Page 77 of Luna's New Reign
The room cracks with silence.
Lawrence looks like he’s about to break, his chest rising and falling in uneven gasps as he stares at Asani like he’s a monster. “There has to be another way.”
Asani shakes his head slowly. “If there is, I haven’t found it yet. The serum corrupts the wolf from the inside out. It’s not just about losing control—it’s about becoming somethingelse.”
Kehlani’s fists tremble at his sides, his entire body vibrating with the effort to hold himself together. I can see the anger in him, the disbelief, thefear. He doesn’t trust us—doesn’t trustme—but there’s no denying the truth in Asani’s words.
“Or,” Asani adds, the faintest smirk curling at the edge of his mouth, “maybe you’re just an asshole, and there’s nothing wrong with you at all.”
A bitter laugh escapes Kehlani before he can stop it and I almost smile at the way the tension cracks, just slightly. Asani knows exactly how to pull people out of their spirals, even if it’s with a backhanded insult.
Kehlani exhales sharply, dragging a hand through his dark hair. “Fine,” he growls. “Take the blood. I can’t put my mates at risk.”
Asani shrugs. “If I’m wrong, you can rub it in my face for the rest of your life.”
Kehlani glares at him for another long moment before finally nodding, his shoulders sagging slightly as if the fight’s been drained out of him. Asani prepares the syringe, extracting just enough for the color test I watched him do when we first discovered the existence of super wolves. He then empties the contents into a vial.
Asani holds it up to the light, his expression unreadable as he adds a drop of something clear into the mix. We wait. It only takes a moment for the reaction to happen—a faint, sickly shimmer of red that spreads like ink through water.
Asani exhales sharply, lowering the vial as he turns toward us. “It’s there,” he says simply, his tone clinical but edged with exhaustion. “The serum’s in his blood.”
Kehlani flinches as though he’s been struck, his jaw clenching as he stares straight ahead. Lawrence looks like he might crumble, his hand coming up to grip Kehlani’s shoulder, but the Alpha shrugs it off, his pride refusing the comfort.
“What does that mean?” Kehlani asks, his voice low, hard—like he’s daring Asani to say something he doesn’t want to hear.
Asani sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s not progressing as quickly as I’ve seen before,” he admits, placing the vial carefully on the counter. “Your wolf is fighting it. That’s probably why you’re still in control—for now.” He glances at Kehlani, his gaze sharp. “But make no mistake: this will overtake you if we don’t do something about it. You have time, though. Talk to your mates. Decide what you want to do. But I’ll be honest with you, Kehlani—once this accelerates, there’s no slowing it down.”
“I’m not even sure how it would have happened. I’ve only been on our lands and now yours.”
I drag a hand down my face. “Maybe when you came down here. It wouldn’t have been all in one journey. There’s many factors working against us and I can only imagine that the darkness is working against us from every side.”
Kehlani doesn’t say anything. He just bows his head slightly, the most respect I’ve seen from him since he’s been here. And then he heads out the door, Lawrence on his heels, the door shutting behind them with a dull thud.
I don’t move. Neither does Asani. For a moment, we just stare at the empty space where Kehlani and Lawrence had been. Finally, I exhale, raking a hand through my hair. “I don’t understand,” I mutter, my voice tight. “How the hell is everything working for us and against us at the same damn time?”
Asani chuckles bitterly, a sound without any real humor. “Welcome to leadership, Alpha.”
I glare at him, but it’s half-hearted at best. I’m too damn tired for this. “No, seriously,” I press, pacing a few steps before turning back to face him. “The magic’s back, but it’s unstable. The veil’s holding, but it’s cracking. Nepheline’s pregnant, which should be a damn miracle, but now she’s tied to the packlands in a way that could kill her if the magic dies. Andthis—” I gesture toward the empty exam table. “Super wolves. The First Alpha. It’s like we’re climbing uphill, and every time we get close to the top, something shoves us back down.”
Asani watches me silently for a beat before sighing and leaning against the counter, crossing his arms. “You’re thinking about what Silas said, aren’t you? About fate?” He shrugs. “Maybe he wasn’t wrong.”
My hands clench into fists at my sides. “Fate,” I bite out, “isn’t some beautiful thing that wraps everything up with a neat little bow. Everyone thinks fate is good—some guiding hand to help us—but it’s not.” I pause, my voice dropping lower. “Silas said that fate and Mother Nature don’t play nice. That the two are constantly at odds. And maybe that’s the problem.”
Asani tilts his head, studying me carefully. “You think the magic’s fighting itself.”
“I don’tthink,” I say tightly. “Iknow.”
It makes too much sense. The returning magic, the cracks in the veil, Nepheline’s connection to it all—none of it feels like it fits together neatly. It feels like something is pulling the strings, forcing everything to overlap in ways that shouldn’t be possible.
Asani’s expression softens, though his voice is still steady. “Then we figure it out. That’s what we do, isn’t it? We figure it out, and we fight back.”
I shake my head, frustration clawing at me. “Before we figure it out, we have to face them. Head-on. The pack of the Forbidden isn’t going to wait for us to sort through all this shit. If we don’t move first, they will.”
“And we will,” Asani agrees, his tone firm. “But not tonight. Go check on Nepheline. She’s the one holding all of this together—don’t forget that.”
I look at him sharply, ready to argue, but he’s right. Iknowhe’s right. Nepheline’s been my anchor through all of this, whether she knows it or not, and she needs me now more than ever.
Asani straightens, already turning back toward the counter where the blood samples sit. “I’ve got patients to see,” he mutters, more to himself than to me. “And wolves to test. I’ll keep you updated if I find anything.”