The Wolfless Luna's Revenge: Returning With His Secret Twins-Chapter 276: Chaptter

Chapter 276

~Samantha~

The guy with the royal mark disappeared. Like, literally one second he’s standing there looking and the next minute? Gone.

"Sam!" Dominic jogged over. "The hell are you looking at?"

"There was someone there." But when I turned back, nothing. Just trees being trees.

Now I’m seeing things? Crazy much.

Dominic’s hand landed on my shoulder. "You’re tired. Let’s go."

We shifted back near the trees. Liam threw clothes at us without looking, which, thank god, because nobody needed to see all that. I yanked on an oversized shirt, still shaking a little.

"Clear the south ridge," Dominic told the gammas. "Every inch. Before dawn."

That’s when I heard it.

A whimper coming from deeper in the woods.

"Did you hear that?" I was already moving.

"Samantha, wait."

Nope. My feet had a mind of their own, carrying me past dead bodies and messed up grass until I found him. A werewolf, barely alive, slumped against a tree like someone forgot to finish killing him.

But that’s not what made my heart stop.

It was the mark on his shoulder. A crescent moon twisted with wolf claws, glowing this faint silver even though he was literally dying.

"Dominic!" I called out. "Get over here!"

He was there in like two seconds flat. Killian right behind him. Liam hung back, probably mind-linking a medic or something.

The werewolf’s eyes barely opened. His lips moved and I had to lean super close to hear.

"Royal... bloodline..."

My heart literally stopped. "What? Do you know my mother? Please, tell me, what do you know about her?"

His hand twitched, reaching for something at his chest. I grabbed it, desperate. "What is it? What are you trying to say?"

"The... Silver Claw..." He mumbled. "Your mother... she was..."

"She was what?" I squeezed his hand, willing him to stay conscious. "Please, I need to know."

"Sam, don’t touch him." Dominic grabbed my wrist but I shook him off.

"Wait, just let him finish."

The werewolf’s whole body went stiff. His eyes rolled back and then, they went black. Not normal black. Like void black. Empty.

"Get back!" Killian yanked me away just as the werewolf started convulsing.

His mouth opened in this silent scream that made my skin crawl. Black veins spread across his face like cracks in glass, and then his body started folding inward, literally collapsing into itself like it was being sucked into a black hole.

"What the hell!" I stumbled backward into Dominic’s chest.

The implosion lasted maybe three seconds. When it was over, only ash remained, scattered across the dirt.

And something shiny where his chest had been.

I dropped down and grabbed it before thinking. Half a token, roughly carved, with the same silver claw patterns on it.

"What is that?" Liam crouched next to me, keeping his distance.

"I don’t know." My fingers traced the patterns. "But he was trying to give it to me. He said something about the Silver Claw and my mother."

"Give it to me. Now." Dominic commanded.

I looked up. His face was set, jaw locked, eyes darker than I’d seen in a while.

"What? No, this is precious to me."

"Samantha." He held out his hand. "That thing just killed a werewolf in front of us. You’re not keeping it."

"He didn’t die from the token." I stood up, clutching it tighter. "It was the shadow corruption."

He argued, "We don’t know what that thing is or what it does. For all we know, it’s cursed or even a trap."

"It’s about my mother." I defended. "He was trying to tell me something about her."

"Then I’ll figure out what it is." Dominic’s hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. "After I make sure it won’t kill you."

"Let go of me."

"No." His other hand wrapped around mine, prying my fingers open. "You’re not dying over a piece of metal."

"Dominic, stop!" I tried to yank my hand back but he was stronger. The token slipped from my palm into his.

"I said no, Samantha." He pocketed it before I could grab it back. "This isn’t up for discussion."

"That’s mine!" Anger embraced me. "You can’t just take it away."

"I just did." His voice dropped lower. "And before you argue, think about Devon and Diana. Think about what happens to them if you touch the wrong thing and end up like that werewolf."

"She has a right to know about her past." Killian chimed in. "If that token belonged to the royal bloodline, Samantha deserves answers."

Dominic’s head whipped toward him. "Stay out of this."

"I’m already in it." Killian stepped forward, his eyes locked on Dominic. "That werewolf had a royal mark. The Silver Claw mark. Someone’s been tracking Primordials, and if Samantha’s mother was connected to them then..."

"Then she’s in more danger than before," Dominic cut him off. "Which is exactly why I’m not letting her touch anything connected to it."

"You mean you’re not letting her have answers." Killian’s jaw tightened. "I don’t mind you being protective but what I won’t take is your control over her life. She’s not a baby?"

"Don’t stand there and lecture me about protecting my wife when you’ve been circling her like a vulture for months."

"She’s a Primordial Luna who just watched a werewolf die trying to give her information about her mother. And instead of helping her find answers, you’re taking away the only clue she has."

"The only clue that could kill her!" Dominic’s voice rose. "You saw what happened to that werewolf. The shadow corruption ate him alive in seconds. Why do you want to put her in danger?"

"Because I know how I can help her research it without anyone getting hurt."

"Of course you can." Dominic’s laugh was harsh. "The hero again. Can’t resist, can you?"

"Someone has to since you’re busy playing dictator of the century." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

I couldn’t let them argue again when I had more important things to do with our time so I cut in.

"Dominic, I get that you’re scared. I am too. But that token is the first real lead I’ve had about my mother in years so please, let Killian do his thing and if anything bad happens, I’ll give up on it." I tried to make him see reason.

He glared at Killian for a minute before looking at me then he sighed, “Fine but don’t let me say ‘I told you so’ later.” He tossed the token to Killian before walking away.

***

I was so lost in my head I almost missed the giggling coming from the twins’ room.

"Careful, you’re gonna squish him!" Diana’s voice, half-laughing, half-scolding.

"I’m not squishing! I’m fluffing!" Devon argued. "Purple needs extra soft."

I stopped outside their cracked door and peeked in.

The sight made my chest lighten.

Devon and Diana had built this massive nest in the corner of the room, pillows, blankets, stuffed animals all piled together in what was honestly the lumpiest, most chaotic mess I’d ever seen. And right in the middle, curled up and looking extremely confused, was Purple.

The little wolf’s leg was still bandaged from the fight yesterday. He’d taken a pretty nasty hit protecting the twins when a rogue got too close.

"There." Diana tucked another pillow under Purple’s head. "Now he’s comfy."

"I told you my nest was good," Devon said smugly.

"It’s lumpy."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

Purple yawned and settled deeper into the mess, his tail wagging slightly.

"Maggie!" Diana called toward the door. "Can you tell us more about Grandma now? We made Purple’s nest so he can listen too."

"Yeah," Devon added. "We wanna know everything. How she fought. How she protected people. Everything."

I heard Maggie’s soft footsteps approaching. The old maid had been with our family forever, she’d served my mother before me, knew stories nobody else did.

"Alright, little ones." Maggie’s voice was patient. "What do you want to know?"

"Was Grandma really the strongest Luna ever?" Diana asked, her eyes wide.

"She was one of the strongest," Maggie said carefully. "Your grandmother had the heart of a warrior. When enemies came to our borders, she fought alongside the Alpha, never backing down."

"Like Mom?" Devon asked. "Mom fights too."

"Yes, just like your mother." Maggie’s tone softened. "Your grandmother would be very proud of her."

"We wanna be strong like them," Diana said. "Like Grandma and Mom. So we can protect Mom when bad guys come."

My throat went tight. I pressed my hand against the doorframe, fighting the urge to burst in and tell them they didn’t need to protect me, that was my job, protecting them.