Luna, Who No Longer Recognized Him Chapter 01

Luna, Who No Longer Recognized Him Chapter 01

On the day of our wedding, the quarantine alarm ripped through Darkwater Pack’s ocean chapel.

Every guest said the same thing: Rogue fever had broken out.

My Alpha husband, Declan Langford, nearly killed himself getting me to that island.

One year later, the man who should have died at sea was standing right in front of me.

He wore a clean, perfectly tailored black suit, standing on the deck of a cruise ship with his Beta, his guards, and an entire crew behind him arranging the set like this was some kind of production.

“You published a manifesto on PackNet against captive marine performances and rallied everyone to attack Isolde.”

“You reported Evans Marine Park and nearly destroyed the legacy her father left her.”

“I trust that a year of isolation on this island has cured you of that bleeding-heart act.”

I hadn’t heard another human voice in so long.

The sea wind swept past my ears, and I stood there for what felt like forever before the words finally made sense.

Someone on the cruise ship laughed, low and mocking.

“Figures. Any Luna who cares more about animal freedom than Pack law has got to be a little unhinged.”

“That beluga that brought her food every day is smarter than she is. It figured out ages ago this was an artificial quarantine island. Tried to lead her out to open water more than once, and she kept swimming back to hide from some imaginary plague.”

“She really thought the ocean was crawling with infected rogues? That’s hilarious.”

Declan stood on the deck with his hands clasped behind his back, looking down at me like he was doing me a favor.

“All you have to do is publicly apologize to Isolde at the Pack press hearing. Admit that your report was misleading and malicious. Then I’ll bring you back to Darkwater territory.”

“You can continue being my Luna.”

I looked down at my hands, bleached white by the wind and salt.

Those hands once wore his mating ring.

But this past year, with silverwards buried around the island’s perimeter, my wolf had been crushed deep inside my chest. I couldn’t even shift.

The mate bond had rotted like a rope soaked in seawater, losing its warmth thread by thread.

By the end, I couldn’t even smell Declan’s scent anymore.

I shook my head. My throat felt like it had been scorched with brine.

“My husband is in this ocean.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Declan froze for a heartbeat, then let out a cold laugh.

“Husband?”

“You mean that white beluga that brings you fish every day?”

“Aurora Hale, is this your idea of revenge? Playing crazy to get back at me?”

“I deployed an entire Pack crew, spent a fortune from the quarantine fund, and kept you safe on this artificial island. And now you’re telling me you’ve been calling a wild beluga whale your husband?”

Our mating ceremony was supposed to take place in the ocean chapel.

That day, the moment the bells rang, a guest collapsed in the seats, convulsing.

Someone screamed: “Rogue fever! It’s Rogue fever!”

Declan grabbed me and got me onto a speedboat before anyone else could move.

His arm had been clawed by someone. The wound shimmered an unnatural silver-gray.

He pressed his lips to my forehead, his voice so hoarse it sounded like it might shatter.

“Aurora, the shore isn’t safe anymore. The quarantine island is the only clean zone left.”

“I’ve been infected. I can’t stay near you.”

“If I die, I’ll still find a way to come back and protect you.”

Then he turned the speedboat around and disappeared into the sea fog without looking back.

I was wearing a heavy wedding gown. No communicator. No food. No fresh water.

The so-called supply room on the island was destroyed by the tide almost immediately.

I risked going into the ocean to catch fish. The gown tangled around my ankles and nearly dragged me under.

At my lowest point, a moon-white beluga rose from the depths and held me up.

It pushed me onto the rocks. Every day after that, it brought me fish, shellfish, and edible seaweed from the sea, right on schedule.

It would press its forehead gently against mine. When I cried, it would nuzzle my palm and let out a soft, low call.

My wolf stirred for the first time that entire year.

Not for the mate bond.

For the whale that swam through the waves to find me.

I held its cool, gentle body and whispered over and over: “Declan, is that you?”

It couldn’t understand my words. But it stayed with me, quiet and steady.

From that day on, it became my protector. My family. My sea-bound mate.

Even now, with the real Declan standing in front of me.

I only recognized the beluga.

I lifted my head and looked at him. My voice was barely a whisper.

“You staged a plague quarantine. You stopped our ceremony. You locked me inside silver wards for a year.”

“But the moment that whale lifted me out of the water when I was drowning, we made our vows in the sea.”

“This past year, it stayed with me day and night. It fed me. It protected me.”

“It was more of a husband than my Alpha ever was.”

“So tell me, why can’t I call it my husband?”

Something flickered across Declan’s face. Guilt. Pain.

But only for an instant.

The cold mask of an Alpha slid right back into place.

“If you hadn’t gone too far, I never would have used this method to make you calm down.”

“You couldn’t even handle life away from civilization. So what makes you so sure those animals don’t enjoy the comfortable, well-fed life inside Evans Marine Park?”

I turned and looked out at the water.

A graceful white arc broke the surface in the distance.

For the first time, something soft crossed my face.

“I know my husband.”

“He loves the ocean. He loves freedom. He loves the sound of moonlight falling on water.”

“He doesn’t belong in any cage.”