom asks.

I shake my head.

“Not yet. She isn’t a regular witch—she is the high priestess of her coven,” I say.

Everybody stills at that.

That changes the room. You can feel it.

“Okay, that changes things because now killing her isn’t so simple,” Elias says.

I nod my head.

“Exactly,” I say, leaning back in my chair.

The chair creaks under my grip. I don’t even realize I’m squeezing it that hard until it protests.

Knowing where she is and I can’t reach her or feel her is driving Zeus and me crazy.

Zeus doesn’t settle—he paces, claws dragging through my head, pushing, pushing, pushing. Move. Kill. Fix it.

“We need to gather the Alphas of every pack in the kingdom and the ones who are here as well and have a meeting. The guards at the runes said rogues have been sniffing around at the entrance just outside the borders,” I say.

“And they didn’t engage?” James asks.

“No, they left as soon as they saw the guards,” Dom says.

Testing. Watching. Waiting for us to slip.

I look at the twins.

“So Jace, Logan, I have a question,” I say.

They both look at me.

“How would you both like to be my gammas?” I ask.

They both freeze and look at each other, then their eyes glaze over as they talk to each other.

Decision made before they even speak. I see it.

When their eyes clear, they are both grinning.

“Yes, we accept,” they say in unison.

“Anything to protect our sister,” Jace says.

I smile big.

“Good. She will be happy for that,” I say.

She will be back to see it. I’m making sure of that.

And then I turn to James.

“I want you to be her personal guard,” I say.

“I can’t stay. I have to go back and take my place as the bear king. My father will fall,” he says.

I nod.

“I understand. I think we should take the fight to them,” I say.

“They all need that magic to make their moves, including the witches. That’s why they all want Lyric and the triplets,” I say, thinking this through.

“I say we make the first move,” I say more to myself than to the room.

Waiting isn’t getting her back. Taking something will.

“Dom, get in touch with the Alphas that haven’t come here and tell them there is a meeting happening in two days. If they can’t get here, they must be available via video calls. Elias, Xavier, start looking for a witch that can help us break the spell, even if we need to go to other kingdoms. I will reach out to Tobias, the Alpha King of the North, and see if he knows of any powerful witches willing to help me. Time is very limited, so let’s move fast,” I say.

“Winter, please call Hunter and let him know what is going on because as much as I don’t like it, Mason is currently acting Alpha of Moonveil,” I say to her.

“Yes, Alpha,” she says.

“And Winter, please eat and take care of yourself and my niece or nephew,” I say, locking eyes with her, letting the command softly wash over her.

“Yes, Alpha,” she says.

Dom locks eyes with me and nods his head.

“Dom, make sure we get the room ready for Serena. She may be useful in getting to the dark witch,” I say.

“Got it,” he says.

Everybody stands to go do their tasks, and I’m stuck back in the silence again without her.

Door closes. Silence hits instantly. Too quiet. I hate it.

Knowing where she is settles Zeus a small amount, knowing that there are at least two people in that place trying to protect her.

David thinks he's won, but I just haven’t played my hand yet.

And when I do—

it won’t be quiet, it won’t be clean,

and nobody in that place is walking out alive.