Shattered Bonds A Second Chance Mate (by Yui) novel Chapter 244

It’s better I than you” His voice was calm. Too calm.

No, Francesco, what have you done?!

I love you, Ellaine…..

SAHAT??!!!

NO!

I gasped loudly.

When I woke, the first thing I noticed was silence.

Not peace

– silence.

The kind that feels like the world is holding its breath.

The second thing I noticed was the light.

It poured through the curtains like pale honey, but everything around me looked wrong.

I’m in my room.

But… not.

The air smelled of medicine and ash.

The table beside me was covered with vials, crushed herbs, blood–stained cloths.

–

And there – beside my bed another one.

A second bed.

turned, my heart twisting when I saw him.

Francesco…

Pale. Still.

A thin line of silver ward runes ran across his chest, glowing faintly. His skin looked too cold, too perfect — like marble pretending to be flesh.

For a second, I couldn’t breathe.

“Lira’s idea,” a voice said softly.

I turned my head and saw Audrey sitting in the chair by the window. Her armor was unbuckled, her hair tied in a loose braid, but her eyes gods, her eyes looked tired.

“She thought if we put him close,” Audrey added quietly, nodding at the second bed, “you’d at least sleep.”

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f

I managed a weak breath. “Sleep?” My voice sounded strange, brittle. “You really think I could?”

Audrey’s gaze softened. “I didn’t. But Lira said… bonds work in strange ways. Sometimes proximity helps.”

I pushed myself up slowly, ignoring the dull ache behind my eyes. “How long?”

“Two days,” she said. “You’ve been out since Lira gave you the potion.”

Two days.

Two days he’s been like this.

I swung my legs off the bed and stood, the floor cold beneath my bare feet. My body swayed, weak, but I didn’t care.

Luna-”

“I need to see him.” I said stubbornly.

Audrey didn’t stop me. She just watched as I crossed the space between us.

When I reached his bedside, I froze.

He looked almost peaceful.

If not for the faint tremor of his chest, I could have believed he was already gone.

“Lira,” I said without turning, my voice barely holding together.

The healer was standing near the doorway, her hands stained with herbs and exhaustion. “Yes, Luna.”

“How is he?”

She hesitated, and that hesitation said more than any words could.

When she finally spoke, it was quiet, careful. “He’s strong. Stronger than most. That’s all I know.”

I nod my head. I understood what she didn’t say.

That she didn’t know how long he had.

That she couldn’t reach the curse

–

or what part of him it had taken.

My throat closed.

“Oh, God…” I whimpered.

I reached for his hand. It was cold. Too cold.

“Francesco,” I whispered, pressing his palm to my cheek. “I’m here. Do you hear me? Please… come back.”

Nothing.

Not even the faint hum of the bond.

Just emptiness.

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I bent down and kissed his forehead, tears falling silently. “Please, love don’t make me do this world without you.”

He didn’t move. Didn’t breathe any deeper.

–

He just lay there, still and terrible in his beauty a sleeping king trapped between life and death.

One week later but the silence didn’t change.

Days blurred together like watercolor on wet paper.

Morning light, prayers, the sound of pages turning – that was my world now.

I stayed beside him, always.

Reading. Searching. Hoping.

Lira brought me every book she could find about curses and bond magic. Audrey and Monica scoured old libraries and

covens.

But nothing worked.

If only I still had Anastasia’s knowledge… or her power.

But that part of me had burned away long ago.

So I read and waited and whispered to him like he could hear me.

Sometimes, I thought I felt a tremor in our bond.

A heartbeat.

A whisper of warmth when I held his hand.

And sometimes… I thought I heard him whisper my name back.

But maybe that was only my heart, refusing to break properly.

That night, the moon rose red over the French hills.

The pack was uneasy.

Marlow had doubled the guards. Alfonso barely slept. The scent of fear was thick in the corridors.

When the first howl broke the quiet, I felt it in my bones.

Low. Long. Powerful.

It wasn’t one of ours.

Dorian….

Does he know?

The sound of a predator announcing himself.

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Audrey was through the door before the echo faded, her sword already drawn. “Someone here,” she said sharply. “Near the border. Looks like have dirty intention by how they growl.”

I looked at her, then at Francesco.

Lira’s voice came from behind me. “We can protect him. You shouldn’t-”

But I was already standing.

No one touches him,” I said, my voice low. Steady.

Audrey frowned. “Luna-”

They think the King has fallen,” I continued. “That we’re weak. That we’ll hide behind walls.”

I turned toward the window. The moonlight caught my reflection – pale skin, bright eyes, the faint silver shimmer of the bond that refused to break.

“Let’s prove they’re wrong.”

Alfonso entered then, his face tense. “Luna, Dorian’s army approaches. Hundreds of wolves. I guess they’ve heard of the King’s condition.”

“I know,” I said.

“What are your orders?”

I met his gaze.

“Let them come.”

He blinked, startled.

“Let them see,” I said softly, a slow smile curling my lips. “If they think the King is weak, then they’ll learn what it means to face the White Wolf.”

Audrey’s breath caught. “Luna Ellaine-”

I looked at her. Calm. Steady. With a small smile plaster on my face.

“My mate taught me how to fight. You did too. Now I’ll show them what your lessons made of me.”

For a moment, silence.

Then Alfonso bowed his head. “As you command, Luna.”

I turned back to Francesco, brushing a hand over his hair.

“Sleep, my love,” I whispered. “I’ll protect what you built. And when you wake… you’ll find your kingdom still standing.”

The air outside stirred – the first rumble of approaching war.

I stood, shoulders squared, eyes bright with cold fire.

Let them come.

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The king may rest.

But the Luna would rise.

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