Page 105 of Crystal Luna

The little girl nodded with tear-filled eyes of her own.

“Be their little ray of sunshine on their dark days, like you’ve always been mine—and make sure your dad practises his cooking.”

“I will.”

Asher’s heart throbbed as he watched the three of them, a mixture of sadness and jealousy. Isaiah himself was surprisingly envious. They both kept their distance as Beta Wayne and his family stepped up to say their goodbyes.

They could feel how overwhelmed she was so Isaiah leaned in once Evelyne stepped back. “Would you like to walk back slowly?”

Unable to look at them, she simply nodded.

With his hand tenderly on her lower back, Asher led Vel towards the village.

Their bond with her was so much clearer now that they could feel it all. Her emotions were all over the place, a raging storm of fear and uncertainty. As soon as they reached the path between the clearing and the village, Isaiah took her hand and stopped her in her tracks.

“Vel, please look at me.”

Though hesitant, she did.

“We can feel that you are overwhelmed, and we don’t wish to burden you more than we already are. If you like, we can part ways now and meet up in the morning.”

Asher didn’t like it but they both knew it was necessary. “We want to leave between six and seven, so just call for us once you’re up and ready, okay?”

They both felt the huge weight being lifted from her shoulders, and though her emotional storm was still present, it wasn’t as loud anymore.

Silently, she turned and walked into the woods. Just a few moments later, bones cracked as she shifted and disappeared into the night.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Velora

Velora ran without a destination in mind. All she knew was that she had to feel her paws sink into the ground. The only thing she could think about was leaving the twins behind and never looking back. The storm in her mind raged so violently that she couldn’t grasp a clear thought. She only looked back when she saw a dark shadow out of the corner of her eye.

Wayne’s wolf was chasing after her and her mind instinctively reached out to tell him to fuck off, but there was nothing but emptiness. That only infuriated her more. She ran faster but he caught up and to her surprise, he didn’t try to stop her. He stayed by her side until she past the border and continued further south.

He only slowed down when she did and when she collapsed out of sheer exhaustion and shifted, he caught her in his arms.

“Shh,” he hushed against her hair as he cradled her into his lap.

She was naked, but that wasn’t why she felt so exposed.

“It’s alright,” he whispered.

“No,” she cried, her mind only able to form that one word.

“I know.”

Instinctively, she reached for Heath and when she couldn’t find him in the link, she reached for Rayan.

Wayne held her close, his arms holding her in a tight, comforting grip.

There were no more tears, just pure horror as she internalised her new reality. She felt alone, exposed—vulnerable. Asher and Isaiah had nothing to offer her, nothing she wanted. All she cared about were the Howlers, but it had been stolen from her within the blink of an eye.

Wayne didn’t say anything, holding her tight until she passed out.

“We can’t let her go with them.”

Rayan’s voice was somewhere close, but Velora’s mind was still too clouded to think clearly.