The forest was quiet. Almost unnaturally quiet.
Rain had soaked the earth, turning the soil into mud that clung to Alan's boots. Every snap of a twig, every rustle of leaves, would normally alert him to prey—or intruders. But tonight, Alan was not hunting animals. He was hunting one wolf: his Luna.
For hours, he had followed faint traces of her scent, mixed with rain and fear. He had followed the scattered clues she had left behind: a bent twig here, a discarded cloak there. Each one brought a mixture of hope and dread. Please be alive. Please be alive.
He had feared this moment—the moment when he would find her—and yet, his instincts screamed that she was near.
Then he saw her.
Lying curled up against a large oak tree in the corner of a hidden glade. Her cloak was soaked, mud caked on her arms and face. Her eyes were open but empty, staring at nothing. She didn't move when he approached. Didn't even flinch.
Alan stopped a few feet away, chest heaving, wolf roaring inside him. Julia. My Luna.
He dropped to his knees beside her, hands trembling as he reached for her. She was cold, not just from the rain, but from everything she had endured. Her hands were stiff, her body tense.
"Julia…" he whispered, voice raw and broken. "I found you. Please… please, look at me."
But Julia didn't respond.
Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out. Her pupils were dilated, her gaze blank. The numbness that had taken over her heart was written plainly across her face.
Alan's wolf surged with desperation. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest, letting her rest against him. Her small, shaking form barely fit against his powerful frame, and yet he held her as if the very act of holding her could stitch the pieces of her shattered soul back together.
"Luna…" he whispered again. "I'm so sorry. I've been a fool. I've been a monster. But I'm here now. I swear… I won't leave you again."
Julia's body was limp against him. No warmth, no heartbeat of acknowledgment. Only silence.
Alan's own heart ached. His wolf cried out, frustrated, confused, and enraged all at once. She is mine. She is mine. She cannot stay broken. She cannot leave me like this.
He tilted her chin gently, forcing her eyes to meet his. Amber met grayish-blue, strength meeting emptiness.
"Julia, please… feel me. Feel me here. I'm not going anywhere. Not now. Not ever."
Still nothing.
Pain gripped Alan like a vice. How could he have let it come to this? How could he have lost her trust, lost her heart, lost… everything?
Her lips trembled, as if on the verge of speech, but the words never came. She pressed herself tighter against him, almost instinctively, yet without emotion. It was a shell, a shadow of the Luna he had loved, the Luna who had carried his child.
Tears blurred his vision. He pressed his forehead to hers, his voice dropping to a broken whisper.
"I should have protected you. I should have never let her hurt you. Never let her make you doubt me. I should have been there… every single moment."
Alan's claws dug slightly into the mud beneath them. His wolf pressed against him, furious, protective, desperate. She is mine. My mate. My Luna. And I will not lose her again.
Julia's breathing was shallow, almost imperceptible. Her wolf, Elara, seemed to slumber inside her, curled tight and silent. Alan felt the absence of warmth not just from her body, but from the bond. She had blocked him. She had built walls around her heart, walls that no Alpha should ever be able to breach—but she had done it.
Alan's jaw tightened. Anger mingled with grief. His amber eyes flared.
"You cannot hide from me. You cannot numb yourself forever," he growled. "I will be here until you remember. Until you feel again. Until you remember what it means to be my Luna."
The rain fell harder, drenching them both. Alan's coat stuck to his skin, yet he did not move. He would not let go. The forest could wash away the mud, the storm could drown out their sounds, but he would not release her from his arms. Not for a second.
Minutes passed. Hours, perhaps. Time lost all meaning in the forest of rain and despair. Alan whispered her name, spoke to her in low, trembling tones, told her stories of their past—of the first time he had seen her at the edge of the Blackthorn Manor, of the fire in her eyes that had once terrified and entranced him, of the soft laugh that had melted his cold Alpha heart.
Her eyes flickered. Just slightly. A shadow of recognition.
Alan held his breath.
"Julia…" he murmured, "it's me. Alan. Your Alpha. Your mate. Your… everything. Come back to me."
Her fingers twitched against his chest, weakly, almost imperceptibly. Her body shivered.
"It's okay," Alan whispered fiercely. "It's okay. You're safe now. I will protect you. I swear to the Moon Goddess, I will never leave you again."
Her wolf stirred. Elara's growl, low and protective, resonated faintly inside her. The bond quivered. The first real pulse since Olivia's betrayal.
Alan felt it. A flicker of life. A spark.
He kissed her forehead gently, held her closer, and whispered, "I will wait. I will stay. I will do whatever it takes to bring you back. You are mine. And no one—no one—will take you from me again."
Julia's body relaxed slightly against him, her head resting against his shoulder. She didn't speak. She didn't move much. But the tension, the unbearable numbness, had cracked just a little.
For Alan, that was enough. For now.
Outside, the storm raged. Inside Alan's arms, his Luna rested, fragile and broken—but alive.
And he swore to himself, the bond thrumming with a fierce, desperate energy:
I will bring her back. I will heal her. I will reclaim her heart, even if it takes my last breath.
The Alpha of Blackthorn had found his Luna. And though she was numbed, she was his.
For now.