The Substitute Luna Chapter 04

The Substitute Luna Chapter 04

At moonrise, Ronan brought Taryn back.

She clung to his neck, whispering, “Stay with me tonight. I want to give myself to you…”

I sat in the darkness, watching.

Ronan caught my scent immediately and turned.

Taryn stiffened, then smiled smugly. “Luna, if I’d known you were here, I would have had Ronar bring me back sooner.”

“We missed the meteor shower, so he took me to see fireworks instead.”

“Don’t be angry with him. It was my idea to stay out so late.”

I stood up, my limbs unsteady from the alcohol. “Where’s my mother’s amulet?”

Taryn blinked, feigning innocence. “The one in the safe? I might have damaged it while cleaning. It didn’t seem valuable, so I threw it away.”

Her words twisted in my gut like a blade. My legs went numb. My lips trembled.

I remembered my mother’s last afternoon, holding me, wiping my tears.

“The amulet is me,” she said. “It will stay with you when I’m gone.”

I hurled the bottle at Taryn. It shattered against the wall, shards cutting her leg.

She cowered behind Ronan, whimpering.

I grabbed her collar and snarled, “Where is it? Where did you put it?!”

Ronan caught hold of me, his voice cutting through mine. His wolf was trying to soothe me, why.

“Vivian, calm down.”

“I’ll find it for you. Please, stop crying. I can’t bear it.”

I froze.

Was I crying?

Taryn had thrown the amulet away that morning. It might still be there.

Ronan drove me to the dump. He shoved aside the truck with effort.

He climbed through the filth beside me, searching through rotting earth and ash without flinching. A man who hated dirt seemed not to care at all.

We searched until the sky darkened. Nothing.

At sunrise, the harsh light burned my eyes. I bit the inside of my cheek, hard, willing the tears not

to fall.

An elderly couple sorting through the trash took pity on us and joined the search.

Just when I thought I couldn’t go on, the old woman called out, “Over here, miss. Is this what you’re looking for?”

I staggered upright, dizzy, and stumbled toward him.

She held out a box. Inside, the gold amulet lay shattered into pieces.

Found it. I should have been relieved. I forced a smile. But the moment my lips moved, tears spilled

over.

Mother, you said that if the amulet remains, you’d stay. But it’s broken. Are you still here? Please don’t leave me.

Ronan pulled me into his arms. “I’ll have it restored.”

I pushed him away. “Don’t bother.”

His voice dropped. “Can’t you just let me help you for once? Instead of acting like you have to carry this alone?”

His phone buzzed. Taryn’s name lit up the screen. He hesitated, then answered.

Her voice trembled. “Ronan, I tried coming to apologize to both of you… but I got lost. A man is following me. I’m scared…”

Before she finished, he was gone.

At the same time, my phone rang.

The healer. Surgery was today.

On Taryn’s birthday, I’d lost my mother.

Now I was losing my child.