The Lunar Queen (Lyric and Mason) novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Mason POV

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Every minute that goes by without us finding her pulls me deeper into my spiral, like I’m losing control piece by piece and there’s

nothing stopping it.

There was so much blood.

How can someone so small have that much blood?

It doesn’t make sense. It shouldn’t be possible.

We’ve been searching for hours, and the blood keeps leading us to dead ends.

Every trail cutting off like she just… disappeared again.

“What if it’s already too late?” I hear a warrior say.

I’m on him instantly, hand around his throat.

“What the fuck did you just say?” I growl in his face.

My grip tightens without me even thinking about it.

“I didn’t say anything, alpha,” he says, bowing his head in submission.

“SAY IT!” I snarl.

“I said what if it is already too late,” he repeats in a stutter.

“If my mate is dead when we find her, I will cut your tongue out of your mouth and feed it to you,” I growl menacingly, the words

coming out darker than I intended-but I don’t take them back.

“Alpha Lane,” the king says firmly, bringing me out of my rage,

“try not to threaten the pack members, helping you look for your mate,” he adds before walking away.

The fact that he has to say that… tells me I’m already slipping.

Over the link, different warriors think they’ve found her and then come up empty.

Hope-then nothing. Over and over again.

This is all my fault.

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Every second of it.

I never thought the feelings I buried for her all these years would lead to her suffering.

I convinced myself staying away from her was the right thing after she stopped speaking to me. I let that excuse become years of

pretending she did not matter to me at all.

And now I’m realizing what that cost her.

She could never be invisible.

She brightens a room even when she isn’t trying.

People stare every time she enters a room.

She doesn’t even realize how beautiful she is.

And I let everyone else overlook her… like I did.

My whole body goes rigid when I hear the link,

“I found her,” King Cole links everyone.

Everything inside me goes still.

I run toward the direction I saw him go last,

faster than I’ve ever moved, like if I don’t get there now, I’ll be too late.

Cole POV

I separated from everyone else to search for her alone.

I stood still, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath.

Blocking everything else out-every other scent, every other distraction.

Suddenly, my eyes shot open.

Blood.

Fresh blood.

Not faint. Not old. Fresh.

I followed the scent. It was muted beneath the dirt and wet leaves, but still unmistakably hers.

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As her scent grew stronger, my chest tightened.

Each step heavier than the last.

I see Lyric’s small body covered in dirt and surrounded by trees, unmoving.

Too still.

When I got close enough, I heard her faint pulse.

Barely there-but there.

I linked everyone, letting them know I found her.

I walked closer and dropped to my knees beside her.

She was cold and pale.

Too cold. Too pale.

Her back was carved.

Who would do something so vicious to another wolf?

This was cruelty on a whole new level.

This wasn’t just an attack-this was intentional.

When everyone approached, the beta let out a gut-wrenching howl that we all felt.

We each howled in sorrow for him.

The sound echoing through the trees like something breaking.

When I bent down to pick her up, I heard her softly say,

“I tried to stay away,”

her voice barely more than a breath, like it took everything she had left to say it.

before she passed out.

“We need to get her to the pack hospital now. Her pulse is weak,” I say.

Too weak.

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Her father shifted into his wolf form, and her brother climbed onto his back.

I carefully handed her to him.

Zeus howled in my mind, frantic and furious at the sight of her.

The sound tore through me because I had never felt him react to anyone like this before.

I turned to Mason, who was frozen, staring at the spot where she had been.

Not moving. Not breathing. Just… stuck.

He dropped to his knees.

“My little sunflower, I’m so sorry. I should have seen this sooner,” Mason says through sobs.

His voice breaking in a way I’ve never heard from an alpha before.

“I will stay with him. Everyone else, head back,” Alpha Liam said.

When we arrived at the hospital, the doctor was just stepping outside.

“Dr. Grant, my pup, how is she?” Beta Donovan asked..

His voice already shaking before she even answers.

“Honestly, Beta, it’s not good. We’re giving her blood transfusions because she lost too much blood, and we’re working to flush the

silver from her system.”

“Since she hasn’t shifted yet and her body was already trying to recover from another silver injury, she doesn’t have the healing

strength most wolves would have.”

“The wounds on her back are filled with dirt and debris from the forest, so we’re cleaning them as carefully as we can,” she adds,

her voice tight.

“These next few days will tell us a lot. Right now, all we can do is wait and pray that the goddess blesses her,” she finishes before

turning and walking back inside Lyric’s room.

And as the door closes behind her…

no one moves.

Because for the first time since we found her…

it’s not about finding Lyric anymore.

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