Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 233 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 233

Chapter 233 Eugene’s Concern

Lady Flourish’s POV

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The message on my phone stayed open between Damian and me, and I could barely look at the words again.

My mother was somewhere beneath Stonehedge, and the people holding her believed they could force me into their trap.

“You are not going alone,” Damian said.

“If I don’t go, they could kill her.”

“They could kill her even if you do.”

The words hurt because he was right. My wolf paced beneath my skin, reacting to fear and helplessness I couldn’t quite control.

Magnus stepped closer, phone in hand. “Rhys has teams moving through the eastern exits now.”

“Keep them searching,” Damian said.

Harold stayed by the wall, his bruised face serious. “We should assume whoever took Elara can still see what’s happening inside Stonehedge.”

I looked around the corridor. They had photographed Damian and me here before, known when we reached Midnight Society, and now they’d contacted me the moment we found Elara gone. My home no longer felt private.

Damian took my phone and deleted the photograph.

“Damian.”

“I saw enough.”

“You don’t know if she needs help.”

“I know she needs help.” His wolf pushed forward beneath his skin, and the Alpha pressure in the corridor made several warriors lower their heads. “But I will not let them use your mother to drag you into an ambush.”

I wanted to argue. Instead I looked away, because the fear of losing Elara was starting to make every thought in my head feel unreasonable.

Rhys called again, and Damian answered instantly. “Talk.”

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Chapter 233 Eugene’s Concern

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“We found movement near the eastern forest.”

My body tensed. “Do you have a visual?” Damian asked.

“Not yet.”

His jaw tightened. “Keep searching.”

The call ended. I stood quietly for a moment before he turned to me. “You need to leave this corridor.”

“I am not leaving Stonehedge.”

“I didn’t

say that.” His voice softened. “I said you need somewhere secure.”

My wolf reacted to his concern, and I hated that part of me wanted to lean into him.

Everything between us had grown more complicated since I learned about my blood, and now my mother was missing because of it.

“I need space.”

“Flourish.”

“Not away from Stonehedge. Just away from this room.”

He said nothing for several seconds, then nodded.

I left an hour later and went to my apartment. Not to run from Damian or Stonehedge, just to get a few hours away from warriors, alarms, tunnels, and people watching my every reaction.

My mother was missing. I couldn’t fix that by sitting in a room staring at my phone.

By afternoon I’d checked for messages from Damian at least six times. Updates came from Rhys and Magnus, but none of them gave me what I wanted. No one had found Elara.

My phone rang again. Eugene.

“Hello?”

“Flourish.” His voice changed immediately. “You sound exhausted.”

I closed my eyes. “It’s been a long night.”

“I saw the apology video.”

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Chapter 233 Eugene’s Concern

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Of course he had. Amber’s public apology had gone online that morning, and people were already talking about it across social media. I hadn’t read the comments.

“She’s apologized.”

He went quiet. “Flourish, I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

The concern caught me off guard. “I’m fine.”

“I don’t think you are.”

I leaned against the window. “Boss.”

“I’m not asking you to explain anything. I just don’t want you getting dragged into something you can’t handle.” He paused. “You free tonight? A new place opened near the legal district, a few of us are having dinner. I thought you should come, meet some people.”

I never usually turned down Eugene’s professional gatherings. He always made an effort to help me build connections, believing relationships in the legal community mattered, and if he thought I needed more exposure, he’d bring me along.

“I’ll come.”

“Good.” He sounded relieved. “Seven o’clock.”

After the call, I noticed a message from Damian. Any news from your end?

Nothing, I typed back.

Stay alert, came his reply.

I didn’t mention dinner until later, and when I did, he called immediately. “Where?”

“Near the legal district.”

“You’re going with Eugene?”

“And some colleagues.”

A short silence. “You’ll have security.” Not a question.

I sighed. “Damian.”

“Flourish.” I could hear the warning in his voice. “After last night, I’m not letting you move around alone.”

I wanted to argue, then remembered the photograph of my mother. “Fine.”

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Chapter 233 Eugene’s Concern

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By seven I was sitting in a private dining room with Eugene and several people from the legal community.

“Look who finally made it,” someone said.

Eugene smiled. “I told you she’d come.”

A man across from me leaned forward. “So this is the person Eugene keeps showing off.”

“Boss?”

He ignored me. “Flourish, this is Lewis Haetonian. One of the best criminal lawyers in the city.”

Lewis laughed. “Don’t exaggerate.” He turned to me. “We should get coffee sometime.”

Before I could answer, someone else asked, “Where’s Marvolo?”

Eugene checked his watch. “Something came up.”

“Mr. Fischer is always working.”

“Still single too, right?”

The conversation moved on without me, then Lewis turned back. “Flourish, are you seeing anyone?”

I froze. The question should have been simple. Instead I had no idea how to explain Damian. No boyfriend. No ordinary relationship.

A mate bond with an Alpha strong enough to pull at my wolf every time he was near.

“No,” Eugene answered for me. I turned toward him. “She recently got out of something complicated,” he added.

Several people reacted at once. “A woman like her got dumped?”

Eugene shot them a warning look. “Leave it.”

I looked down at my glass. Complicated was probably the safest word for Damian and me.

The door opened. A tall man walked in wearing silver rimmed glasses and a white shirt tucked neatly into dark trousers, polished and calm.

“Sorry I’m late.” He glanced around the table. “I hope I didn’t keep everyone waiting.”

Then his eyes landed on me, and the polite smile vanished.

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Chapter 233 Eugene’s Concern

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My wolf lifted her head at once. The man stood completely still.

Eugene waved toward the empty chair. “Marvolo, finally.”

He didn’t move right away, eyes fixed on me, and beneath the clean scent of his cologne, my wolf caught something else. A scent I recognized from the tunnels beneath Stonehedge.

My phone vibrated under the table. I looked down. An unknown number. One message.

Do not let Marvolo Fischer leave that room.

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