Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 292

Chapter 292

Ashley stopped the truck at the gate, and a brawny, tanned, shirtless man came to her window. He looked dangerous in the careless

way some warriors did, all muscle, sharp eyes, and a body that seemed too used to violence to be impressed by tears. His presence

alone made Claire go alert inside her.

Ashley wound the glass down and tried to look distraught.

She did not have to try too hard. She was tired, heartbroken, and afraid. All she had to do was stop, hiding it.

“You’re not from this pack. State your business,” he said with a gruff voice.

Ashley swallowed and pretended to be scared. Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel, and she let her eyes glisten.

“I want to seek asylum here. I can no longer live in my former pack,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

It was partially the truth because she had been unable to go out and mingle for weeks since Joseph dumped her. Whitewood no longer felt like a place she could breathe. Her father’s house had become a cage. Her shame followed her everywhere. So when she said she could no longer live there, the pain in her voice was real.

It was understandable that she would feel that way. She just tapped into the hurt of losing the one person she cared about and used it to her benefit. That was the trick. Not inventing a lie from nothing, but bending the truth until it opened the gate she needed.

The man stared at her for a long moment, his eyes moving over her face, her truck, her clothes, her backpack on the seat beside her. Ashley kept her breathing shaky and her gaze low enough to look broken but not so low that she looked fake. She had played roles before. She had lied for attention, lied for sympathy, lied to keep a man. This time, the performance had a purpose bigger than

herself.

“What pack?” the man asked.

Ashley hesitated, letting fear cross her face before answering.

“Whitewood,” she said quietly.

The man’s expression changed slightly. Not enough for most people to notice, but Ashley caught it. Whitewood meant something here now. Maybe danger. Maybe gossip. Maybe a recent enemy. Maybe the pack whose Alpha’s ex had helped ruin everything before

being sent to play Luna there.

“Why leave Whitewood?” he asked.

Ashley drew in a trembling breath.

“Because everything is ruined there. The mansion has been taken over. People are being punished. Everyone is afraid. I have no place there anymore,” she said.

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Chapter 292

Again, it was true enough to pass.

The man looked at her for another moment, then turned his head slightly as if listening to someone through a link. Ashley kept

still. She could feel Claire pacing inside her, nervous and impatient, but she forced herself not to fidget. If they rejected her at the

border, she would have to find another way in, and that would make everything harder.

“Stay in the truck,” the man ordered.

Ashley nodded quickly.

He stepped away from the window and moved towards another guard. Ashley kept her face sad, but her eyes watched everything they did. She counted the guards she could see. She noticed the direction of the gate. She noticed one of the wolves in the trees dark-furred and watching the road behind her. Ceenas was guarded, yes, but not impossible. No place was impossible. Not if people

inside it still had wants, fears, and weaknesses.

A few minutes later, the man returned.

“You will be taken inside for questioning. Do not try anything stupid,” he said.

Ashley nodded again.

“I won’t,” she said softly.

The gate opened, and Ashley drove in slowly, her heart pounding harder than before.

She was inside Ceenas now.

There was no turning back.

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14:43 Tue, Jul 21 )

Underwater: The Silent Luna