His Rogue Luna is a Princess (Mia and Derek) novel Chapter 52

Chapter 52

I wouldn’t fall.

I crawled. I growled. I bled into the moss.

And then, out of nowhere, the air changed. A new sound cracked through the woods.

Thwack.

The rogue in front of me dropped, his body jerking sideways like something yanked the life out of him. An arrow jutted from his spine.

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Another turned to run–thwack. He collapsed, face–first into the brush.

The third took one look and bolted, but he didn’t make it far.

The arrows came clean. Precise. Unforgiving.

My vision was fading–shifting in and out like an old television losing its signal—but I

remember the blur of movement above me. Someone kneeling beside me, the scent of fear

and steel and something familiar in her hair.

A voice, sharp but shaky, whispering that I’d be okay. That help was coming.

Then everything went black.

When I woke, I was still in the forest, barely conscious. Floating. Bleeding. Breathing, but

barely. And when I blinked through the haze–red, green, pain–I saw her.

Cassandra.

She was fifteen then. Just a girl. Pale, shaking, a silver cut blooming on her arm. Her eyes

were wide with horror. She held the bow like it had burned her, and next to her on the grass sat a quiver with only a few arrows left.

“You’re Silverclaw, aren’t you?” she’d asked me, kneeling down to help me sit up.

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Chapter 52

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In her hand was a piece of cloth that looked like it had been torn off of someone’s shirt. She

held it out and gingerly put it to the wound on my head, which was still weeping blood.

“Yes,” I’d said weakly. “You look familiar.”

“I’m from the Eastern Ridge Pack,” she had said, pulling her hand back, looking distastefully at the tacky smear of blood I’d left on it. “My father has been negotiating for Silverclaw protection.”

She’d been out for a walk, she said. She saw the rogues. Saw me.

Saw what they were doing.

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“Goddess,” I’d said, thinking that the Goddess truly had sent me a savior. “I’ll make sure that your pack gets it. You saved my life.”

“I-” she’d started, thinking she didn’t know exactly who I was.

“I’m the Alpha’s son,” I’d said. “I’ll tell my father what you did here today. Your pack will

have an ally for life. I swear it.”

I shouldn’t have been swearing anything back then. A twelve–year–old heir didn’t really have the juice to convince the Alpha of one of the most powerful packs in the nation to do

anything.

I think knowing how tenuous a promise I’d just made on my father’s behalf had somehow

made me make my next vow…

“And,” I’d said. “I swear you’ll always have the protection you’ve just given me. You saved

my life. I owe you mine. I will protect you. Always.”

Twelve years old. Covered in blood and bruises. I’d made a vow with more fire in my chest

than I’d ever felt before.

At the time, I’d meant it.

***

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Chapter 52

I sighed, leaning back in my seat. And heard an answering sigh next to me.

“Something bothering you?” I asked Joe without looking.

“Yeah,” he muttered. “You. You’ve been brooding since we left.”

“I don’t brood,” I said, though I absolutely did.

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