Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 67 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 67

Chapter 67 Three Days Left

Apha Harold’s POV

My eyes stayed fixed on the villa gate. Seven o’clock passed, then seven ten, then seven thirty. Flourish still hadn’t shown.

A cold laugh nearly escaped me. I should have known. Another one of her games.

That morning she’d stood in front of me and ordered me to meet her here at seven, like shed already decided she’d be the one ending the Luna Rite. And now she couldn’t even bother showing up.

My wolf paced beneath my ribs. “She wants you to chase her,” he muttered.

I ignored him.

“Harold.” Phina’s voice pulled me back. She stood beside me, biting her lip. “Are you waiting for someone?

“No.” I looked away from the gate and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s go upstairs.”

She hesitated. “What about Flourish?”

“I’ll talk to Mom and Dad.” My voice hardened. “I’ll tell them Alpha Cassian Su isn’t suitable for you.”

She froze. “But Harold, I don’t want you and your parents falling out because of me.”

I looked at her. She always did this, worrying about everyone else before herself, which somehow made it easier to want to protect her.

“That won’t happen.” I squeezed her shoulder. “Grandpa never said we needed alliances badly enough to force anyone into becoming another Alpha’s Luna. Davina doesn’t have to suffer through that. Neither do you.”

Her shoulders relaxed. “Thank you, Harold. You’re so good to me.”

I nodded, but my eyes drifted back to the gate. Still nothing. My wolf lifted his head, ears pricked toward the empty road, more interested in that direction than in the woman standing right next to me. I pushed the feeling down. “Come on. Dad should be off his call by now.”

We went upstairs, and the second we stepped into Ragnar’s study, his expression told me we’d picked the

wrong moment.

“Stop worrying about this she-wolf,” he snapped, eyes on me. “Start worrying about your Lunar Rite. Have you forgotten it’s in three days?”

Phina stepped back immediately. “Harold.”

“It’s okay.” I looked at my father. “I’ll talk to Damian tomorrow.”

His face darkened. “I doubt he’ll side with you on this.”

“But Harold,” Phina said uncertainly, “Alpha Damian doesn’t seem to like me.”

19:58 Wed, Sep 30

Chapter 67 Three Days Left

“That’s not true. Damian’s just aloof. He cares about the family’s reputation more than anyone.”

Frushes

hat much was true. If anyone in the family intimidated me more than Grandpa Magnus, it was Damian

Only thirteen years older, but standing in front of him never felt like standing before a brother. His presence alone could straighten a whole room.

Even at family dinners everyone minded their manners around him, every fork and glass exactly where it should be.

“You trust him that much?” she asked.

“Of course.” I stood. “Damian doesn’t interfere often, but on family matters he’s reasonable. I’ll stop by Stormbridge tomorrow. If anyone can get Dad to reconsider, it’s him.”

We left the old residence past nine. The grounds were quiet, the night air carrying the usual scents of Stonehedge through the trees, and I found myself scanning the road again out of habit.

Nothing. No Flourish. No message, no call, not even an attempt to explain herself.

A scornful laugh got away from me. Was it really that hard for her to admit she wanted this marriage? If she’d just shown up we could have talked, maybe kept this from turning so ugly. Instead she’d picked another game.

My hand went to my cheek. The memory came back fast, the slap, the crack of it, the shock of her palm against my face.

No woman had ever hit me before. Flourish hadn’t hesitated for a second. Heat rushed through me and my wolf growled. Stubborn woman.

Fine. If this was how she wanted to play it, let her. Three days left until the Luna Rite. Sooner or later she’d stop pretending. She’d come back. What other choice did she have.

That thought settled something in me, and I started the car, with no idea that while I drove away from Stonehedge, Flourish was already trapped somewhere none of us knew about.

The drive back felt longer than usual. My wolf wouldn’t settle, circling inside me, restless in a way I couldn’t blame entirely on the argument. He was listening for something. Searching. I didn’t know what.

I told myself she was just being dramatic. Stubborn. Difficult. She’d always been too proud to bend, even when bending would have made everything easier. Once I’d admired that about her. Tonight it just felt like an obstacle in my way.

I pulled into the underground lot and left the engine running a moment, the silence around me feeling off somehow. I checked my phone. Nothing. I scrolled past Phina’s name, then Damian’s, then my father’s, and my thumb stopped over Flourish’s contact.

I could call her. Ask where she was. But what would I even say? That she was being unreasonable? That the rite was three days out? That I’d stood at the gate for half an hour like an idiot? I locked the phone instead.

She’d come around. She always did. That was the thing about Flourish, no matter how hard she fought, she’d never actually walked away, not from her family’s expectations, not from the arrangement, not from me. She was still here. She’d still be here in three days, standing at the altar whether she wanted to or not.

Chapter 67 Three Days Left

I stepped into the elevator. The doors closed, my reflection staring back at me from the polished metai. composed, certain, in control.

Mewolf said nothing.

I frowned. He’d been restless the whole night and now he’d gone completely quiet. The silence raised the hair on my arms. I waited for him to say something.

Nothing came.

For the first time, I wondered if he knew something I didn’t.