hapter 319

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    The woman’s voice cracked as she clutched the trembling child in her arms, tears spilling freely.

    “It’s all Mama’s fault. Mama didn’t protect you… that’s why the bad ones stole you away.” Her body shook, desperation radiating from her like a fever.

    Aurora’s tears streamed down her round checks, her little fists clutching the stranger’s tunic. “I don’t know you! Let me go! I want my Papa, I want my Great- Grandmother…” Her voice broke into sobs, raw and terrified,

    Pain and madness flickered in the woman’s eyes–Luna Zara, once mother of Riley of the Ebonw Pack, long broken by guilt. She pressed the child tighter against her chest, as though she could will time itself to turn back.

    “No, you are my daughter. My Riley. Come home with me. We’ll never be apart again.”

    Aurora’s wails grew sharper, her wolf–pup instincts calling out for her blood pack. And it was then that Lucien Duskgrave, Alpha Prince of the Stormridge Pack, arrived.

    From the courtyard gates, he caught sight of his daughter ensnared in the arms of a raving woman. The sound of Aurora’s cries tore through him like ws raking down his heart. His wolf surged to the surface, eyes zing gold, fangs lengthening. His blood roared with killing intent.

    In a blur, he crossed the space. His hand mped onto Luna Zara’s arm like an iron vice. With a savage twist, bones cracked beneath his grip. Zara’s shriek split the air as her bnce broke.

    Lucien pulled Aurora free, sweeping her into his arms with the swiftness of a predator reiming what was his. With one brutal kick, he sent the madwoman crashing across the courtyard stones.

    Aurora buried her face into his chest, her tiny hands clutching his neck as her sobs turned frantic. “Papa–I’m scared!”

    Lucien’s rage melted into anguish. He rocked her gently, one massive hand cradling her back, his voice low and soothing despite the storm of violence in his

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    19:40 Wed, 3 Sept bR /b

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    veins. “No more fear, little one. Papa’s here. I should have been faster. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”

    Aurora lifted her tear–streaked face, eyes wide and ssy. Through her sobs, her voice carried a child’s fierce conviction. “Papa is the best… the very best Papa in the whole world.”

    A softness broke through Lucien’s Alpha ferocity. He pressed a kiss to her damp forehead, whispering against her skin, “I promise. I will never bete again.”

    Aurora nodded, her small head tucking beneath his chin, though her little body still shook with fright. Each sob was a dagger to Lucien’s chest. In those days of raising her under Stormridge’s protection, she had never cried like this. Today, a single deranged wolf had managed to terrify his pup. His fury sharpened.

    When his gaze fell upon the woman sprawled on the ground, recognition struck. Beneath the madness, the gaunt features belonged to none other than Luna Zara— Riley’s mother.

    Zara staggered to her knees, reaching out toward Aurora, her voice raw with obsession. “Riley… my Riley…”

    Lucien’s lips curled in a cold snarl. His wolf growled deep in his chest, every note dripping contempt. Late love is cheaper than ash.

    When Riley had been alive, she had been beaten, scorned, discarded by her own blood in the Ebonw Pack. Not once had Luna Zara raised her voice to shield her daughter. And now, with Riley gone to the grave, Zara emerged, mistaking Aurora for the child she had abandoned. Lucien’s rage was molten.

    “Chain her,” Lucien ordered, his tone carrying the weight of an Alpha’s decree. “I never want to isee /iher face near my pup again.”

    Caelum stepped forward without hesitation. His grip locked onto Zara’s shoulders, forcing her down. She fought like a cornered animal, her nails wing at empty air, tears streaming. “No! I won’t go back! I only want my daughter! Give her to me -Riley,e back to Marna!”

    Her eyes, wild and unhinged, never left Aurora. “Please…e with me. Mama misses you. I’ll protect you this time, I swear it…”

    But Aurora buried herself deeper in Lucien’s embrace, trembling. The Alpha

    III

    19:40 Wed, 3 Sept b1 /b

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    Prince lifted her, turning away from the scene, shielding her from Zara’s madness. His stride toward the waiting car was swift, each step a vow carved into stone.

    Behind him, Zara screamed, thrashing against Caelum’s grip. “Don’t take her from me! She’s mine! She’s my daughter!”

    The warriors of Stormridge closed in, their growls vibrating through the courtyard. Zara’s scent was madness and decay, her wolf broken beyond repair.

    Caelum’s voice cut through her cries like a de. “Your daughter has been dead for two years. What you clutch at is nothing but a ghost.”

    “No!” Zara’s howl shook with denial, her body convulsing. “You’re lying! My Riley is alive–she has to be alive! She will live forever. She will never leave me!” Her voice dwindled into muttering, her form crumpling beneath the Beta’s grip.

    Even when the iron chains were fastened around her wrists and ankles, she continued whispering Riley’s name, as though summoning a spirit that would

    never return.

    Caelum’s face was carved from stone as he dragged her back to confinement. “The Alphamands: guard her well. She escapes again, you answer with your lives.”

    The terrified wardens of the Mooncrest asylum swore their oaths, promising vignce.

    Thus Luna Zara was cast back into the iron darkness, shackles biting into her limbs. Never again would she walk free beneath the moon. For the rest of her days, she would be left with nothing but chains, regret, and the endless echo of Riley’s name–her prayers unanswered, her wolf rotting in madness.

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