Page 36 of A Reign of Malice (Wolves of Lunara #3)

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

SLOANE

I know what Garron is thinking the moment he says we should draw Aeson to us.

And he’s right. This is the best way to cause the fewest casualties for the pack, and I’m the perfect person to lure him.

I’m the one prize he’s desired, and I’ve just slipped right through his fingers.

If I can convince him he has a chance to get me back, that I think Julian is the real monster here, then we stand a greater chance at ending this nightmare swiftly.

Julian turns toward me, and everything else in the room disappears. His gaze crashes into mine like a wave, filled with emotions too complex to name. I reach for him, taking both his hands in mine. They’re shaking, but I hold tighter.

“I spent two centuries in a prison I never deserved,” he says, voice low and rough like gravel. “I survived by letting go of everything—hope, revenge, even my purpose—but then you came. I sensed you, and for the first time through all that hell, I remembered who I was. What I wanted.”

He pauses, pain etched along the corners of his mouth. “I first tried to keep you at arm’s length because I didn’t want you hurt. But now that I have you? Putting you in the path of destruction goes against everything in me.”

I open my mouth, ready to explain why I have to do this, how I’m not afraid. But he keeps going.

“I see you, Sloane,” he says, his palm pressing over my heart.

“I feel your strength in the way you speak, in the way you lead, in the way you love. You’re a warrior, through and through.

Brilliant and terrifying in all the best ways.

My fear isn’t rooted in doubt. It’s in the truth that I’m still learning to accept.

” He leans closer. “You’ve become the most important thing in my world in the span of days.

After everything I’ve lost, I can’t lose you too. ”

Tears prick my eyes, but I don’t let them fall.

“And you won’t.” I lift his hand from my chest and place a kiss over his knuckles.

“You’ll be close, all of you. Waiting for the right moment to strike.

We have a plan. We know what needs to happen.

If Aeson suspects anything, he’ll burn everything down just to take one of us with him.

We can’t risk that kind of devastation for our people. ”

Julian’s expression hardens, but not with anger, with resolve.

“I’ll be careful,” I tell him. “And I won’t risk what we’ve found. I won’t ruin the future we both deserve. I need you to trust me on that.”

He presses his forehead to mine, a long breath escaping his lips. His energy is steady now, rooted in the trust we’ve slowly been building toward since the moment I somehow spirit-walked into the prison-cave.

“I do,” he says quietly. “I meant what I told you before. I don’t doubt you . I know I shouldn’t let fear speak louder than truth, and I’ll do my best to focus on that because Aeson’s already stolen too much from me. I can’t give him more by letting it poison what we have. ”

I nod against him, our bond pulsing warm and strong between us. “We’ll finish this.”

He lifts his head slightly, eyes fierce now, a storm behind them. “Together.”

Someone clears their throat behind me, dragging me back to reality. We’re not alone—of course we’re not—but I can’t bring myself to feel embarrassed. Not after everything we’ve endured. If these wolves are going to fight beside us, they should know exactly what we’re fighting for.

I turn toward them, still gripping Julian’s hand.

“So,” I begin, my voice steady, “the plan is simple. We spend the afternoon preparing. Then I’ll leave alone, heading toward the castle.

When I start to sense Aeson’s guards, I’ll stop and call for him.

The rest of you will already be ready and waiting. Once the signal is clear, we move.”

There’s no reason to elaborate on what comes next. Not only because of the many variables we can’t prepare for, but because we all know where it leads. Chaos, blood, and our hopeful survival.

I glance over at Estee and Theo. A part of me wants to offer them a way out.

They’ve already walked the edge of death and returned.

But the fire in Estee’s eyes and the quiet resolve in Theo’s expression says enough.

Whatever they saw and suffered in the god realm hasn’t weakened them. It’s strengthened them.

I nod once. I was right to trust them, to trust all of them.

“We’ll still need the two of you to speak to the packs,” Garron says, pushing himself upright with a wince that betrays more pain than he’s let on. “I’ll gather everyone into the main cavern. Clara and Noen can guide you there when you’re ready.”

As he exits his room, the rest of us face one another.

A thick silence blankets the space. But it’s not from hesitation.

It’s resolve. The kind of quiet that settles in right before the storm.

We all feel it. The surety of what’s coming.

The responsibility that we carry not just for ourselves but for every wolf waiting for us to be the leaders they need.

We’re not fighting for revenge. We’re fighting for peace.

For the kingdom that’s been strangled by lies for too long.

“We’ll need some time,” Asher says, slipping an arm around Isla’s waist, “but we won’t go far.”

Isla gently steps out of his hold and crosses to me.

Her embrace is sudden and fierce, her arms wrapping around me with bone-deep warmth.

“I wish I’d known you sooner,” she murmurs, voice tight with emotion.

“But even now, I can say this with certainty. You’re the kind of queen we should all aspire to be. ”

Her words cut through me with unexpected force. I blink fast, pushing back the sting in my eyes, and pull away just enough to meet her gaze. “Thank you, Isla. Truly. And thank you for standing with us. It means more than you know.”

She gives a small nod, the glimmer of respect in her eyes unmistakable. “Greed and darkness affect us all,” she says before returning to Asher. Together, they slip into the hallway.

Estee steps forward next, her smirk tempered by grief but fierce nonetheless. “What she said,” she adds with a shrug. “My sister’s always been better at the mushy stuff, but don’t worry. My dying in the god realm is no reflection of my skills here. Aeson won’t win this fight.”

She and Theo follow Isla and Asher, leaving just Clara, Noen, and Julian with me.

Clara looks exhausted. Not physically but soul-deep. Her shoulders are stiff, her mouth tight, and her eyes…haunted.

“I would’ve argued with you earlier,” she says quietly, “but Julian beat me to it.” She flicks her gaze to him, assessing. “Be prepared for her stubbornness. And don’t be afraid to push back. She needs someone to put her in check at least once a week.”

Julian offers a brief grin. “I’ll do my best.”

Clara gives him a once-over. “I know you will, or I wouldn’t trust you with the only family I have left in this world.” Her gaze turns lovingly toward Noen. “You’re more than family.”

He chuckles. “No offense taken.”

Clara turns back to us. “Are you ready to speak to the pack?”

I glance up at Julian, and what I see there tells me everything I need to know.

He’s still worried, possibly even afraid, but he’s also healing.

He’s no longer the man who came out of that cave shaking with barely controlled rage.

He’s standing tall, eyes steady, with purpose etched into every line of his face.

He squeezes my hand. “Let’s do this.”

The path to the main chamber winds through several corridors, the stone cool beneath our feet, the air damp and earthy. I feel the pressure from Julian’s hand on mine the entire way, steady, firm, and real.

When we step into the wide cavern, over a hundred wolves are already gathered, each of them falling silent as we approach.

Children tucked against parents. Elders gathered near the fire. Warriors and caretakers alike, all staring at Julian and me, their expressions ranging from awe to disbelief to tentative hope.

Julian hesitates beside me for only a breath.

Then his spine straightens, and his voice cuts through the hush like a drumbeat.

“My name is Julian,” he begins. “Some of you know me. Some of you may not. Though by now, you’ve likely heard whispers.

Maybe that I was the prince who died or the traitor who vanished.

Either way, it’s time for you to know the truth. ”

The room is still. Tension coils in the air, thick and ready to snap.

“For two centuries, you were told I was dead. That I betrayed the crown. That I turned my back on the pack I once called my family. But that’s not what happened.

” His voice deepens. “I was imprisoned beneath the castle by my own brother. Cursed. Silenced. Forgotten. Aeson did it to keep the throne for himself, and for two hundred years, he ruled with lies. I was nothing more than a memory to him. A threat he intended to leave buried.”

A murmur ripples through the pack, several wolves shifting on their feet. Eyes widen. Nods pass between some of the older ones. Garron stands near the edge, his arms crossed, jaw set in grim pride.

Julian reaches for my hand again before continuing.

“But I survived. And I’ve returned to make things right, because it wasn’t just my life stolen all those years ago.

You might find this hard to believe, and I won’t fault you for doubting what I’m about to say, but I do ask you to consider the possibility of it. ”

I’d forgotten about Lira, but it seems Julian hasn’t. I didn’t expect him to give the whole truth, but it seems there’s no hiding any part of this reprehensible past.

“Aeson will have told you I murdered his mate. That in some jealous rage, I killed Lira. But that’s another lie. She witnessed what he did to me, how he chained then cursed me. And for that, she paid with her life. Not by my hand, but by his.”

The silence turns taut. Some wolves glance at each other. Others drop their gazes, ashamed or afraid .

“He twisted the truth into a weapon. And he wielded it against all of us.” Julian’s voice softens. “I’m not here to demand your loyalty. I won’t even ask you to fight beside me, but I do ask that you don’t stand in my way.”

I step forward beside him, letting my voice join his.

“I’ll be fighting alongside Julian. I know my pack has heard, but for the rest of you, when I arrived here, I began to sense Julian’s presence.

I didn’t know who he was, but once I found him, chained beneath the castle, I knew what I’d found.

Not only did I learn that Julian is my mate but why I’d had my own reservations about Aeson. ”

Murmurs move through the people, but nobody has outright interrupted, so I keep going.

“Your king is good at what he does—convincing others he has only the best intentions—but every decision he makes always connects back to helping him acquire more power. Very little has stood in Aeson’s way.

He’s been patient, calculating, waiting for the moment to execute his plan in becoming the most powerful Alpha King.

Which he thought would happen once our packs joined, but that all came to halt once I learned the truth and refused to bend to his will. ”

My eyes flash up to Julian’s. I know he’ll ask about my time with Aeson, but that’s not information he needs to live with. Neither does the pack need to know.

“I was threatened into submission, and if it wasn’t for the alphas from the other packs, I can all but guarantee we wouldn’t be standing here of our own free will today.

Julian might not ask you all to fight, but I will.

While we won’t force your hand, especially when we know that your friends and family might be against us, we can certainly ask.

I know this has been a lot for all of you, but I promise, as Alpha Queen, my intentions will always lie with the best interest of the pack.

I will do whatever it takes to keep you all safe, and I know Julian feels the same. ”

The voices from the crowd get louder, and we wait them out. There’s no rushing their loyalty. Not with so much on the line.

Finally, one sounds louder than the rest. “What’s your plan if we agree to join you?”

Julian nods at me to continue, and I meet the gaze of the elder wolf I’ve yet to meet, along with several others, before I answer.

“I intend to draw Aeson out. Alone. He wants me, that much we all know. If he thinks I’ve turned my back on Julian and the rest of the alphas, he’ll come for me. And when he does, we’ll strike. Away from the castle. Away from the innocents.”

Julian takes another step closer to the gathered crowd, voice compassionate but steady. “We’re not just fighting Aeson. We’re fighting for our future. For our children. For a world where no one has to live in fear of the crown.”

There’s a long silence.

Then someone steps forward. An older woman with silver in her hair, scars along her arms, and fire still in her bright gaze.

“I remember you, as many do. While I might not have been among those trying to keep your memory alive, I know what I’ve seen over the years.

” She lifts her hand into the air. “If the rest of you think I got these scars because I deserved them, you’re just as foolish as our current king.

” Then, she kneels, one hand over her heart.

“I’ll fight beside you, Julian, the rightful Alpha King. ”

A younger man joins her next then two more wolves then five, until the cavern is full of murmured oaths and bowed heads. Not all kneel. Some remain back, conflicted. But they’re not shunned. No one is. That’s what matters .

Julian nods. “We leave at sundown. For those of you who choose to fight, we’ll welcome you. For those who cannot, we understand. We do this for all of you, whether you raise your claws in battle or not.”

The crowd breaks into soft movement. A ripple of purpose. A hum of something long dormant now stirring to life.

Hope.

I feel it pulsing in my chest, just like the bond between Julian and me, alive with strength and certainty.

Tonight, everything changes.