Ch. 401..405: Reclaiming My Broken Luna Chapter 401-405

Chapter 401: Reconciliation

Astrid's POV

The words hung in the air, heavy and sharp, cutting deeper than any blade. I felt Killian's tension beside me, the barely contained storm beneath his surface threatening to erupt.

"She introduced you... to the Rogue King?" Killian's voice was low, trembling with suppressed rage.

His golden eyes bore into Andros, demanding answers, demanding a reason to justify what was unfathomable.

Andros's gaze flickered, the indifference cracking ever so slightly. He leaned his head back against the cold stone wall, exhaling slowly.

"She didn't tell me why at first," he said, his tone eerily calm. "She just... showed up. Out of nowhere."

The faint light from the torch above us cast long shadows across his face, and for a moment, I saw something raw in his eyes-something I couldn't ignore.

"She said she wanted to help me," Andros continued, his voice softening, almost as if he were speaking to himself. "Said she didn't want me to rot away in exile. That she could... save me."

Killian's eyes narrowed. "Save you?" He spoke bitterly. "From what? From the consequences of your own actions?"

Andros turned his gaze to me, his expression unreadable. "From myself," he said simply.

I faltered, caught off guard by the honesty in his voice. I thought Rowena approached him to use him, to use his hatred against us and work together by plotting against us.

Seeing Killian's surprised expression, I knew he had the same thoughts as me too.

"Do you really believed that's what she meant by saving you? Or did she promised you something in exchange of working for her?" His tone was accusatory, laced with the deep-seated hurt he was struggling to keep contained.

Andros's lips twitched into a faint, humorless smile. "Your mother made her intentions clear to me right off the bat, and even if that was her intention, I wouldn't have agreed to work with her.

Andros turned his gaze to me, as if he believed that I would understand him better. "I don't trust her. If you know me I don't like to be used for someone's own benefit."

That's true, Andros was born like a prince, and he is raised as the crowned Alpha. He will have too much pride for that.

"If you don't trust her, then why did you do so in the end?" I shot back.

"Because it didn't matter to her that I refused. She kept coming back, refusing to accept no as an answer. You could say I was left with no choice," Andros shrugged.

"And what changed?" I asked, my voice colder now, unwilling to let him fool as easily just like he had done before.

Andros closed his eyes briefly, as though summoning a memory. "She told me she saw herself in me. That I was heading down the same path she did a path of mistakes, of selfish choices driven by power and pride. She said she didn't want me to end up like her."

Killian's shoulders loosened as he stared at Andros, struggling to take in his

words, to hear this version of his mother that Rowena didn't let us see.

"But she introduced you to the

rogues. If it was her plan to change you, then why did she worked with the enemy and why did she introduced you to the enemy?" Killian's voice broke through the silence, sharp and trembling

"Because she had no choice," Andros's jaw tightened as he felt frustrated by our questions, our doubts of his character weighing down upon him.

Killian clenched his fists and scoffed, at his unreasonable answer.

"She betrayed me, she betrayed all of us!" Killian yelled, his face turned red in anger. "She sided with the rogues, and she even approached you! She had done

a lot of things. How could any of that not be her choice?"

Andros shot forward and grabbed the bars that were separating him from us. I instantly grabbed Killian's arm, in fear that Andros would harm him even with the metals bars separating us.

"You knew what happened to Liora!" Andros shouted back. "Rowena made a deal with the rogues that's why she owed them, and this was the payment they were asking for in exchange."

"That was more than twenty years ago," Killian countered.

"And the rogues only came back now to ask her to fulfill her side of the deal," Andros answered quickly.

Killian fell silent while my attention snapped to Andros. Of course the rogues won't help Rowena for nothing.

Unfortunately, we failed to ask Rowena what the rogues king had asked for exchange when she was still alive, leaving us no way to verify if Andros were telling the truth.

Killian's breathing grew heavier, his shoulders trembling as he struggled to contain his emotions. "She betrayed me. She betrayed all of us. And now you're telling me she was some kind of... savior to you?"

I squeezed his arm, sharing him a bit of comfort. I know this is a lot for him to take

in.

"She wasn't perfect, Killian," Andros said, his voice quieter now, carrying the weight of something far deeper than the indifference he'd shown before.

"Far from it. She knew she had made unforgivable mistakes-mistakes that hurt you, and everyone else. But..." He paused, his dark eyes locking onto Killian's. "She regretted it. She regretted all of it."

Killian's hands twitched at his sides, his golden eyes narrowing as though bracing himself for more.

"She wanted to reconcile with you," Andros continued, his voice steady but tinged with an emotion I couldn't quite place. "She wanted to tell you how sorry she was, how wrong she'd been. She wanted to ask for your forgiveness, Killian. She wanted to make it right."

 

 

Chapter 402: Final Act

Astrid's POV

I studied Andros's face as he spoke, searching for even the faintest trace of deceit, but there was none.

His expression was raw, stripped bare of his usual indifference, and in its place was something achingly human.

Beneath the steady timbre of his voice, I caught a faint sadness-not just for Rowena, but for Killian, too. It made my chest tighten.

I turned to Killian and felt my heart break at the sight of him. His golden eyes, usually so fierce and commanding, burned with a storm of emotions that threatened to drown him-anger, sorrow, regret.

He stood frozen, like a man facing the wreckage of his entire world.

"Then why didn't she?" Killian's voice, sharp and brittle, sliced through the heavy air.

His fists trembled, clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles were white. "If she regretted everything so much, why didn't she just say something? Why didn't she stop?"

Andros let out a quiet sigh, leaning his head back against the damp stone wall. "Because she couldn't," he said, his voice heavy with the weight of the truth.

"The rogues wouldn't let her. They were using her as a spy, forcing her to betray you-to betray the Pack. And if she refused..." He hesitated, the words catching in his throat. "Someone else would have paid the price."

Killian's breath hitched, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he absorbed the words.

"So she let them use her?" he asked, his voice rising with each word. "She let them destroy everything?" His voice cracked, the anguish seeping through.

"She didn't have a choice," Andros said, his tone steady but firm. "She played the villain because she thought it was the only way to protect you to protect all of us. Every move she made, everything she did, was for us. For you."

"What are you saying?" Killian whispered, his voice barely audible now, his shoulders slumping under the weight of the revelation.

Andros straightened slightly, his gaze locking onto Killian. "She planned all of this," he said, his words slow and deliberate.

"From the moment the rogues came to her, she decided how it would end. She knew she was going to die. And she decided that when she did, she'd take the Rogue King with her."

The words struck like a physical blow. Killian staggered back a step, his breath catching as he ran a hand through his hair.

His fingers trembled, and his golden eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "She planned to die," he said hoarsely. "All this time... she knew."

Andros nodded, his expression heavy with the weight of his own emotions.

"She helped in ways you couldn't see," he continued. "She was harsh, cold, and distant because she thought it would hurt less when she was gone."

Killian's head dropped, his chin pressing against his chest as he released a shaky breath.

"She's my mother," he said, his voice breaking. "She raised me. She took care of me. How could she... how could she have thought that I could hurt less when she dies?"

Andros inhaled sharply, the tension in the room growing thicker. "She thought it was the only way to fix what she'd done," he said quietly.

"The only way to protect you. And she didn't tell you, didn't let you see her regret, because she thought... she thought it was a punishment she deserved."

Killian turned away from Andros, pressing a hand to his face. His broad shoulders trembled, his breathing ragged and uneven.

"Her punishment," he echoed, his voice trembling. "To die without making things right."

"She knew she had done terrible things, Killian," Andros said, his voice softening.

"She didn't expect forgiveness. She

didn't think she deserved it. But she also didn't want you to carry the weight of her mistakes. She thought that...maybe, if you hated her, it would be easier for you to move on."

Killian let out a sound-a mixture of a sob and a growl-as his grief finally broke through. He leaned forward, bracing himself against the iron bars of the cell.

"I hated her," he admitted, his voice shaking. hated her for so long. And now... now she's gone, and I can't-" His words dissolved into silence, the weight of his pain too much to bear.

Andros's expression softened, a rare flicker of emotion crossing his face. "She knew how you felt," he said gently. "And she didn't blame you. Not once."

Killian shook his head, his voice barely a whisper. "She's gone. I can't fix it. I can't

"She didn't want you to fix it," Andros interrupted, his voice quiet but firm. “She wanted you to live. To move forward. That's why she did what she did."

Tears slid silently down Killian's face as he leaned his head against the cold iron bars.

His body trembled with the weight of his grief, and I felt my own throat tighten as I watched him.

I stepped closer, placing a hand gently on his back. "Killian," I whispered, my voice soft but steady, "we'll get through this. Together."

He didn't respond, but he didn't pull away, either. Instead, he leaned into my touch, his raw, silent pain radiating through the room like a storm that refused to abate.

"She loved you," Andros said, his voice steady but filled with quiet sadness. "In her own way, she always did."

Killian didn't speak. He just bowed his head, his tears falling silently as the truth settled over all of us.

Rowena's Sacrifice, her choices, had been for something far greater than herself a love she had never been able to express in words, but one that spoke volumes in her final act.

 

Chapter 403: Council Meeting

Astrid's POV

The tension in the room was suffocating. The large council chamber, usually filled with calm deliberation, was now a battlefield of words.

Alphas and Lunas from across the packs are all gathered around in one room, their gazes heavy with doubt and mistrust.

Killian and I decided to call this meeting to inform everyone about the recent events and to formulate another plan for the future.

"We heard that Andros is back, that he came back to the Pack with you, was that true?" One of the Alphas asked.

I nodded my head. "That's true. Although he is banned to enter any Packs, I made my decision out of careful consideration. While we are unsure of where his alliances lies, it would be safe if he is here with us where we could monitor him."

"Andros cannot be trusted," Alpha Raiden of the Thunderclaw Pack said, his voice cold and unyielding. "He betrayed us once-no, twice. Do you expect us to believe he won't do it again?"

Several heads nodded in agreement, murmurs spreading like wildfire.

"He's a liability," another Alpha added. "We're putting our packs in danger by keeping him alive. He's already proven where his loyalties lie."

I clenched my fists under the table, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from lashing out.

Across from me, Killian sat rigid, his jaw tight and his golden eyes dark with suppressed emotion.

He hadn't spoken yet, but the strain was evident in every line of his body.

"And what if he escapes?" Luna Mariel chimed in, her tone laced with accusation. "Rowena fooled us all, played us until the very end. How do we know Andros isn't doing the same?"

The words cut deep, and I saw the flicker of pain in Killian's eyes. I wanted to reach for him, to reassure him, but this wasn't the place. He didn't need my comfort; he needed my strength.

Then, as if the tension wasn't already thick enough, Alpha Cedric of the Bloodfang Pack rose to his feet.

His presence commanded attention, his broad shoulders and sharp features exuding power. But his tone was anything but respectful.

"This isn't just about Andros," Cedric said, his voice loud enough to silence the murmurs. “This is about leadership. How can we trust Astrid and Killian to lead us when their judgment has been compromised time and again?"

A cold wave of silence followed his words, and my stomach tightened.

Throughout history, it was always the most powerful Pack that leads whenever there are crises like this.

I was dumbfounded when someone suddenly stood up to question our position, and our leadership.

Cedric turned his piercing gaze to Killian. "You've been fooled by Giselle, by Rowena, and now by Andros. Your judgment is flawed, Killian. How many more mistakes can we afford before it costs us everything?"

Killian's hands gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles white. He was barely containing the storm inside him, but before he could respond, Cedric's attention shifted to me.

"And Astrid," Cedric said, his tone dripping with disdain. "An Almega, yes. But does that make her fit to lead? You've barely proven yourself, Astrid. You've been thrust into this position, but leadership isn't just about power-it's about wisdom,

about earning the trust of those you

lead."

A fiery heat surged through me. I pushed my chair back, the scrape of wood against stone loud in the silence.

Slowly, deliberately, I stood and met Cedric's gaze head-on.

"Enough," I said, my voice steady but sharp, cutting through the tension like a blade. The room fell silent, all eyes on me.

"Killian is not a flawed leader," I continued, my tone rising with conviction. "He's a strong one. A leader who has faced betrayal, loss, and unimaginable pressure, and yet he is still here, fighting for all of you. Fighting for every pack in this room." Cedric opened his mouth to interrupt, but I silenced him with a look.

"Do not mistake experience for weakness," I said, my gaze sweeping the room. “Killian has learned from his mistakes, and those lessons have made him stronger. He has led

Shadowfang through wars, through crises, and through loss. He is the Hey's reason many of us are still alive."

I stepped closer to the table, leaning

forward slightly. "And as for me," I said, my voice firm, "you can

question my abilities all you want t

but do not forget this: it was Killian and who destroyed the Forsaken Amulet. It was Killian and I who

I.

stood against the rogue king when

no one else could."

The room was deathly silent. Cedric's confident smirk had faded, replaced with a wary frown.

The other leaders exchanged uneasy glances, their earlier doubts now subdued. "Killian and I will continue to lead," I finished, my voice unwavering. "And we will

do so not for power, but for the safety and unity of every wolf here. If anyone has a problem with that, speak now."

No one spoke. Even Cedric, his jaw tight, lowered his gaze.

The heavy silence was broken by the sudden crash of the chamber doors. A warrior stormed in, his face pale and his breathing labored.

"Luna Astrid, Alpha Killian," he gasped, bowing quickly before continuing. "We've received word — The fragments of the Forsaken Amulet... they're missing. And we think the rogue king is behind it."

The air seemed to leave the room all at once, and my heart pounded in my chest. Killian stood abruptly, his eyes blazing with urgency.

 

Chapter 404: Broken Fragments

Astrid's POV

The warrior's words hung in the air like a heavy shroud, suffocating and cold. I stared at him, trying to make sense of what I'd just heard.

"The fragments... are missing?" I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper.

My heart pounded, each beat echoing louder in my ears as confusion and disbelief clawed at my thoughts.

The Forsaken Amulet was destroyed. Rowena sacrificed her life to ensure it could never be used again.

Why would the rogues come back for it? What could they possibly want with shattered remnants?

Killian stood beside me, rigid as stone, his golden eyes locked on the warrior. "Are you sure?" he asked, his voice low, taut with restrained fury.

"Yes, Alpha," the warrior said, bowing his head. "We inspected the area as you instructed, to see if the rogues left anything behind clues, weapons, anything. But instead, we found the fragments... gone."

Gone. The word echoed in my mind, a drumbeat of confusion. I tried to piece together the rogue king's motives, but nothing made sense.

Broken shards of the amulet couldn't possibly hold the same power as the whole artifact or could they?

Before I could voice my thoughts, Alpha Cedric's sharp voice cut through the tense silence.

"This is negligence," he declared, standing once more. His accusing tone filled the room. "The forsaken amulet is a dangerous weapon! Rowena even sacrificed her life to destroy it. How could you just leave such a valuable weapon behind?!" Everyone's eyes turned to Alpha Cedric as his words resonated in their mind. Some of the Alphas and Lunas shared a glance with each others as they get swayed by Alpha Cedric's words.

I fell quiet this time, unable to give a comeback. It was a mistake, we shouldn't have left the broken fragments of the forsaken amulet behind.

It's just that, we thought once the forsaken amulet is broken then it's over. We thought the broken fragments are not valuable anymore.

"What if the rogue king found a way to fix the forsaken amulet? All your efforts would be put to waste and all of us would be doomed!" Alpha Cedric complained with anger in his face.

"The forsaken amulet is a special weapon and Rowena had to die just to break it. Fixing it wouldn't be easy. I even doubt that it's fixable," Nova spoke up for us.

If there is anyone among us who knows more about the Forsaken Amulet, that would be Nova, since most information we found about the Forsaken amulet were written in her sister's diary.

Alpha Cedric scoffed. "That's not the point is it?" He shot back to Nova before turning his attention to us once again. "You tasked warriors to investigate, yet the fragments were stolen from under your noses. How could you allow this to happen?"

A wave of anger surged through me, but before I could respond, Cedric continued, his words dripping with venom.

"First, you bring Andros back into the pack, despite his history of betrayal. Now, the remnants of the amulet-the very thing your leadership swore to protect-are gone. How can we trust your judgment any longer?"

The murmurs of agreement from a few Alphas ignited my fury. I noticed how some of them even shared glances of agreement.

Before I could address the crowd, Killian suddenly shot up from his seat and banged his fist in anger, silencing the room like a thunderclap.

All eyes turned to Killian, including me. I tensed as I felt the anger radiating off him. He took a single, commanding step forward which was enough to waver Alpha Cedric's shamelessness.

"Enough," he said, his voice cold and cutting. His golden eyes burned as they locked on Cedric, daring him to challenge his authority further.

Cedric's lips curled in anger, but he didn't speak. The challenge in his eyes remained, though he didn't dare voice it.

"It seems you have forgotten your place and may I remind you that we are still your leader. I have tolerated your disrespect long enough. Next time, keep your silence if it's not your turn to speak."

Cedric stiffened, his smirk faltering as Killian closed the distance between them. The other Alphas and Lunas exchanged uneasy glances, sensing the shift in the atmosphere.

Killian turned his gaze to the rest of the room, his tone steady but firm. "We will investigate what happened We will find out who took the fragments and why. Until then,

expect unity, not division. We cannot

afford to fracture now."

Cedric remained stiff, his jaw tight, but he said nothing. The tension in the room

was palpable, each second dragging like hours.

"I will take full responsibility for this," Killian continued, his voice softening slightly as he addressed the rest of the Alphas and Lunas. "But give us time to determine the truth. Astrid and will return with answers"

QUMS

I placed a hand on Killian's arm, grounding him as his anger simmered beneath

the surface. Together, we left the chamber, the sound of our footsteps echoing in

the heavy silence.

As the doors closed behind us, the cool corridor air hit my face, but it did little to ease the knot in my chest. I turned to Killian, my thoughts a whirlwind.

"Why would they take the fragments?" I asked, my voice shaking with frustration. "The amulet is destroyed. Rowena made sure of that."

Killian's jaw tightened, his golden eyes dark and stormy. "I don't know," he admitted, running a hand through his hair. "But we're going to find out. Whatever the rogue king is planning, we can't let him succeed."

I nodded, but unease still gripped me. Whatever the rogues wanted with the

fragments, it couldn't be good. And we were running out of time.

 

Chapter 405: Another Spy

Astrid's POV

The air in the dungeon was damp and heavy, clinging to my skin like a second layer.

The faint flicker of the bright light painted uneasy shadows on the stone walls, casting long, distorted shapes that felt as restless as the questions swirling in my mind.

Killian and I stopped outside Andros's cell, and for a moment, neither of us spoke.

Andros sat against the wall, his posture slouched, his gaze fixed somewhere distant, as though we weren't there.

His face was pale, worn, and etched with the weight of regret he had carried silently since Rowena's death.

"Andros," I said, my voice softer than I intended. It was impossible to ignore how different he looked now, like a man who had already resigned himself to whatever fate we would decide.

His dark eyes flicked toward me briefly before dropping back to the ground. "What now?" he asked, his voice hollow, lacking the defiance I used to know.

Killian stepped forward, his tone firmer than mine. "We need answers," he said. "The fragments of the Forsaken Amulet are missing. We believe the rogue king has them."

Andros didn't respond right away. He let out a soft, weary sigh, his head tilting back against the cold stone. "The amulet is broken. What could he possibly want with pieces of it?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," I said. "You worked with the rogues. You must know something. We had warriors left behind to investigate the area, to find clues that will make us better understand what the rogues are planning, but the rogues risked getting caught by going back just to retrieve it. Why would the rogue king go through such great lengths to do that?"

Andros shifted slightly, his bound hands resting on his lap. "I don't know," he admitted quietly.

"Rowena said that destroying the amulet would stop whatever the rogue king is planning and end it all. We thought it was the key to stopping him, but he's gone back for the fragments.

Is there something we didn't know? Was there a way to fix the amulet?" Killian questioned straightforwardly, not bothering to hold back his thoughts and concerns from Andros anymore.

"Destroying the amulet is the only way to stop the rogue king's plans, but it's not enough to stop the rogue king himself," Andros explained.

"The rogue king has been raising his army for years. He wouldn't stop so easily. Destroying his only weapon to defeat us won't discourage him from his goals to destroy us.

It's expected that he wouldn't give up even after we destroy the amulet. He will not stop until he achieve his goals. I just don't know what he is going to do about the fragments," Andros answered, being as clueless as us.

My stomach twisted at the thought. "Do you think it's possible?" I pressed. "Can it be fixed?"

Andros shook his head, his

expression resigned. "I don't know. I'm not a scholar or a mystic. I only know that if the rogue king does find a way to repair it, we will all be in serious trouble and Rowena's sacrifice would all be for nothing."

Killian paced the length of the cell, his frustration radiating off him in waves. "You must at least know something. How about the rogue king? Do you know his identity? Maybe if we find out who he is and why he is doing this, then we could just talk to him and convince him to end all this."

"I don't know who he is," Andros said, his voice flat. "I don't know his real name or his reasons. No one did. He keeps his secrets close, even from those who work for him."

I studied Andros carefully, "You must know at least something about him."

"I wish he had told me something, but I swear he didn't. Although I met him and I worked with him in the past, we weren't close. He didn't trust me enough because of my identity," Andros answered with no hint of deceit in him.

His words were spoken without hesitation, his tone devoid of the arrogance or smugness he used to carry. He wasn't lying. At least, I didn't think he was.

Killian stopped pacing and turned to face Andros directly. "What about the information you gave him? What else does he know about us? About the packs?"

Andros flinched at the question, his eyes clouding with something close to shame. “I didn't tell him anything," he said, his voice firm but low.

"What do you mean you told him nothing?" I blurted out. Just when I thought that Andros is cooperating with us, he hits us with another lie. "You worked for him, you must at least have told him something!"

Andros tilted his head up and sighed. "Look, I wanted to help you guys. I'm telling you the truth. I wish I know something so I could help.”

Killian's jaw tightened. The rogues always knew too much about us. They know when and where to attack. You must be the one guiding them."

Andros looked up then, meeting Killian's gaze with a tired, almost pleading expression.

"Believe it or not, I didn't leak anything to him," he said quietly. "I know you have no reason to trust me. I know what I've done. But this time, I swear on everything I didn't give him anything."

I exchanged a glance with Killian, his golden eyes narrowing with doubt. Andros must have noticed because he leaned forward slightly, his voice growing softer but no less serious.

"You're looking in the wrong place," he said. "I'm not your spy. I've made mistakes terrible ones-but I didn't betray you this time. If the rogue king knows something, it's because someone else is feeding him information."