Page 36 of Luna's New Reign
But I can’t sit back and wait. Not when the whispers of something darker are crawling at the edges of the packlands. Not when Nepheline wakes up shaking, haunted by visions and voices she won’t talk about. Not when I knowsomething—or someone—is pulling the strings.
Kehlani sighs, leaning back in his chair as he rubs a hand over his face. “This isn’t just about the super wolves, is it?”
“No,” I admit quietly. “It’s not.”
River shifts beside me, his voice low but firm as he finally speaks. “We’ve all felt it, Kehlani. The magic in the packlands ischanging and it’s drawing attention. If we’re not ready to defend ourselves, we’ll lose everything we’ve built.”
Kehlani glances at him, then back at me, his expression hard to read. “And you think you’re ready?”
“Explain it to me, Kehlani,” I demand, ignoring his question. “Why won’t you step forward to protect the packs? Why are you so dead-set on sitting back while threats keep building?”
Kehlani’s silver gaze narrows slightly as he shifts in his chair, still impossibly collected. “I didn’t say I won’t protect the packs. I said the packlands are the priority. We have the veil. The magic is returning. There is no need to stir chaos by chasing every lingering shadow out there. We aresafe.”
Safe. The word rings through my head like a taunt, snapping something inside me.
“Safe?” I bite out, my voice rising. “You think this issafe?When wolves are still out there, hiding in the dark, ready to tear through everything we’ve rebuilt? When my mate is hearing whispers that shouldn’t exist? When super wolves could be watching us right now? And you call thatsafe?”
Kehlani doesn’t respond, just sits there like the mountain he’s made himself into, unyielding. My wolf pushes against the edges of my control, begging to snap, but before I can lose it, River shifts slightly beside me.
I feel his glare before I even look at him.
It’s sharp, pointed, and enough to make me pause, sucking in a slow, shaky breath. River has that effect—he doesn’t have to say a word to make me stop spiraling, doesn’t have to do much of anything except be there. He waits for my shoulders to drop, for the flare of my anger to settle back into a steady burn, and then he turns his cool, unreadable gaze on Kehlani.
“If you let a problem fester, it doesn’t disappear,” River growls. “It gets worse. That’s what’s happening now. Ignoring this threatwon’t protect the packlands—it will put everything we’ve built at risk.”
Kehlani’s expression darkens, but River doesn’t give him a chance to argue.
“Do you think the pack exists in a bubble?” River continues, tilting his head slightly, his piercing gaze locking onto Kehlani’s. “Our wolves don’t stay here all the time. They go to the city. They work. They go to school. They have lives outside the boundaries of the packlands. If the world isn’t safe, then the packlands aren’t safe either. If you can’t see that, then you’re just as blind as Silas was.”
The room falls silent, River’s words hitting with the weight of a sledgehammer. Kehlani scoffs softly, the sound more dismissive than I can stomach.
“Then you’ll be fighting forever,” Kehlani mutters, leaning back in his chair as though the debate is already over. “There will always be something, someone—another threat waiting in the dark. You can’t neutralize them all.”
I push to my feet so suddenly my chair scrapes against the floor, the sound harsh in the quiet. “And?” I snap, throwing my arms out as I take a step closer to the table. My voice echoes, rough and full of the frustration I’ve been carrying for weeks. “Why wouldn’t we fight forever? Why wouldn’t we take every single step to make sure our wolves—ourfamily—are safe?”
Kehlani stares at me, brows drawn together like he can’t comprehend what I’m saying. I don’t let up.
“One day, we’ll have children,” I say, my voice dropping to a quieter but no less forceful tone. The words taste like a vow, like a promise, and they hit deeper than I expect. “One day, there will be pups running through these halls, laughing, growing,living.And when that day comes, I want every single one of them to do whatever they damn well please. I want them to go wherever they want to go, to live however they want to live,without looking over their shoulders. I don’t want to restrict them because I was too much of a coward to take steps to make the worldsafe.”
Silence follows, so heavy it could crush us all. I stare at Kehlani, daring him to argue, daring him to call me foolish or reckless one more time. My chest rises and falls with the effort to keep my wolf in check, but I don’t look away. When Kehlani doesn’t push back, I fix my seat and drop into it before focusing on the real issue that recently came up.
“There was an incident last night in town. A possible super wolf sighting,” I clarify, watching the reactions carefully. “We don’t know for certain, but the report came from two of our wolves who were working late near the outskirts. A figure—too fast, too large—was seen moving through the shadows. It disappeared before they could get a better look.”
River’s gaze flicks to mine but I don’t falter. I know what he’s thinking.If it’s happening this close to the packlands, we’re running out of time.
“What do you want us to do?” Bo asks.
“River will lead the initiative to scout the area.” I nod toward him, my guard and my lover. “The instructions are clear—no one engages. No one gets close. We’re there to scout, stay hidden, and use the anti-serum Asani crafted. One dart, then you disappear. Nothing else.”
Everyone murmurs their agreement but of course, Kehlani finds a problem with it. “And you think that’s going to work? You’re sending wolves to hunt something they can’t control. Something none of us fully understand.”
I don’t snap, but I want to. I grip the edge of the table harder, grounding myself. “It’s not hunting. It’s preparation. If the super wolves are this close, we need to know. We need to act before they do.”
Kehlani’s lips press into a thin line, but before he can speak, River steps forward, his calm voice cutting through the tension like a blade. “I’ll handpick the wolves myself,” he says, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Wolves I know and trust. If they can’t follow my instructions, they won’t be part of this.”
“I have wolves I can offer,” Kehlani says, his words clipped but careful. “Trained, experienced—”
“Can they follow orders?” River interrupts, tilting his head slightly as his sharp gaze lands on Kehlani. “Because if they can’t, they’ll only put themselves—and everyone else—at risk.”