Reclaiming My Broken Luna by Selene Souchon

Chapter 296: Flesh and Blood Giselle's POV Astrid's sudden arrival sent a shockwave through the crowd.

Whispers broke out, rippling across the gathered pack members, all eyes turning to her and Ryker.

My carefully constructed plan, my painstaking performance of a frantic, grieving mother, began to unravel in that instant.

Killian rushed forward, his expression a mixture of relief and confusion as he dropped to one knee, pulling Ryker into his arms.

"Thank the goddess," he breathed, his voice thick with emotion. "Ryker, you're safe." I watched, frozen in place, as the crowd's attention shifted entirely to them.

Everything I had worked for, all the careful manipulation, was crumbling before my eyes.

Ryker was safe. Hazel, I realized with growing panic, was still missing.

Astrid's gaze met mine for just a moment, and there was something in her eyes - something knowing, something resolute - that sent a chill down my spine.

She didn't speak, but her presence alone was enough to makefeel cornered, as though she knew what I had been planning all along.

I quickly masked my shock with worry, forcing myself to move. I rushed to Ryker, pulling him into my arms as though I were the worried mother I had pretended to be moments before.

I hugged him tightly, pressing his small body against mine, my mind racing.

His presence should have broughtrelief, but it didn't.

As I held Ryker close, my arms around his small frame, I tried to summon the concern I should feel from him, but the truth gnawed atfrom within.

It didn't matter toif Ryker was taken by the rogues, or even if he was dead.

As harsh and unthinkable as it sounded, the only thing I truly cared about in this moment was Hazel.

My mind raced with images of her alone, lost, or worse, caught in the crossfire of the rogue attack.

The panic I had pretended to feel moments ago was now real, but not for Ryker.

He was just a pawn in the gI was playing. If he was lost, the pack might mourn, but life would go on. I would go on.

But Hazel - she was my blood, my daughter, my future. Her safety was the only thing that truly mattered.

I couldn't lose her. I wouldn't. The thought of something happening to her twisted my insides in a way that Ryker's absence never could.

"Ryker, are you hurt?" I asked him in a soft voice as I pulled away from the hug and took a good look at him. He is completely fine. He looks exactly like before he was lured to the woods.

I knew that everything was falling apart. Astrid stood there, quiet, her eyes watching me.

Even though she hadn't said a word, her presence alone madefeel cornered, like she could see right through me-like she knew exactly what I had planned.

Vanessa stepped forward, her voice trembling with barely contained fear. "Where's Hazel?" she asked, her pleading eyes fixed on Astrid. Did you see her? Is she with the warriors?" Astrid shook her head slowly, her expression troubled. "I haven't seen her, Vanessa. When I found Ryker, he was alone.

The murmurs in the crowd grew louder, uncertainty rippling through the pack like a wave. But I barely heard any of it.

My heart raced, thundering inside my chest the moment Astrid's words hit me.

Hazel was still missing. It was as if the world tilted, and the only thing keepinggrounded was the gnawing fear for my daughter.

Vanessa, her concern now bordering on panic, crouched down to Ryker's level, her voice soft and urgent, filled with the kind of desperation only a mother could feel.

"Ryker," she said gently, "did you see Hazel? Do you know where she is?" For a moment, Ryker didn't answer. He clung to me, his small hands gripping the fabric of my dress, but I could hardly focus on him.

My heart beat erratically, not for Ryker - but for Hazel. Where was she? What would Ryker say? My mind spun wildly, every possible scenaplaying out in my head, each one more terrifying than the last. What if she was lost? Hurt? Or worse, taken by the rogues? Vanessa's eyes dropped from Ryker's face to his hands - and then, I saw it. Her breath hitched, her expression freezing in place, her eyes widening with dawning horror.

en In Ryker's hand was Hazel's delicate silver bracelet, the one with the tiny wolf charm she adored.

It gleamed faintly in the dimming light, the symbol of my deepest fear made real.

My stomach twisted violently. Hazel's bracelet. How did Ryker have it? My mind raced with the implications, none of them good.

"That bracelet," Vanessa's voice trembled, barely above a whisper now. "That's Hazel's favorite bracelet. I gave it to her for her last 14 birthday..." Her voice cracked. "Ryker, have you seen Hazel? Is she safe?

The world seemed to close in on me, my breath shallow and erraticoIm wasn't Ryker that mattered in that moment. I stared at the bracelet in Ryker's hand, my chest tightening with panic and anger all at once.

How did he get it? Why wasn't he saying anything? The fear for Hazel grew more suffocating by the second.

Everything was unraveling, and I felt my composure slipping away, m crumbling under the weight of my desperation. "Ryker," I hissed, my voice sharper than I intended.

I knelt down in front of him, gripping his small shoulders tightly. "Where is Hazel? Did you see her? Where did you get this?"