Page 33 of A Reign of Malice (Wolves of Lunara #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

SLOANE

S tepping back into the realm of Lunara after being in the god realm should feel like a return to something familiar, something safe. But instead, it feels like suffocation.

The moment my feet touch the earth, the energy in the air coils around my lungs like roots, dense and choking. This isn’t home. The land is warped. Off balance.

Worse, Estee and Theo are nowhere in sight.

I clutch Julian’s hand tighter as we walk hesitantly forward, my grip bordering on desperate. After everything, I can’t risk losing him now.

The bond between us pulses steady, and I use it like a lifeline as I scan the forest for any sign of our friends.

Before I can ask Isla or Asher where they went, my head is suddenly splitting.

“Damn you, Sloane!” Clara’s voice barrels through my thoughts, wild and laced with fury. “Where the hell have you been the last three days?”

Three days?!

I stop dead in my tracks. “We were only…” I shake my head. It doesn’t matter now. “We were forced to go to the god realm with Aurora. Without notice or I would have told you. What’s going on here?”

“Shift and go east,” she says urgently. “Don’t stop until I find you. Not even for a second. He probably already knows you’re back.”

There’s no questioning her request or asking who “he” is. I knew things would be bad when we returned, but at the same time, I didn’t expect days to have passed by either. This is going to be worse than anything I could have imagined.

“We need to run east,” I tell the others. “Where did Estee and Theo go?”

Isla’s brow tightens. “They needed time alone.”

“Well, we don’t have any.” The words snap out sharper than intended, but I don’t take them back. “We’ve been gone for three days. We need to regroup. Now.”

A branch cracks behind us. The faint thump-thump-thump of paws slamming over the earth rips through the silence like a warning shot.

“Go. Now!” Julian snarls, just before he shifts.

His wolf explodes forward, bones snapping and reforming in a violent rush of power. He doesn’t cry out—it’s too fast for that. A deep chocolate wolf replaces him, muscles rippling beneath his sleek coat. He’s beautiful and terrifying, but there’s no time to admire the view.

I call my wolf forward just as Isla and Asher do. Isla’s lets out two quick yips, and three more echo back. That must be her call to Estee.

Julian heads toward the incoming wolves then snaps his jaws at me when I follow, but I’m not going anywhere without him. And since we’re not officially bonded yet, he can’t yell at me in this form.

Though, he can run .

Now, what is he doing?

He takes off toward the east. The snarls coming from behind us are close, but instead of questioning whether we should stay and fight, having no clue just how outnumbered we might be, I follow Julian.

Isla and Asher are already ahead, and within moments, two more wolves flank us. One is slate grey, the other a midnight black. Theo and Estee.

Julian falls back to run beside me while the others surge forward to lead. Our pack of six tears across the landscape in a blur of pounding paws and beating hearts. The sounds of our pursuers fade, but that only sets me further on edge.

Why aren’t they chasing us?

The trees blend together as we cross miles of dense forest and, later, open meadows and sloping hills. Sunlight breaks through the clouds, but there’s no warmth in it. Not today.

“Turn north after the river,” Clara says, cutting through my thoughts without warning. “Not long after that, I’ll find you.”

I don’t know how she’s tracking us, but sure enough, the soft rush of water ahead hits my ears. I push harder, passing Theo and Asher until I’m leading the way. My claws dig into the damp earth, propelling me forward faster than I’ve ever run. And strangely, it’s easy.

I’m not tired. Not even winded. Julian’s right behind me, his breathing just as steady.

Is this because we were in the god realm? Is this what Aurora’s power did to us?

I don’t know, but as long as this is the only side effect from our time there, I’ll do my best not to question it.

Up ahead, Clara’s blonde wolf is standing with another onyx one. They yip then turn left. The six of us follow them, catching up easily but then having to force ourselves to slow so we don’t pass them .

The wolves lead us to a mountain base. Clara is the first to shift, her fur retreating in a shimmer of magic as she rises on two feet. She barely waits for me to do the same before she’s throwing herself at me.

“Gods, I thought you were dead.”

Her hug has my chest warming and my eyes watering. She holds on with everything she has, and I do the same. “I can’t be taken down that easily.”

My joke falls flat, and when she finally pulls back, she narrows her glassy eyes at me then shoves me back. “What happened to you?” She looks around then does a double take, obviously having seen Julian.

The way her gaze widens makes me chuckle. “Clara, meet Julian. My mate.”

“How… When… What?” It’s not often my advisor’s left speechless, but I’m not surprised now is one of those times.

“Long story,” I tell her. “How about you tell us what’s going on here since that seems to be the most immediate threat?”

She nods. “Of course.”

Noen is right there beside her when she steps back, and he offers me and Julian each a smile. “It’s good to have you all back.” Then he glances over at the others. “But there’s something different about you.”

“We were in the god realm,” Isla says, her voice quiet but firm.

The sentence settles like fog over the group.

Noen looks between us with growing curiosity, but wisely, he doesn’t press.

Estee pales at the reminder, and her fingers curl into Theo’s sleeve as if just saying it aloud brings her closer to unraveling.

We don’t have time to unpack any of it. Not here. Not yet.

“I assume there are others out here with you?” I ask, gently shifting the conversation. I gesture toward the mountain behind them, sensing my people near. “We should go meet them. I’m sure they’d like to know that they haven’t been abandoned.”

Clara grimaces, an apology already forming in her expression. “I had to tell the Venaris pack about Julian to gain their trust,” she says, glancing up at him, uncertain. “Noen has been helping me get the truth out. I hope that was okay.”

Julian’s smile is soft. “Of course. If it kept them safe, it was the right thing to do.”

She nods in relief then gestures behind her. “Come on. They’ll want to see you for themselves.”

Asher’s already moving, bringing Isla with him. “Let’s go, then.”

Our group follows Clara and Noen through a narrow path carved between low shrubs and twisted trees, moving toward the right slope of the mountain. There’s a jagged scattering of boulders ahead, as though a blast from above sent them crashing down long ago, sharp edges now softened by moss and time.

Noen climbs the rocks first, scaling them easily before turning to help Clara. He offers her his hand with practiced ease, and she grips it tightly as she pulls herself up and over.

“How far up are we going?” Isla asks, eyeing the steep incline with suspicion.

Noen grins, boyish and unbothered. “We’re not. We’re going down .”

And just as he says it, Clara disappears. One second she’s slipping over a rock and the next—gone.

Noen stays there, waiting for the rest of us to follow.

We’re not exactly wearing proper clothes for this, all three queens wearing dresses, but we manage, and when I reach Noen, there’s nothing but darkness over the rock.

“It’s a twenty-foot drop,” Noen explains. “There are a few mattresses stacked on top of each other to soften your fall in case you don’t land on your feet. Who’s first?”

Estee steps forward before anyone can argue. Silent. Focused. She doesn’t hesitate, just jumps. Theo follows a heartbeat later, the two of them swallowed by the shadows.

Isla exhales beside me. “I hate this. I hate that I can’t fix it.”

“They just need time,” Asher murmurs, wrapping his arm around her. “We all do.”

Noen’s eyes flick to them, but Asher gives a small shake of his head, silently asking for space. Noen nods once and backs off.

Together, Isla and Asher take the plunge.

Now it’s my turn.

I glance at Julian, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. “See you at the bottom?”

He leans in, brushing his hand lightly against mine. “Right behind you.”

I curl my fingers along the cool stone, resting against a patch of damp, bright green moss. Then, with a steadying breath, I step forward and into the dark.

The fall is quicker than I expect.

My dress flutters violently around me like the wings of a bird in panic, and then… thud . I land squarely on the mattress. My knees hold right until the heel of my shoe gives a little wobble, and I teeter back.

A strong hand grabs my elbow before I can fall.

“I got you,” Clara says with a soft laugh. “I did the same thing the first time.”

“I appreciate it,” I say, finding my balance again.

I glance up in time to see Julian drop down with effortless grace.

He lands with a muted sound, knees bent, then straightens in one fluid motion.

His eyes find mine instantly, and they flash with something warm and primal— relief and desire .

As he steps toward me, I realize I haven’t truly had a moment to breathe since he was set free. But now?

I’m taking this one.

Noen joins us, but I hardly see him. My stare is fixed on Julian.

For the first time since he was freed, we’re no longer running, no longer bleeding. The air here is still, quiet. It’s not peace, but it’s the closest we’ve come, and in this fragile sliver of stillness, I feel it: the tether between us thrumming, steady and sure, anchoring me to him.

This is what it means to be mated. To feel the echo of your own heartbeat in someone else’s chest.

“Leave us,” I tell Clara through mind-speak.

She doesn’t question it. Without a word, she guides the others away, their footsteps retreating into the shadows, giving us the one thing we haven’t had since this nightmare began: space.

Julian says my name like a vow. “Sloane.”

His voice brushes against my skin, softer than the wind, but it hits me like thunder. My pulse stutters. My breath catches.

And then I move.

I step into him, pressing my hands to his chest, palms sliding up over fabric and muscle and heat.

His body responds instantly, like he’s been waiting, no, aching for my touch.

I trace the curve of his shoulders, reveling in the strength hidden beneath his quiet resolve, and thread my fingers into his hair, pulling him closer until I can taste the air he breathes.

He cups my face. “I’ve waited centuries for you. ”

Emotion swells in my throat, nearly choking me. “You don’t have to wait any longer.”

I rise onto my toes at the same moment he dips his head. There’s no hesitation, no careful preamble. Our mouths meet in a kiss that sears through my soul like wildfire.

It’s not gentle. It’s ravaging.

He grabs my waist, pulling me flush against him, like he’s terrified I might slip away if we’re not touching everywhere at once.

I part my lips, and he groans low in his throat, deepening the kiss, his tongue brushing mine, coaxing and claiming.

My knees threaten to buckle, but his arms tighten around me, holding me steady as his mouth moves over mine with a desperation that feels like salvation.

The world falls away.

There’s no war right now. No gods. No death waiting just beyond the next hill.

There’s only him. His lips. His breath. His fire.

My fingers tighten in his hair as I kiss him back with everything I have, everything I’ve lost, and everything I still hope to fight for. My wolf hums in contentment, her joy wrapping around the bond like silk.

When we finally pull apart, it’s only by a fraction, our foreheads pressed together, breath mingling in the quiet that follows.

Julian’s hands stay on my waist, holding me together as his voice dips low, rough with emotion. “You’re everything I never thought I’d have. I don’t know how I survived in that hell for so long, but I know every second of loneliness was worth it, for you.”

I graze the edge of his jaw with the back of my hand, my chest tightening with the sheer magnitude of him—of us . “You have me now. You’ll never feel that way again.”

He exhales shakily, and for a moment, the silence between us says more than words ever could. It hums with possibility, with promises unspoken but deeply understood.

“Whatever comes next,” he murmurs, “I’m not letting you go.”

I rest my hand over his heart, feeling the steady rhythm of it, matching my own. “Good. Because we’re not done yet.”

His smile is small, but it reaches his eyes, warming something inside me that’s been cold for far too long.

“No,” he says softly, brushing a thumb across my cheek. “We’re just getting started.”

We stand there for another breath, suspended in the strength of a bond still forming but already unbreakable.

And for the first time since I realized I couldn’t fix Alcaris, I feel like just maybe I’m right where I was always meant to be.