Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 115

Chapter 115

Ethan had been through too much. Too many losses. Too much humiliation. Too much quiet suffering dressed up as resilience. And now, for once, his brother had gone away with his wife and sounded lighter than Joseph had heard him in years. Joseph would not drag him back into chaos unless he had no choice. Not yet. Not for this first strike. Let Ethan have his peace for one more night if it could be managed. Let Meadow have him free of blood and crisis for a little while longer.

They arrived home with the weight of the battle still on them.

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Joseph went straight to his room. Ashley was not back yet. A small, ugly part of him felt relief at that. He did not have the energy for her right then, not when he still smelled blood on his skin and could feel the aftershock of the fight in his muscles. He decided to shower and rest. It was already evening. The day had become something entirely different from what it started as, and all he wanted for a little while was quiet.

He bathed, dressed, and chose to eat in his room rather than go downstairs.

II

The room was dim when he sat on the couch, finally letting his body feel its own exhaustion. He had barely settled when there was a knock at the door. He knew immediately who it would be. Amber. Adam and Brian were obligated to report to her. She would have heard

by now. She would know enough to be worried and not enough to be calm.

Joseph rose and opened the door.

||

11

He braced himself for everything she might say, but the first thing he noticed when she stepped in was the colour on her face. More of it

than before. She did look a bit better. That eased something in him almost against his will.

“I see the meds did wonders,” he said, trying to dodge the real reason she was there.

Amber did not let him.

“What is this I hear about Oscar, Luis, and Primewood pack members?”

Joseph shut the door behind her and shook his head.

“We do not know what pack those wolves belong to, mother. I doubt they were from Primewood. It is too damn obvious for that to be the

case. They went through the trouble of trying to scent like rogues. They did not want us to know where they were coming from.”

Amber crossed the room and sat on the couch, her expression grim. Joseph remained standing for a second before sitting too, though his

posture stayed tight. He was tired, but his mind was still moving.

“Have you told Ethan?” she asked,

Joseph shook his head again.

“No, mother. He just left for the cabin this morning. Let him enjoy his holiday. We both know he would return home if I told him what

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Chapter 115

happened.”

Amber agreed with a small movement of her head, though the worry stayed clear in her face.

“Adam thinks it is that Ceenas pack weasel,” she growled.

Joseph almost smiled at the way she said it, but there was no real humour in him.

“Let us not be hasty, mother. We are not sure. It seems like it, but it might not be him. It might be someone else.”

He leaned forward, forearms on his thighs, and

Poke more seriously.

N༢༦

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“One thing that is certain is that someone has put a target on our pack. We must abandon the search for father’s killer and find this

person, or we will lose on all fronts. There was no way this attack was a fluke. Oscar and Luis were stupid because whoever sent them

knew they would not survive the attack. They knew we would kill the men. They were just testing our strength and ability to respond to

an attack.”

||

Amber went quiet after that.

11

11

Joseph saw the fear settle into her properly then. Not the general fear of a Luna who heard there had been trouble at the border.

Something deeper. Something colder. Because his words meant what she already suspected. This was bigger than a single clash. Bigger

than rogue violence. Bigger than two traitors. Someone had measured Whitewood today. Measured them and found them worth circling

back to.

And that meant worse was coming.

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Underwater: The Silent Luna