Chapter 348
“A Luna’s place is beside her Alpha,” I said, my voice gaining strength with every word. “Not ruling over a graveyard. I am his Mate, Gigi. Not a territory to be traded. Not a problem to be solved.”
Gigi’s eyes narrowed into slits. “You ungrateful little—”
The air in the room grew heavy, charged with static. The temperature plummeted.
“She said no.”
The voice came from the doorway — low, vibrating with lethal intent. Dallas stood there, his grey eyes glowing with the power of Ragnar. He didn’t look like a grandson visiting his grandmother. He looked like an executioner.
Gigi stiffened, her hand hovering over the rejected deed. “Eavesdropping, Dallas? How beneath you.”
“Plotting to banish my Queen?” Dallas stepped into the room, his aura rolling off him in dark, suffocating waves. He walked past me and placed himself between us — a wall of muscle and fury. “You never learn, do you, Grandmother?”
“I am trying to save this family!” Gigi snapped, her composure fraying. “Someone has to make the hard choices. Someone has to protect our purity!”
“Like you protected Aunt Elena?”
The name hung in the air like a curse. All the color drained from Gigi’s face. She staggered back a step, her hand flying to her throat.
“Do not speak her name,” she whispered, her voice trembling.
“Why?” Dallas advanced on her, relentless. “Because you rejected her? Because you forced her to choose between the family name and her mate? She died of a broken heart, Gigi. She died because you valued blood over love.”
“She chose a weakling!” Gigi shrieked, but tears were in her eyes now — angry, bitter tears.
“She chose happiness,” Dallas snarled. “And you killed her for it. You dare speak of what’s best for this family? You, who sacrificed your own daughter on the altar of bloodline and have been a ghost in this house ever since? You know nothing of the bond. You only know regret.”
Gigi collapsed onto the silk sofa, looking suddenly frail, the years crashing down on her all at once. The invincible matriarch was gone, replaced by a grieving, bitter old woman.
Dallas turned his back on her and reached for my hand. His grip was tight, desperate. “We’re leaving. I’m done with this place.”
I let him pull me toward the door, my heart aching for the pain radiating off him. But as we reached the threshold, Gigi’s voice stopped us. It was weak, but the steel was still there, buried under the wreckage.
“Run away, then,” she croaked. “Hide her. But if she is to be Luna, she must face the Goddess.”
Dallas froze. He looked back over his shoulder, a growl rumbling in his chest. “What game are you playing now?”
“No game,” Gigi said, wiping her eyes with a trembling hand. She looked at me, her gaze unreadable. “Meet me tomorrow. Ten o’clock. In the Moon Goddess Garden. Alone.”
“Absolutely not,” Dallas barked. “You are not getting near her without me.”
“If she is strong enough to be your Queen,” Gigi said softly, the challenge aimed directly at me, “she is strong enough to walk in the garden with an old woman.”