CHAPTER 145 — THE WOLF THAT DIDN’T ANSWER
CHAPTER 145 — THE WOLF THAT DIDN’T ANSWER
The night was still trembling when Asher finally lifted his head from Luna’s shoulder.
He looked different.
Not calmer—
no, the chaos still burned beneath his skin, pulsing like a heartbeat that didn’t quite belong to a living man.
But he looked aware.
Present enough to see her.
Present enough to fear what he’d almost become.
“Luna…” His voice was gravel, thick, raw.
“You shouldn’t have walked into that.”
She brushed a piece of bark from his hair where the force had slammed him against a tree before she arrived.
“I walk into whatever leads me back to you.”
His eyes flickered—gold, then black, then gold again—like they were fighting over which version of him got to look at her.
“You don’t understand,” he whispered.
“I do.”
She placed her hand over his heartbeat.
“More than you think.”
He swallowed hard, and for the first time, Luna realized he wasn’t shaking from power anymore.
He was shaking from fear.
Of himself.
Of what he could have done.
Of what he might still do.
A sound cut through the clearing—
the kind of pitiful whine wolves only make when they’re both terrified and awe-stricken.
The warriors, still on their knees, watched them with wide eyes.
No one moved.
Not one dared to break whatever fragile thread held Asher grounded.
He tore his gaze away from them quickly, almost ashamed.
But Luna cupped his jaw and forced him to look at her again.
“I’m here.”
Her thumb brushed the edge of his mouth.
“You held on.”
“No.”
He closed his eyes.
“You held me.”
She didn’t deny it.
His hand slid to the back of her waist, pulling her closer—almost unconsciously, like his body was still choosing her even when his mind wasn’t ready to accept it.
Then—
A sharp pain flared in Luna’s chest.
Not physical.
Not emotional.
Something deeper.
It made her gasp, stumbling slightly.
Asher’s grip tightened instantly.
“Luna?”
His voice dropped into a snarl.
“What was that?”
She didn’t answer at first.
Her hand pressed over her heart—
but the bond didn't surge, didn't flare, didn’t even flicker.
It throbbed.
Like an empty drum.
Like something inside her had knocked once…
…and then gone silent again.
Asher felt it.
His eyes widened in horror.
“No. Luna, no—look at me.”
His hands framed her face urgently.
“Try again. Call your wolf. Call her.”
She inhaled.
Reached.
Called inward.
But where her wolf should have risen—
where warmth and wildness should have met her halfway—
there was only cold space.
A hollow absence that echoed cruelly inside her chest.
“Asher…” Her voice cracked.
“She’s still not answering.”
He froze.
His wolf pushed so violently beneath his skin that shadows jumped around his frame—
but instead of exploding outward, they coiled tight, suffocating him with panic.
“That curse took too much,” he rasped.
“I should’ve—damn it, I should’ve noticed sooner—”
“Stop.”
Luna caught his wrist.
“You couldn’t have known.”
But it didn’t ease the terror twisting through him.
“Luna…”
His forehead pressed to hers, trembling.
“If your wolf doesn’t come back—
if the bond weakens anymore—
this power inside me…
it won’t have anything anchoring it.”
She knew.
She felt it too.
The storm inside him wasn’t tamed—
just distracted.
Just barely held.
By her presence.
By the connection that was now fraying.
“Asher.”
She slid her hand into his hair, grounding him with the touch he always responded to.
“We’ll get her back.”
“How?”
His breath stuttered against her cheek.
“Tell me how, and I’ll burn the world until I find it.”
She swallowed.
“I don’t know yet.”
His body went still.
Dead still.
The kind of still that came before something broke.
She grabbed his face in both hands, forcing him to see her before the darkness swallowed him again.
“But what I do know,” she whispered fiercely, “is that you’re not losing me. Not to a curse. Not to a missing wolf. Not to fear.”
He stared at her like she was the only remaining piece of reality he trusted.
Then—
softly, painfully—
he whispered:
“Luna…
I can feel your soul calling for her.
But she’s not… here.”
The words scraped something raw inside her.
A cold wind swept the clearing as if the night itself understood the truth spoken aloud.
Her wolf was gone.
Not sleeping.
Not recovering.
Gone.
And the bond—
their strongest anchor—
was weakening with every minute she remained hollow.
Asher’s hands dropped from her face to her waist, gripping her like she might disappear if he didn’t hold tight enough.
“Luna,” he breathed, voice breaking, “please—stay with me.”
She pressed her forehead to his chest, closing her eyes as the storm coiled protectively around them both.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she whispered.
But inside her…
In the part where her wolf should have been…
There was only silence.
And far away—
so faint she couldn’t even tell if it was real—
a whisper answered the emptiness.
Come find me…
Asher stiffened.
He heard it too.