Reclaiming My Broken Luna by Selene Souchon

Chapter 396: The Return

Astrid's POV

The forest was dark, the faint light of dawn barely piercing through the dense canopy above.

The weight of what had happened pressed down on us, so heavy it felt as though the air itself had thickened, making it hard to breathe.

No one spoke as we began the journey back to the Shadowfang Pack. Even the sounds of the forest seemed muted, as though nature itself understood the gravity of what had occurred.

Killian walked a few paces ahead of us, his posture stiff, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. The faint tremor in his shoulders betrayed the storm raging within him.

I wanted to reach out to him, to offer some kind of comfort, but the words wouldn't come.

What could I possibly say to ease the loss of a mother who had both scarred and saved us?

Nova walked beside me, her arms wrapped around herself despite the warmth of the night. Her usual fire was gone, replaced by a quiet stillness that unnerved me.

Drystan, ever vigilant, kept close to her, his expression hard, unreadable.

I glanced back, half expecting to see Rowena striding along behind us with that sharp, knowing look she always wore. But there was only empty space, and the memory of her lifeless eyes staring into the sky stabbed at my heart.

The silence between us was deafening. Every step we took seemed louder than it should have been, the crunch of leaves underfoot a cruel reminder that we were still here, still moving, while Rowena was not.

I couldn't stop replaying the moment in my mind-the look in her eyes as she shoved me aside, the quiet resignation as she accepted her fate.

Rowena, who had always been selfish, calculating, and cold, had done the unthinkable. She had saved us. She had saved me.

as I thought about it. Her sacrifice had been so sudden, so unexpected,

all the mistakes she had made, in the end, she had given us

in my mind as

She planned

always been a scheming and cunning woman. She would do even

in mind to sacrifice her life for us, then

slightly, his head lowering as we passed through a grove

a word since we left the clearing. His silence felt like a living thing, heavy and suffocating, wrapping itself

my steps, closing the distance between us. "Killian..." I hesitated, unsure of

his back turned on me, I could feel the

space, though my chest ached at the distance

a shadow, dark and unyielding. None of us had expected it. None of us

She had always seemed

Qu

her appear invincible. And yet, in her final moments, she had proven that

sw novel

was capable of

territory loomed ahead, tall and foreboding against the backdrop of

should have brought relief, but the weight in my chest

the Packlands surrounded us-home, safety, family-but none of it could erase the ache that

within the shadows. Asha stepped forward first, flanked by warriors, her sharp eyes scanning us with the precision of someone who'd spent

flickered between relief and dread as

clung to us

of the warriors exclaimed, the tension in his voice