Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 211 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 211

Finished

Chapter 211 Before Sunrise

Alpha Damian’s POV

The wounded warrior’s report silenced the entire wedding hall. I felt every wolf in the room react to the threat against Stonehedge before anyone even spoke. My own wolf surged forward, demanding I leave the hall right then and reach the eastern border before another warrior lost his life.

“How many attackers?” Alpha Magnus asked, his voice cutting through the silence.

The warrior struggled to stay on his feet, blood soaking through the torn fabric at his side. “We couldn’t tell exactly, Alpha, but they were organized. Fast. They knew our patrol routes.”

My jaw tightened.

“Did you identify the pack?”

He shook his head. “No, Alpha Damian. But they left a message.”

He swallowed hard, and the whole hall seemed to hold its breath for what came next. “They said Stonehedge will fall before sunrise.”

A low growl broke from my throat before I could stop it, and several wolves nearby lowered their heads at the weight of my presence. My wolf recognized the words for exactly what they were. Not a random raid on the border. A direct challenge to Stonehedge itself.

Alpha Magnus rose from his chair.

“Seal the eastern border. Now.”

His command moved through the hall like a current, and the Stonehedge warriors responded without hesitation. Phones came out. Men split off to alert the northern and southern patrol points within seconds.

I looked toward Flourish.

She stood exactly where I had left her after bringing her back into the hall, her face composed despite everything that had happened that night. She had been taken only hours ago.

She had learned that someone tied to F-Tech was behind it. And now she was hearing an enemy declare war on her father’s pack.

Our eyes met.

“I need to go,” I said.

1/5

12:26 Thu, Oct 1

Chapter 211 Before Sunrise

M

23

Finished

Her fingers curled tighter around the fabric of her dress. “I know.”

I stepped closer, lowering my voice so it stayed between us. “Stay with Magnus.”

She searched my face. “What about you?”

“I’ll be at the border.”

She was already shaking her head. “Damian, you don’t even know who attacked them.”

“Exactly.”

I took her hand and held it firmly. Her pulse jumped fast beneath my fingers, and my wolf reacted to the touch with an instinct I couldn’t ignore, the need to keep her close and safe.

“You were taken once tonight already,” I said quietly. “I’m not leaving Stonehedge undefended while whoever did that is still out there.”

Her expression softened, though the worry didn’t leave her eyes.

“Then come back to me.”

The simple request landed harder than I expected it to.

“I will.”

Before either of us could say more, Alpha Magnus reached us. His eyes moved from Flourish to

then down to our joined hands.

me,

“Damian.”

I straightened.

“Take the first defense unit and head east,” he said. “I’ll send the second and third units after you, and I’ll stay here to coordinate the pack.”

I nodded. “And the western patrol?”

“Elder Marwin has it.”

“Good.”

Magnus lowered his voice so only I could hear him. “This attack came right after Flourish was taken.”

My attention sharpened.

2/5

12:26 Thu, Oct 1

Chapter 211 Before Sunrise

23

Finished

“I know.”

“No,” he said, watching me closely. “I don’t think you understand what I’m telling you.”

My wolf went still, alert.

He glanced toward the wounded warrior. “This wasn’t random. They wanted us distracted.”

I looked back at Flourish, and the executive aide’s warning came rushing back to me.

*Ask Alpha Garret about the truth.*

Then the attack had come.

My stomach turned over.

“You’re thinking what I’m thinking,” Magnus said.

“I am.”

His face hardened. “Then don’t confront Garret. Not yet.”

I didn’t answer him.

“Damian.”

“I heard you.”

His eyes narrowed, clearly not convinced I meant it.

Before either of us could say another word, a sharp howl cut through the night outside the estate. Another followed, then another, passing between the border warriors through the pack

link.

My wolf rose fully to the surface.

Something had already started.

“Damian!” A warrior burst through the entrance. “The eastern patrol needs reinforcements

now.”

I let go of Flourish’s hand.

Her fingers caught mine for one last second before slipping away.

“Come back,” she whispered.

3/5

12:26 Thu, Oct 1

Chapter 211 Before Sunrise

M

23

Finished

I met her eyes. “I will.”

I turned for the exit, but before I made it out, a strange scent stopped me cold.

My steps faltered.

It was faint, buried under the smoke, the blood, and the unfamiliar wolves crowding the estate grounds, but I recognized it instantly.

So did my wolf.

The scent belonged to someone from Stonehedge. I turned slowly back to the wounded warrior.

“Where exactly were you attacked?”

“Near the eastern watchtower.”

“Who was leading that patrol?”

He hesitated. “Beta Rowan’s former unit.”

The name made Flourish go still behind me. Rowan. Her dead mate. The former beta of Stonehedge.

I looked at her and watched the moment she understood what I’d just heard.

“That unit was disbanded after Rowan died,” she said quietly.

The warrior lowered his eyes. “Not completely, my lady.”

My wolf growled low in my chest.

“Who’s left?”

His face changed. “Three men.”

“Names.”

He opened his mouth to answer, but before a word came out, another warrior stumbled into the hall, blood covering nearly all of him.

“Alpha Damian! The eastern watchtower has fallen.”

The hall erupted into motion around us.

4/5

12:26 Thu, Oct 1

Chapter 211 Before Sunrise

I stepped forward. “Survivors?”

He looked straight at me.

“None.”

His voice dropped lower.

“And they left something for you.”

He reached into his torn jacket and pulled out a bloodstained scrap of black cloth.

My wolf recognized the scent on it before I even registered what I was seeing.

It was Flourish’s.

But she had been standing beside me the whole time.

ab

Underneath her scent was another one, one I hadn’t smelled since the night Rowan died.

My eyes lifted to Alpha Garret across the hall. He was already staring at the cloth.

Then the warrior spoke again.

23

Finished

“They said to give this to Lady Flourish. They said her father knows exactly why they came.”

My whole body went still.

Flourish turned toward Garret.

“Father?”

Garret’s face had drained of all color.

And for the first time since I had known him, Alpha Garret looked afraid.

68

B

379

12:26 Thu, Oct 1