Reclaiming My Broken Luna by Selene Souchon

Chapter 360: Distant Threat Drystan's POV The pendant rested in my hand, its weight heavier than the tarnished metal should allow.

The insignia stared back at me, an unwelcghost from the past, its edges dulled but still unmistakable. The mark of the rogue faction that had haunted Liora's final days.

The pendant was a warning, though I wasn't sure if it was meant foror for the Packs. Either way, I wasn't about to ignore it.

I sat in the quiet of my office, the walls lined with maps and old records. Beta Jared stood nearby, his arms crossed and his expression grim.

He'd stayed silent since delivering the pendant, but his presence was steady. Reliable.

"This can't be a coincidence," I said, breaking the silence. "First, rogue attacks close to our borders, and now this. They're not just testing us" they're sending a message." Jared nodded but didn't speak right away. He was like that, careful with his words. "It's possible someone wanted you to find it. To unsettle you." I turned the pendant over in my hand. "If they think this will throwoff, they're wrong." My voice was steady, but the anger simmering beneath my words was hard to contain.

"This means there is someone bigger working behind them. And if they're bold enough to leave clues, then they're confident they can handle whatever we throw at them." Ryder's frown deepened. "Do you think it's the sfaction from before? The ones Liora" He stopped short, as if realizing he was treading dangerous ground.

My jaw tightened. "It has to be." The thought sent a fresh wave of fury through me. "She fled from them because she knew what they were capable of. If they're reemerging now, it's not by chance." I pushed back from the desk and stood, pacing the room. The pendant was a "key" proof that the rogue faction wasn't just a scattered memory but an organized force.

And now, they were making moves, likely under the command of one leader.

"Send word to Astrid and Killian," I said, stopping to meet Ryder's gaze. "They need to know this isn't just another rogue skirmish. This is the start of something bigger." "And what about the trail the scouts found?" Ryder asked. "It leads north, toward rogue territory." I clenched my fists at the mention of that cursed place. "We follow it. I want to know where it leads and who's involved. But we stay cautious. I won't lose anyone to recklessness." Ryder hesitated, then nodded. "I'll take care of it." As he turned to leave, I called out, "Ryder." He stopped at the door, glancing back.

"Make sure whoever we send knows what they're walking into. We're not dealing with desperate rogues anymore. We're dealing with soldiers." Later That Night The pendant sat on the desk in front of me, the faint moonlight filtering through the window and glinting off its surface.

My mind wouldn't quiet, the memories clawing their way back no matter how hard I tried to shove them down. Liora's voice echoed in my thoughts, her words from that final mission resurfacing. "They'll never stop hunting me." I hadn't believed her then. I thought we could protect her, that the Packs could stand against whatever shadows she'd run from.

But I'd been wrong. And now, those shadows were creeping back.

A soft knock at the door pulledfrom my thoughts. "Cin," I said, my voice sharper than I intended.

The door opened, and Nova stepped inside. Her face was pale, her usual confidence replaced by something hesitant, almost fragile.

"What is it?" I asked, my eyes narrowing as I took her in.

"I need to talk to you," she said, closing the door behind her.

She glanced at the pendant on the desk, her expression tightening. "That's the ssymbol, isn't it? The one Liora warned us about." I nodded, though my mind was already racing ahead. "It is. What do you know about it?" Nova hesitated, her hands clenching at her sides. "I... I'm starting to remember things. From when we were young. Things about Liora. About the rogues." Her words hitlike a blow, and for a moment, I couldn't speak.

"What kind of things?" I asked finally, keeping my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me.

She shook her head, her brow furrowing. "It's all fragments, but think she was hiding more fromthan realized. And I think... I think I've seen the Rogue King before." The air seemed to still, the weight of her words pressing down on both of us.

The Rogue King. The nhad been a whisper, a rumor for years But if Nova was right, if Liora had kept secrets even from her then this was bigger than any of us had realized. en "We'll figure it out," I said, my voice firm despite the unease creeping into my chest. "Whatever Liora knew, whatever they want, we'll uncover it." Pet

Nova's eyes met mine, and for the first tin years, I saw the sfear t'd been in her when she was a But I also saw something else, Cermination.

The sfire that had burned in Liora's eyes now burned in hers.

"Promise me," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "Promisewe'll stop them."

I nodded, the weight of her words settling over me. "We will. Kwon't let me.

them take anything more from us."

As she left the room, I turned back to the pendant, its mark a chilling M reminder of what we were up E! against. The Rogue King was no longer a distant threat. He was here, moving in the shadows.

And this time, I wouldn't fail.