Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 251 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 251

Chapter 251 Beneath The Council Table

Lady Flourish POV

Nez

Finish

The floor split beneath the council table, and the elders scattered as stones dropped into the darkness. Harold caught my arm and pulled me away just before another section broke loose, sending dust across the chamber.

“Back!” Magnus shouted.

The guards moved at once, forming a line between the council members and the widening ga Several elders stumbled over their chairs, while the lawyer clutched the folder of financial records against his chest and hurried behind them.

Harold kept hold of my arm until we reached the guards. His grip was firm, and his eyes stayec on the opening.

“Are you hurt?”

“No.” I pulled my arm free. “What’s happening?”

He didn’t answer immediately. The old markings around the broken floor glowed brighter, spreading along the stone in thin lines that reached toward my feet.

My blood had triggered them before. I could feel the faint pressure of the ward reacting to my presence, though I had no idea what it was trying to do.

“Rhys,” Magnus called. “What do you see?”

Rhys stood near the wall, one hand pressed to his earpiece and the other moving across his

tablet.

The thermal feed from the tunnel cameras had been clear moments ago, showing several figures beneath the council chamber.

“Nothing now,” he replied. “The movement disappeared from the feed as soon as the floor opened.”

“Did the cameras fail?”

“No. They’re still transmitting, but there’s no heat signature below us.”

A low growl came from somewhere under the chamber. The guards shifted their stance, their wolves reacting to the sound. I felt their tension through the pack bond, a wave of alertness passing between them.

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Harold stepped in front of me.

“Stay behind the guards.”

“I can see the opening from here.”

“Flourish.”

“I’m not going to walk into it.” I pointed at the glowing markings. “The wards reacted to my blood. If whoever is down there came for the First Alpha line, then the council might not be their target.”

Harold’s jaw tightened. “That doesn’t mean you should get closer.”

“And standing behind you won’t stop them from reaching me if they want to.”

The argument was cut short when another section of the floor cracked. A chair slid toward the edge, and one of the elders grabbed it before it could fall.

“Everyone away from the table,” Magnus ordered. “Keep together and do not approach the opening.”

The elders obeyed, though several continued looking down into the dark. Magnus remained near the guards, his eyes fixed on the glowing markings.

“Rhys, find another way to monitor the passage,” he said. “Use the lower-level cameras or the security system in the old office.”

“I’m trying. The feeds from the eastern wing are also dropping.”

“Then get someone to check them manually.”

Rhys spoke into his earpiece, assigning two warriors to the eastern wing. They moved toward the exit, but neither took their eyes off the broken floor until they reached the doorway.

The lawyer had crouched beside a fallen chair. He gathered the loose papers that had slipped from his folder, checking each page before putting it away.

“Those records need to stay intact,” he said, mostly to himself. “If the chamber is compromised, we’ll need copies of everything.”

“Secure them somewhere else,” I told him.

He looked up at me. “I can’t leave them unattended.”

“Then give them to one of the guards.”

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Chapter 251 Beneath The Council Table

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He hesitated before handing the folder to a nearby warrior. The guard tucked it inside his jacket and moved behind the others.

The markings around the opening pulsed again. I felt a sharp warmth beneath my skin, starti at my wrist and spreading up my arm. I pressed my palm against my side, trying to ignore it.

Harold noticed.

“What is it?”

“The ward is reacting again.”

He glanced at my hand, then at the floor. “Does it hurt?”

“Not exactly. It feels warm.”

“Stay back.”

“I am back.”

He gave me a look, but before he could say anything else, a voice rose from below.

“Harold?”

The chamber fell silent.

The voice was muffled by the depth of the passage, but it carried clearly enough for everyone to hear.

Harold’s shoulders stiffened, and his expression changed so quickly that I almost missed it.

“Who is that?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

The voice came again, this time using a name I had never heard anyone call him.

“Harry?”

I looked at Harold. His face had gone pale, and his eyes were fixed on the opening.

Only his family used that name. I knew that much from the few personal stories he had shared, though he rarely spoke about his childhood in detail.

“Harold,” Magnus said quietly. “Do you know that voice?”

Harold took one step toward the broken floor.

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The guards immediately tightened their line. One of them reached across his path, but Harold raised his hand, stopping him without looking away from the opening.

“Don’t,” I said.

He glanced at me.

“We don’t know who’s down there.”

“I heard him.”

“You heard someone call you by a name. That doesn’t mean you know who it is.”

The growl beneath us rose again, deeper this time. Several wolves in the chamber bared their teeth, and one guard’s claws began to push through his fingertips.

Harold’s wolf pressed against the surface. I felt its warning through the bond, sharp and urgent

“Stay behind me,” he told me.

I wanted to argue, but the ward markings suddenly flared. The light ran around the broken edge, bright enough to reveal the rough stone walls descending into the

passage.

Then a hand appeared.

It reached up from the darkness and caught the edge of the floor.

The fingers were dirty, and the nails had broken short. Whoever it belonged to pulled against the stone, trying to lift themselves into the chamber.

The guards raised their weapons.

“Hold your positions,” Magnus ordered.

Harold didn’t move. His gaze remained fixed on the hand, and I saw his fingers curl at his side.

The person below tightened their grip. A second hand reached up and found the edge beside

the first.

Then the voice came again.

“Harry, help me.”

Harold took another step forward.

And the hand began to pull itself out of the darkness.

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Chapter 251 Beneath The Council Table