LOGINShare
Chapter 171: Love and Obsession
Last Updated:
2022-12-02 13:07:22Related chapters
The Returned Luna Chapter 172: Oblivion
Adolph’s voice was sure and even, but Basil couldn’t believe what he was saying. Didn’t he understand that they had no way of knowing how long that would be? A few months? A few days? His father was the strongest man he knew, but he wasn’t indestructible!“But father—”“You’d let Basil be king?” Olivia scoffed and laughed, “You know he’s not ready. He won’t ever be ready!”The twinge of pain that went through him took his breath away. He pushed it aside. This wasn’t the mother he’d imagined his whole life. He expected his father to say those things, not the woman who died giving birth to him. He winced at the thought. She hadn’t died giving birth to him. She’d died giving birth to a curse. There was no other choice to make.“Nimue, end the séance.”Nimue said nothing. Whether that meant she couldn’t or wasn’t going to, he didn’t know.Adolph shook his head, “Your father tried to make that true, but it’s not. Basil isn’t an idiot. He’s young and inexperienced, but that’s fixable. He h
Last Updated : 2022-12-02The Returned Luna Chapter 173: Defense and Not
Nimue took a deep calming breath as Basil let out a mournful sob. The air began to warm slowly around them as the path between their world and the afterlife closed. She should have known when her first evocation yielded nothing that Olivia was going to be another troublesome spirit.She hoped Basil would be able to recover and accept the truth in time.“No… mother…” Nimue’s heart twisted with grief as she calmed her powers and Basil’s hand tightened on her ankle. “Why? She… She lifted it.”“She was prepared to sacrifice you,” she said solemnly.“She lifted the curse, Nimue! You didn’t have to!”Nimue looked down at him, “She only did so to save her existence, Basil. That was the test. It wasn’t about remorse towards what she’d done to your father… it was about what she did to you.”His eyes welled with tears as she set her staff aside, allowing it to hover in the air. “She was never your mother.”She kneeled beside Basil, placing a glowing hand near the dagger in his chest as he fell
Last Updated : 2022-12-02The Returned Luna Chapter 174: Jack
His stomach churned but he nodded, walking into the room. Fear filled him, but as he entered the room he started to relax. “You’re so beautiful… you take after your father.”Laurel lay among the sheets, dressed in a loose gown and cradling the baby to her chest.At the distance, he could only see a tuft of honey blonde hair in the swaddling blanket. The wetnurses bowed and stepped aside as he approached. Laurel smiled up at him, “Want to meet him?”“Him?”Laurel beamed at him, “Him… Nimue told me before, but I wanted it to still be a surprise for you.”Another boy. Adolph sunk onto the bed beside her, kissing her cheek before looking down into her arms. He had Laurel’s nose and hair pattern though the coloring was all his. Maybe when he grew up he’d take after his grandfathers, but he wouldn’t be able to tell that for a while.“Can I hold him?”Laurel nodded, offering the child to him. He smelled like fresh water and clean skin as Adolph took him, and held him close. He was so smal
Last Updated : 2022-12-02The Returned Luna Chapter 1: Abandoned
There wasn’t any time to lose.Sarah held her skirts and ran through the orchard outside Cynthia Castle to find Laura. Since the king’s wife died years ago, the position of luna had been vacant. Prince Basil married Laura to fill that role and help manage the kingdom while King Adolph led the war against the vampires.Many had been skeptical of Laura due to her origin, but Sarah had remained faithfully in her service since her appointment. In her opinion, marrying Laura was the only thing Prince Basil had ever done right.Now, he had gone and done *this*. She pushed herself to run faster. She had to tell Laura, to warn her somehow and help her prepare. Maybe Laura could figure out a way out of it if she just had enough time.“My Luna?! Luna Laura, where are you?”Sarah skidded and stumbled, barely missing crashing into a tree when she found Laura on a ladder in the orchard overseeing the harvest of fresh fruit.“Luna Laura, thank god, I found you! Prince Basil, he--”“Calm down, Sara
Last Updated : 2022-11-25The Returned Luna Chapter 2: Run
*He can’t.*Her heart clenched. Laura couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The past three years couldn’t have been meaningless to him. Even if they didn’t mean as much to him as they meant to her, they had to have meant something!Sarah stepped forward, bowed low and beseeching, “Your Highness, our Luna--” “Don't call her luna!” Basil snarled. “She doesn't deserve that title! Seize her!”Sarah flinched and screamed in terror as Basil’s soldiers advanced on her and dragged her away from the opulent hall. “Wait!” Laura cried, “How can you--”“Your Majesty, please!” Sara cried, struggling against the soldiers. “Move!” “You can't do this to me!”Laura reached for her, but another group of soldiers blocked her path as Sarah disappeared into the shadows still struggling. Her cries filled Laura with grief. She had only ever had Sarah on her side. Most of the nobles shared Basil’s contempt for her lowly status. The few who didn’t were too bound in politics to go against Basil’s orders
Last Updated : 2022-11-25The Returned Luna Chapter 3: The Will of the Goddess
The darkness peeled back as Laura opened her eyes. There was no pain, her heart was calm, and she wasn’t cold. She should have been dead. She *had* been dead. She remembered the craggy rocks and the rushing river. The sharp pain in her neck had been the last thing she remembered before the dark had taken her. She remembered the beautiful paradise and the face of the goddess smiling at her.So where was she now? The forest was quiet and beautiful. The sky was dark with night and filled with stars and constellations she had never seen, winking at her. Glowing blue birds landed on the grass and twittered at her as she sat up. Fish swam in the clear water of the lake nearby, peacefully moving through the gentle currents as the wind blew carrying the scent of blooming night flowers. A small brook carved through the earth until it reached the lake nearby, and Alice lay in her lap, seemingly sleeping. Laura stroked Alice’s brilliant white fur with a trembling hand and found her warm to to
Last Updated : 2022-11-25The Returned Luna Chapter 4: Laurel Miller
The house was small, much smaller than the room she used to live in in the castle. Filled with a few odds and ends, Laurel had been a young woman living on the edge of poverty. Did she have no skills or was she simply in a pack that frowned upon female wolves doing much outside the house?The old woman sat at the small table with a smile as Laurel looked around for something to give her. She found a basket with a few fruits inside and offered it to the woman. “As thanks.”The old woman shook her head, pushing the basket back towards her. “You are too thin as it is! You should eat more.”Laurel smiled as her heart clenched with warmth. The old woman was strange, but she cared for Laurel. The old woman shook her head and stood. “Come for dinner sometimes, hm?” She said and stood. “I should head back before I am missed.”Laurel walked her to the door, “Thank you. I will repay you someday.”The old woman waved her hand dismissively, “Don’t be ridiculous, Laurel.”She left and Laurel cl
Last Updated : 2022-11-25The Returned Luna Chapter 5: War’s End
*Lucas*, Alice growled in contempt. Laurel’s lips curled in disgust and she sneered at him. This was the coward her father wrote about. Fury filled her. “I would *never* marry you.”Lucas barked a laugh, “Don't be so silly. I’m the best option of the pack! I don’t care that you’re not my mate.”His words struck her in her chest, and for a moment, she saw Basil and Delia, dressed in fine clothing and sneering at her. Her stomach roiled.He smirked, “You’re pretty enough. When I become alpha, you’ll be my luna.”Her nausea heaved and she fought it back with her anger. Who the hell did he think he was? Who the hell had Basil thought he was? Prince or not, he was an arrogant, stupid man. Lucas was nowhere near as attractive, influential, or important.She bared her teeth, “No one wants to be your damn luna!”Lucas licked his lips, his eyes turned heated as he dragged his gaze over her body, sending a fresh wave of nausea through her. “It’s not something you really have to worry about.
Last Updated : 2022-11-25
Latest chapter
The Returned Luna Chapter 174: Jack
His stomach churned but he nodded, walking into the room. Fear filled him, but as he entered the room he started to relax. “You’re so beautiful… you take after your father.”Laurel lay among the sheets, dressed in a loose gown and cradling the baby to her chest.At the distance, he could only see a tuft of honey blonde hair in the swaddling blanket. The wetnurses bowed and stepped aside as he approached. Laurel smiled up at him, “Want to meet him?”“Him?”Laurel beamed at him, “Him… Nimue told me before, but I wanted it to still be a surprise for you.”Another boy. Adolph sunk onto the bed beside her, kissing her cheek before looking down into her arms. He had Laurel’s nose and hair pattern though the coloring was all his. Maybe when he grew up he’d take after his grandfathers, but he wouldn’t be able to tell that for a while.“Can I hold him?”Laurel nodded, offering the child to him. He smelled like fresh water and clean skin as Adolph took him, and held him close. He was so smal
The Returned Luna Chapter 173: Defense and Not
Nimue took a deep calming breath as Basil let out a mournful sob. The air began to warm slowly around them as the path between their world and the afterlife closed. She should have known when her first evocation yielded nothing that Olivia was going to be another troublesome spirit.She hoped Basil would be able to recover and accept the truth in time.“No… mother…” Nimue’s heart twisted with grief as she calmed her powers and Basil’s hand tightened on her ankle. “Why? She… She lifted it.”“She was prepared to sacrifice you,” she said solemnly.“She lifted the curse, Nimue! You didn’t have to!”Nimue looked down at him, “She only did so to save her existence, Basil. That was the test. It wasn’t about remorse towards what she’d done to your father… it was about what she did to you.”His eyes welled with tears as she set her staff aside, allowing it to hover in the air. “She was never your mother.”She kneeled beside Basil, placing a glowing hand near the dagger in his chest as he fell
The Returned Luna Chapter 172: Oblivion
Adolph’s voice was sure and even, but Basil couldn’t believe what he was saying. Didn’t he understand that they had no way of knowing how long that would be? A few months? A few days? His father was the strongest man he knew, but he wasn’t indestructible!“But father—”“You’d let Basil be king?” Olivia scoffed and laughed, “You know he’s not ready. He won’t ever be ready!”The twinge of pain that went through him took his breath away. He pushed it aside. This wasn’t the mother he’d imagined his whole life. He expected his father to say those things, not the woman who died giving birth to him. He winced at the thought. She hadn’t died giving birth to him. She’d died giving birth to a curse. There was no other choice to make.“Nimue, end the séance.”Nimue said nothing. Whether that meant she couldn’t or wasn’t going to, he didn’t know.Adolph shook his head, “Your father tried to make that true, but it’s not. Basil isn’t an idiot. He’s young and inexperienced, but that’s fixable. He h
The Returned Luna Chapter 171: Love and Obsession
Adolph narrowed his eyes down at Olivia. She was just as pretty as she had been before, but he saw the wicked light in her eyes. “Shouldn’t you be greeting our son whom you’ve never met?” Adolph asked. She smiled at him, poisonous and vicious, “I would never put anyone before you dear husband.”“You are dead,” Adolph said, “Speak to Basil.”“… very well.”Olivia turned her head and looked at Basil. Adolph was about to retract his statement at the hopeful look on Basil’s face, but it was too late. “You asked them to kill the man who raised you,” Olivia said, “You asked for the death penalty.”“Mother, they—”“Don’t call me that!” Olivia hissed at him. “All of them. Murdered and for what? What of your loyalty to me?”Basil’s eyes widened, “To you…?”“After what your father did to me?” Olivia said, “What is a bit of money?”“You… You knew?” Basil asked. “But—”“I love your father,” she said, her eyes glimmering with tears. “But… that wasn’t good enough. My love was never good enough f
The Returned Luna Chapter 170: Olivia
Laurel didn’t expect Basil to come quickly, so when the door closed, she was grateful that Nimue made herself a cup of tea and smiled at her. “You were once someone else,” Nimue said. “I am glad that the moon saw fit to bring the white wolf back to us.”Laurel blinked and sat across from her, “You’re… not much like Eden.”Nimue chuckled, “Eden and I have different gifts… He is what we would call an elemental Wiccan. Lightning strikes, fire, flashy shows of power that most associate with real magic. I’m a spiritual mage.”Laurel blinked and made herself a cup of tea, “What… does that mean?”“It means I have a connection to the living and the dead. Hence, I know the body you’re in right now is one you were reborn into. I can only guess how you died, but I assume that Basil knew you in your past life.”Laurel winced, “This… isn’t how I expected this conversation to go.”Nimue shrugged, “You make plans and the spirits laugh, but I’m not concerned about your aura. It’s more than healthy a
The Returned Luna Chapter 169: Mates and Fated Pairs
Adolph watched Basil leave. Nimue winced.“I… would like a moment to speak with my wife,” Adolph said slowly. Nimue nodded, “I’ll… go after him.”She left wincing. That had been a fucking disaster if she’d ever seen one. As she exited the room, she followed the trembling confusion, fear, and anger down the hall and around the corner. The thing about magical compatibility between fated matches was that it worked like a homing beacon. She found him in a parlor sitting on the couch with his head in his hand. He lifted his head and shot to his feet as she entered. “You—You can’t just say things like that!” Basil said, “You can’t just accuse her if you—You’re a healer! How would you know something like that anyway?”Nimue watched him, his shoulders heaving as he held himself still. “I am a healer,” she said. “But I am not just a healer. Sit down and calm yourself.”“Look me in the eye and tell me the truth,” Basil said, glaring at her. “Tell me you know for sure my mother did it. Tell
The Returned Luna Chapter 168: Lady Nimue
Basil had tried to keep his mind focused on the path ahead the next morning, no matter how Nimue’s scent had seemed to take over his senses and make him dizzy with need and desire. She smelled like fresh blooming flowers, fresh earth, and a hint of fresh sweet bread. It was a distracting, comforting, and maddening scent. His wolf growled in contentment and want whenever she grew near, so he took to riding further ahead to try and keep his mind clear. *I hate you*, his wolf huffed and growled. *You and your stupid pride and fear and…**Not now*, Basil thought, stubbornly. *Focus on getting back to the capital, okay?*He huffed, *And your need for distraction instead of facing the truth…*Basil sighed, tuning out his wolf’s whining. This wasn’t the time for thinking about such things. Adolph and Laurel were supposed to be staying at the temple until the baby was born. There was no reason they should have called him back unless the baby was early or something had happened to his father
The Returned Luna Chapter 167: Forgiveness
Taliesin sent the message off with a heavy heart. While his judgment was sound and he knew he wasn’t wrong, the likelihood that it would all go to plan was slim. Curses laid by the dying or the dead were harder to get rid of than living curses and he was not an expert in such dark magics. He had no affinity for creating or breaking them. His late brother and twin, Merlin, had no such limitations, but he had gone into Eternal Repose after his wife, Viviane, had been killed in the war against Morrigan. Merlin could not help them.Taliesin couldn’t blame him. The war had taken so much from all of them and raising the barrier had taxed them both greatly. There was little hope that he would ever wake up, and Taliesin had accepted that centuries ago, focusing on raising Merlin’s daughter as if she were his.“Nimue?” Taliesin called as he returned to the meeting hall. She was seated on the old stone bench, looking up through the canopy of the ancient oak trees that were always in bloom. Hi
The Returned Luna Chapter 166: Cursed Last Moments
Laurel woke up, frozen in terror in bed. The last time she’d had a vision of the moon goddess, she’d been pushed off a cliff. She wasn’t sure if hearing that her husband’s late wife put a curse on him was better or worse. How bad was the curse now? How much longer did they have? Could she break it? If she couldn’t, what would happen to him?Her stomach turned as she turned over to see Adolph sleeping peacefully beside her. The days of his insomnia seemed to have caught up with him all at once. The strain of the days seemed to be gone now as he slept.His scent was just as bloody and lovely as ever, but that blood that she had once found just a bit sexy seemed tainted with danger now. It wasn’t just the scent of someone who had seen a great deal of war, but it was affecting his mind. An alpha werewolf like Adolph could be dangerous if they lost control of their strength. She knew that Adolph was much stronger than the average wolf. Was it anything like going rogue? Would it kill him?
