When the Hidden Luna Rises novel Chapter 3

**Chained by Fate**
**Eliza Rowan**
**Chapter 3**

Ryan stood by the window, his gaze fixed on the street below, the world outside a blur of shadows and light. His features were inscrutable, a mask of emotions tightly held at bay.

With a sudden movement, he slammed the file shut, the sound reverberating sharply in the otherwise silent room. His voice sliced through the air, crisp and devoid of warmth. “Kelsey, you’re exhausted. Go home and get some rest. There’s no need to make a scene.”

Kelsey’s hands trembled, stained crimson, a stark reminder of the chaos they had just endured. Ryan’s hand twitched, hovering in the air as if he might reach out to her, but in a moment of hesitation, he withdrew, leaving the space between them charged with unspoken words.

In that fleeting instant, a realization washed over Kelsey. He saw her as tainted, as if the blood on her hands was a mark of her worthlessness in his eyes.

“Take a shower, get some proper sleep, and you’ll be fine,” he added, his voice softening, yet it carried an icy edge that sent shivers down her spine.

Kelsey gripped the door handle tightly, her knuckles white with the strain. “What happened to you, Ryan? The Alpha I loved is gone. I’m looking at you now and all I see is a stranger.”

The moment her words left her lips, she saw his expression harden, a fortress rising around his heart.

“Changed? You’re always saying I’ve changed.” He turned to her, his grey-blue eyes seething with intensity, as if they could pierce through her very soul. “I worked hard to become an Alpha. For whom? Did you want to go back to that life, being trampled underfoot?”

“Open your eyes, Kelsey! Look at all this—the cars, the house, your place in this pack. I gave you this. You can’t handle a little discomfort? What did you think being Luna was—a fairy tale?”

Kelsey’s voice trembled, yet it held a fierce determination. “Then I don’t want to be Luna anymore!”

The air around them thickened, freezing in the wake of her declaration. Ryan, however, failed to grasp the depth of her despair; he mistook her words for mere defiance.

With a forceful shove, Kelsey flung the door open, the sound of it crashing against the stop resonating through the stillness of the night—a single, piercing note that marked her breaking point.

As she stepped outside, the wind rushed forth from the valley, a biting chill that wrapped around her like a shroud.

At the entrance of the villa, Claire Sullivan stood waiting, her presence a stark contrast to the storm brewing within Kelsey.

Upon seeing her, Ryan hesitated, the hard lines of his face softening momentarily. “What are you doing here? It’s cold; you shouldn’t be outside.”

Claire’s voice was gentle, a soothing balm against the tension. “Did you and Miss Evans have a fight? Was it because of the interview today?”

She moved closer, her hand reaching out to grasp Kelsey’s, an unspoken apology woven into her tone. “I’m sorry, Kelsey. That reporter was just too sharp; I had no choice but to take Ryan’s arm. Please don’t misunderstand, okay?”

Kelsey felt the warmth of Claire’s hand, but it only deepened her sense of despair. She instinctively pulled back, discreetly wiping the bloodied side of her palm against her clothes, an attempt to erase the evidence of her turmoil.

“It’s fine. Really, it has nothing to do with you,” Kelsey replied, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

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