Page 151 of Crystal Luna
‘Ely is the closest to you, but he still needs more time. Can you stall him, Vel?’ Isaiah asked. His thoughts were unsure, only because this left her to depend on Ely.
‘Wait until I signal for him.’
Though they didn’t like the idea, they trusted her. She didn’t want anyone interfering—not until she knew more.
“She was the most precious woman I knew. My heart still longs for her after all these years. When my men showed me a picture of who they believed to be the new Crystal Luna, I knew I had to find you.”
“What happened to her?” She hoped by asking about her mother, he would be more willing to share more about both of them.
“Once the bastard had her pregnant, he kept her hidden from me. He locked her away in a dark cell until she was forced to give birth. I tortured him for weeks, but he wouldn’t name a price for her. After I’d taken his last heartbeat, she came to me. But she was still under his spell.”
As he spoke, each word became more hateful and his hand slid down to grip her throat. It was as if he was in a trance, his fingers closed around her as if he pictured her father standing in front of him.
Acid crept up her throat. She didn’t want to believe a single word. She couldn’t believe that she was a product of hate—of force. She knew what it felt like to be violated that way.
Asher’s loving mind pressed past her struggle. ‘Don’t listen to him.’
‘This is his view—not your parents,’ Isaiah added.
A tiny flicker of hope sparked inside her, and Velora clung to that with the hope that this man was so full of hate he couldn’t see clearly.
“She took her life. I always thought she’d killed you too. It never occurred to me that she would hand you over to the pack that caused her pain.”
His nails now sunk into Velora’s skin, her breaths growing heavy as she tried to fill her lungs with oxygen.
“Who would’ve thought I would stumble across your path? Your alphas are stupid, letting you this far out of their sight without protection.”
Velora itched to slap the bastard. Her alphas weren’t stupid—and even if they were, no one got to say that but her.
She felt their amusement at the thought. She could also feel the burn in their muscles, but they pushed themselves harder.
‘Ely is close, Vel. Just keep him talking a little longer.’
‘You’re doing good,’ Asher added. ‘Not long anymore.’
“How did you get on the territory?”
Whatever trance the man had been in broke, and she instantly regretted her question. His mind was immediately catapulted into the present. He threw her against the nearest tree, her spine cracking and pain shooting through every limb. Her wolf itched to dig her claws into the man, but Velora kept her hidden, hoping the man didn’t know of her existence.
“The almost non-existent defence in the north was practically an open invitation. The idiots are so focused on Swiftport they forgot to watch their backs.”
The wolves approaching from behind grunted as if they were laughing along with him.
“Now, that will cost them their luna, but the question is: how far do we go?” he contemplated to himself, as he smirked down at her.
Velora played along, widening her eyes in mock fear. Secretly, she listened to the twins, who had tabs on all the wolves near her. Ely hovered nearby, but just out of detection from the rogues. She hated that it had to be Ely, but felt confident that he’d help her defeat them.
“I could kill you, but that would be far too easy. Or I could take you and bend them to my will. They’d do anything to get you back.” With a laugh that made her neck hair rise, he kneeled next to her and fisted her hair, yanking her upper body up. “Or I could just erase your father’s sight from you and make sure his blood dies with you.”
Velora’s confusion was masked by pain as he dug his claws along her lower stomach.
“Your pack would have their luna, but they’d fall apart without an heir.”
That was the final straw—her wolf no longer hid in the background. Velora pulled at the mind of the closest warrior and shifted.
Though it only took seconds, it was far too long for her liking. The moment her claws were at her disposal she threw the man so violently he landed at least twenty feet away. Before he or the other wolves could process what had happened, she stormed towards one of them and slashed him across the face.
Pain seared through her shoulder as the second wolf sank his teeth in, but that only fuelled her fire. Instead of a sad, pathetic whimper, she roared and turned her claws to him. His side split open like paper. Her shift did exactly what she wanted: caught them off guard.