Moonborn Heir Novel Chapter 4 – I stagger into the cabin, barely able to keep my balance as I close the door behind me.
The darkness swallows me whole, heavy and oppressive. My legs give out, and I crumple onto the bed, the rough fabric scratching against my skin. But the discomfort barely registers – everything in me is unraveling.
My heart is raw, torn open from the bond severing with Kael. The memory of his rejection crashes over me in waves, each one sharper, deeper, more painful than the last. Rejected. Unwanted. Replaced. The words pound in my skull, a cruel litany I can’t silence.
And then there’s Lucian – his touch, his presence, his dark promise. Protection comes at a price. The heat of his breath against my skin lingers, unsettling and thrilling.
My body thrums with a dangerous awareness, a pulse of desire that I can’t afford to feel. Why do I react to him this way? I’m reeling, my emotions tangled into a knot of confusion, fear, and something I refuse to name.
But it’s not just about me. The child… Kael’s child. The Moonborn Heir. A fierce hunger claws at my insides, an insistent reminder that I’m not alone. I can feel his need, his thirst – my own throat is parched, my body trembling with exhaustion and starvation. I have to stay strong. For him. I have to keep us alive.
I moan, my voice breaking as I curl into myself, clutching my belly. Everything hurts my heart, my body, my soul. I’m so lost, so afraid. I don’t know if I made the right choice, leaving Shadow Ridge.
I don’t know if I can trust Lucian, if I’ve just traded one danger for another. My thoughts spiral, each one more frantic than the last, until I can’t tell where one fear ends and another begins.
“Eira…” I reach out to my wolf, desperate for an anchor. “Are you there? Please… talk to me.” I need her. I need my wolf’s guidance, her strength. Without her, I feel like I’m adrift, drowning in my own doubts and regrets.
For a long moment, there’s nothing. Just silence, so thick and suffocating I can barely breathe. And then, a soft, broken whimper echoes in my mind. “I’m here, Talia.” Her voice is faint, laced with pain, but it’s enough to pull me back from the edge. Tears sting my eyes as relief floods through me.
“I need your help,” I whisper, my voice cracking. “I don’t know what to do. I’m so lost, Eira…I need guidance. Please.”
“Sit up,” she urges gently, her tone soothing even through the weight of her own hurt. “Look beside the bed.”
It takes everything I have to push myself up, my limbs heavy and uncooperative. My vision swims, but I turn my head, following Eira’s direction. There, beside the bed, is a jug of water, glistening with droplets that catch the dim light. I stare at it, disbelief warring with desperation, until instinct takes over.
I reach for it, my hands trembling as I lift it to my lips and gulp down the cool, life-giving liquid. The relief is immediate, the water soothing the raw burn in my throat, clearing away some of the haze clouding my thoughts.
“Thank you,” I murmur to Eira, my voice thick with emotion. “But how did you… make this water appear?”
“I didn’t,” she says, almost bemused. “Lucian had it placed there for you.”
My pulse races again at the mention of his name, but my breath eases as I think of his caring gesture. “How are you?” I ask Eira.
“Hurt,” she admits, her words tinged with sorrow that mirrors my own. “But I’ll recover, in time.”
“I’m so sorry,” I choke out, fresh tears spilling over. “I put you through hell, and I don’t know if it was right. Leaving the pack…Kael…” The name sticks in my throat. “And now Lucian…Can we trust him? Did I make a terrible mistake?”
Her presence washes over me, warm and steady. “You did what you had to do,” she says softly. “You left to protect your child. To protect the heir. That’s your purpose now, Talia. It’s worth more than anything you’ve left behind.”
I clutch my belly, the truth of her words sinking in like a knife. “But Lucian…” I whisper, fear curling around my heart. “What if he’s just as dangerous? What if he wants the same thing Kael did – to use I us?”
“Fate brought you here for a reason,” Eira replies, her voice stronger, more certain. “The Prophecy is more powerful than either of us can understand. It will guide you, even when everything feels hopeless. Trust it. Trust yourself.”
Her conviction steadies me, and for the first time since the bond snapped, I feel a flicker of hope. “You’re right,” I murmur, letting her words wrap around me like a shield. “I have to keep going. For him. For the Moonborn Heir.”
“Yes,” Eira whispers, her voice a promise. “For the Heir.”
As I lower myself back onto the bed, the water settling in my stomach, the exhaustion crashes over me again, but it’s different now. Less of a weight dragging me down, more of a cloak I can pull around myself for warmth. I close my eyes, feeling Eira’s presence beside me, and let the fear and uncertainty bleed away. Whatever comes next, I’ll face it. I have to. For him.
A sudden knock breaks through my thoughts, making me jump. I don’t answer, hoping whoever it is will just go away, but the door creaks open, and Lucian steps inside. His gaze is intense, his expression unreadable as he takes me in, sitting alone in the dim light.
“I wanted to make sure you were settled,” he says, voice low, almost gentle. He glances at the water jug, nearly empty from all the water I’ve gulped down.
I force myself to sit up straighter, trying to mask the vulnerability I feel. “I’m fine,” I say, but my voice wavers, betraying the lie.
He watches me, his gaze lingering, and the silence stretches between us. I want to look away, but I can’t. Something about the way he’s watching me makes me feel seen, as though he’s looking past all my defenses, straight into the fractured mess I’m trying to hold together.
Without a word, he steps closer, his presence filling the small space. My heart races again, a chaotic rhythm I can’t control. “You’ve been through a lot,” he murmurs, and there’s something unexpectedly soft in his voice, a tone I haven’t heard before. It’s enough to make the walls I’ve built start to crumble, just a little.
“Why do you care?” I ask, barely able to get the words out. I don’t understand him, this Alpha who seems so cold and calculated, yet here he is, looking at me like he can feel my pain.
His gaze darkens, something fierce and protective flickering in his eyes. “Because I know what it’s like to be alone.”
The admission catches me off guard, hitting deeper than I expect.
The admission catches me off guard, hitting deeper than I expect.
I can’t stop myself from asking, the words slipping out before I can think them through. “Don’t you have a Luna?”
His expression changes, a flicker of something haunted crossing his face before he steadies himself. “Not anymore.” His voice is low, barely a murmur. “My previous Luna…she died. Over a year ago.”
The impact of his words settles over me, and I feel a pang of sympathy I didn’t expect. “I’m…I’m so sorry,” I whisper, my voice thick with genuine sorrow.
He nods, a distant look in his eyes as he continues. “She was on patrol with Cade when they were ambushed by a rogue pack. She fought well, but…by the time Cade got her back to camp, she was dead.” His gaze falls, as if reliving the memory, and I can sense the lingering pain he tries so hard to hide.
Without thinking, I reach out, my hand brushing against his arm. “That must have been…incredibly hard.”
He looks down at where my hand rests on his arm, and for a moment, he seems lost in thought, as though he’s weighing whether to share more.
Finally, he speaks, his voice tinged with resignation. “I thought about taking a new Luna. Someone to share the responsibility, to lead beside me. But…” He hesitates, his jaw clenching as he struggles for the right words. “I haven’t felt the bond with anyone at least, not in the way it should be. Not the way a true Alpha and Luna are meant to be connected.”
He pauses, his gaze meeting mine with an intensity that’s almost unsettling. “A pack depends on that connection. Without it…it feels hollow, forced. And I won’t choose a Luna I don’t feel that bond with.”
The quiet conviction in his voice makes something stir inside me, and I find myself holding his gaze, caught in the depth of his words. He’s searching my face, his expression unreadable, as though he’s looking for some answer, something he hasn’t found before.
Almost without realizing it, I reach for him again, my hand lingering on his arm. The contact sends a shock through me, an electric pulse that makes my breath hitch. He doesn’t pull away; instead, his hand covers mine, strong and warm, grounding me in a way I haven’t felt in a long time.
“Lucian…” I whisper, my voice barely a thread of sound. I don’t know what I’m asking for, don’t even know what I need, but the intensity of his gaze holds me captive, as if he’s willing me to let go of the pain that’s been choking me since Kael’s rejection.
In a moment of weakness, I let myself lean into him, my head resting against his chest. His arm wraps around me, steady and reassuring, and I close my eyes, letting myself feel the strength of his presence. It’s dangerous, I know, to rely on anyone again, but right now, I don’t care. Right now, I just need someone to hold me together.
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