Page 102 of Wolf Queen Ruin
“We have two paths before us, Luna,” he said.“Continue our quest for the Shadow Fang with heightened risks but greater urgency.Or—“
“There is no or,” I said firmly.“We continue.”
“Then we can leave in five minutes.”
With that, he left, his face carefully blank.Silence, thick and cloying, fell over the room.
“He should have told you,” Felix murmured, accurately reading my thoughts.
“About Vivienne?”I laughed bitterly.“Well, I probably should have told you about the moss that started to sprout on me weeks ago.Nobody’s perfect, I guess.I’m Sorry, Felix.I just…”
Thought if I ignored it that it would go away?That if I hadn’t fallen into a magical coma yet, then I wouldn’t at all?That one more damn thing in my life going to shit would break me, and I couldn’t fucking deal with any more?
I bit down hard on my back teeth to keep the sobs that wanted to tear free at bay.I didn’t have time for crying.
“For what it’s worth,” Felix offered gently, taking a step toward me, “I believe Damien’s intentions toward you have…evolved from his original plans.The way he looks at you isn’t how someone regards a mere means to an end.”
I huffed humorlessly and thought of him carrying me through the jungle, of his tender hands on my injured ankle, of the intensity in his eyes as our bodies moved together.Then I thought of his arranged marriage to Vivienne and the rest of his secrets that likely infused his every decision.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said.“We have a job to complete.Four more pieces to find.Personal complications are a luxury we can’t afford.”
Felix studied me with knowing eyes.“Nothing I say will change your mind at this point, will it?Not even the safety of yourself and the new life growing inside you?”
“You can save it, Felix.”
“Even if there’s a chance I could learn more about the moss and why it’s affecting you so much slower than Aria and Jade?”
“If you want, I’ll upload pics of my feet to Only Fans from Paris,” I said, my voice empty of my usual sarcasm.
“Only Fans?I don’t even know what that is,” he murmured.
No matter what, I had to go.The first piece of the Shadow Fang had required a wolf shifter.How many shifters did Damien know who were insane enough to follow through with this quest and wouldn’t stab him in the back in the process?Zero point five.That’s how many because half of me definitely wanted to stab Damien.
Paris awaited, along with Damien’s other fiancée and whatever secrets the ancient catacombs held.Whatever personal shit existed between Damien and me would have to wait.
I had no choice but to continue this quest if I wanted to save those I loved.
Including myself and my unborn child.
Chapter thirty-two
Damien
Impossible.
That single word repeated in my mind as I strode away from Felix’s lab, each step measured and controlled despite the storm raging inside me.Everything within me threatened to shatter.
Luna was pregnant.With my child.
Vampires do not procreate.This was not theory or supposition but biological fact.Our transformation rendered us sterile—undead creatures incapable of creating life.I had witnessed countless vampire-human couplings over centuries, and none had ever resulted in conception.
Yet somehow...
I reached an empty corridor and finally allowed myself to stop, pressing my palm against the cool wall as the reality of Felix’s words registered.A child.My child.Growing inside Luna while the same illness that threatened her daughter now crept through her own system.
In my long existence, I had faced countless impossibilities, but this… This defied every natural law I understood.
I had five minutes before we left for our flight to Paris.Five minutes to process a revelation that would require centuries to fully comprehend.
