Page 43 of Luna's New Reign
Four packs. I don’t know if I should feel awe or terror. Probably both. “But what if I’m not ready for this?” I whisper, the words spilling out. My voice cracks and I hate how small it sounds. “What if I screw it all up? I’m not—”
“Youare,” Mateo interrupts as he squeezes my hand. “You’re stronger than you think, princess. And you don’t have to be perfect. We’ll figure this out together like we always do.”
Darius grunts softly in agreement. “You’ve already done more than anyone could ask of you, Luna. You’ll be a damn good mother.”
“And you’ve got us,” Remi chimes in, his teasing grin softening as he brushes a lock of hair out of my face. “We’ll spoil that kid rotten, don’t worry.”
I let out a shaky breath, my lips twitching into a faint smile despite the whirlwind in my head. “You’re all so sure.”
“Because we know you,” Maverick says simply, his arms tightening around me. “And we believe in you.”
Three months. It’s not enough time. It’s too much, too fast, toobig.
But apparently Mother Nature waits for no one and the little bean in my belly is telling me it’s time. Which means I have three months to bring my brother home and get rid of the darkness threatening the magic on our lands because when my child is born to this pack, it’s going to be into a world of peace.
I swear it.
22
MATEO
How the fuck am I supposed to concentrate knowing that our Omega is pregnant—that we only havethreemonths before our first child is brought into the world? I could have spent the rest of the month in her nest, loving her, telling her how precious she was but the darkness won’t wait for us.
The council room is too quiet, save for the faint scratch of a pen across paper and the rustle of documents being shifted. I sit at the head of the table, hunched over my father’s old files, my elbows braced on the smooth wood, my temples pounding as I try to make sense of any of this.
My father—Ilsa— and Calista. They made it all look so fucking easy. Even when the Nightshade pack was fractured, even when blood was running through the damn packlands, they still held control like it wasnatural. And now? Now everything feels like it’s slipping through my fingers and I don’t know how to stop it.
The documents in front of me are faded, notes scrawled in my father’s tight, deliberate handwriting. There’s nothing here,nothing that gives me answers—everything destroyed when the house in the crystal forest was burnt down and I have to bite back the urge to shove everything off the table and let it crash to the floor. I need something—anything.
Kehlani sits at the opposite head of the table, his posture unnervingly calm, one hand resting against his chin as he watches me. He’s flanked by Bo and Elias, both of whom look equally tense despite their silence. Bo’s fingers tap against the edge of the table, while Elias—one of the younger council members—glances at the papers in front of him as if they might suddenly change.
Maverick sits against the far wall, his dark eyes fixed on everything and nothing at once. He doesn’t say a word, doesn’t move, and yet I can feel him there. Watching. Observing. Like he’s seeing something the rest of us can’t.
“Anything yet?” Bo asks, breaking the silence.
I lift my head, running a hand through my hair as I glare at the scattered papers. “No,” I grit out. “There’s nothing useful here. My father made this look so simple. Even Calista…” I trail off, my voice bitter. “Even she managed to hold the pack together, evil or not. What the hell am I missing?”
Kehlani’s eyes flicker toward me and though he doesn’t say it, I can see the faintest trace of doubt in his gaze. It’s like a dagger in my chest, and I force myself to hold his stare.
“Maybe this isn’t about what you’re missing,” Kehlani says finally. “Maybe this is about what you’re holding onto.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Care to explain?”
Kehlani shrugs, his expression unreadable. “Your father built the Nightshades to survive in chaos. You’re trying to build something else, Mateo—something better. But you’re still looking to him, to her, for answers.” He leans back in his chair, folding his hands in his lap. “Maybe you need to stop trying to play by their rules.”
Before I can say anything, Maverick cuts into the conversation. “Kehlani, I don’t believe that’s true. Every time you speak, it feels like you’re protecting something—your pack, maybe? You’ll bring back the magic, but only if you can control it. And if you can’t?” He shrugs. “Then you’ll push for safety over everything else.”
Kehlani bristles at that. “And what’s so wrong with safety?”
Maverick doesn’t even blink. “Safety is one step away from stagnation.” My mind is already spiraling, already trying to piece everything together.
Nepheline’s whispers. The super wolf in town. Maverick’s growing magic, which he’s only just starting to train. River practically tearing himself apart trying to track down clues while the rest of us hit wall after wall.
Everything feels like it’sbuilding, like the earth is shifting beneath our feet, and none of us can find solid ground. The worst part is that every time I turn around, Kehlani is trying to pull my pack out from under me. Whether on purpose or because he’s terrified of facing the threat head-on, I don’t fucking know but it’s pissing me off.
This is thethirdtime this week we’ve been here and I’m fucking done.
I sift through a few more of the old papers in front of me—useless. They’ve brought me nothing but dead ends. I toss them back onto the table with a frustrated exhale, letting the sound cut through the suffocating silence.