Chapter 77 Chapter 77

Chapter 77 Chapter 77
E L A R A

I noticed it then the dark bruise blooming around his left eye, swollen and purple, the kind that came from a solid punch. It made him look even more rugged, his jaw clenched tight.

"I assumed you followed him to the border," I said, my voice steadier than I felt, shifting Luca onto my lap so he wouldn't feel the tension coiling in me.

Hunter's gaze didn't waver, though he leaned against the doorframe, casual but watchful. "He asked me to keep watch over you."

Luca tugged at my arm, oblivious to the undercurrent, his little face lighting up as he held out his treasure. "Mama! Hunter took me to town. He bought this for me!"

He thrust forward a rag doll, crudely stitched but endearing, a boy figure with button eyes and yarn hair, dressed in a tiny tunic that looked hand-sewn.

"Ah, lovely," I said, forcing warmth into my tone as I took the doll, turning it over in my hands. Luca beamed, grabbing it back and hugging it to his chest.

I leaned down, kissing his cheek, feeling the soft puff of his breath against my skin. Then I looked up at Hunter again, meeting those bruised eyes. "Thank you for watching him."

He nodded once, short and sharp, but didn't move to leave. The air in the room felt thicker now, charged with unspoken things Kane's absence, the bruise that screamed of some recent scuffle, and the way Hunter's presence made my skin prickle, aware of my nakedness beneath the thin cover.

Luca babbled on about the doll's adventures, but my mind raced: what had happened to Hunter's eye? And why had Kane really left him here, guarding me like a prize?

The silence stretched after my thanks, broken only by Luca's chatter as he made the doll dance across the duvet, its button eyes staring blankly at me.

Hunter's bruised gaze lingered, heavy and unyielding, until he finally spoke, his voice low and edged with something I couldn't quite place. "You can ask."

My fingers tightened around Luca's small body, holding him close as if he could shield me from the question burning in my throat.

The bruise on Hunter's eye seemed darker in the shifting light, a stark map of violence. "Did he do that?" I whispered, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

Hunter's jaw worked, a muscle ticking there, but he met my eyes steadily. "He did. After I refused to stay back and watch you. Clearly, he wants me to stay here and watch how he has claimed you."

Heat flooded my cheeks, a mix of shame and anger twisting in my gut. The memory of Kane's hands on me, his cock driving deep into my ass while the orgy's moans echoed through the curtains, flashed unbidden, raw, invasive.

Hunter had seen? Or at least, Kane had wanted him to. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out at first, just a sharp intake of breath. Luca squirmed in my lap, oblivious, his doll tumbling to the sheets.

"Hunter, I..." The words faltered, tangled in the mess of my emotions, guilt for whatever passed between them, confusion about my place here, bound to Kane in ways that still left me reeling.

He cut me off with a raised hand, his expression hardening into something formal, distant. "You have made your decision. You are his now, Luna."

He bowed his head slightly, the gesture precise and deferential, like I was some untouchable queen rather than the woman he'd once looked at with unguarded hunger. It stung, that title, Luna falling from his lips like a barrier slamming down between us.

I wasn't pleased, if anything, it left a hollow ache in my chest. Would he pull away now, treat me like fragile glass or worse, like an enemy?

The easy camaraderie we'd shared before Kane's claim felt fractured, replaced by this rigid respect that made the room feel colder, emptier.

Luca tugged at my arm again, his innocent voice piercing the tension. "Mama, play with dolly?" I forced a smile for him, ruffling his hair, but my eyes stayed on Hunter, searching for the man beneath the bruise and the bow.

He straightened, turning toward the door without another word, leaving me to wonder if I'd lost more than just Kane's warmth in his absence.

Hunter paused at the threshold, his broad shoulders tense under the dim light filtering through the chamber's heavy drapes.

I couldn't let him walk away like that, not with the weight of his words hanging between us like a storm cloud.

"Hunter," I called softly, my voice cracking just a little. Luca shifted in my arms, sensing the shift in the air, but I kept my gaze fixed on the warrior's back.

He turned around slowly, his bruised eye catching the light, making the purple bloom look even more vivid against his tanned skin. His expression was guarded, but there was a flicker of something softer in those dark depths, regret, maybe, or understanding.

"I... I hope I have not lost your friendship," I said, the words tumbling out in a rush, laced with the vulnerability I hated showing.

My cheeks burned again, not from shame this time, but from the fear of pushing him further away. He'd been a steady presence since I arrived, a quiet anchor in this whirlwind of rogues and rituals, and the thought of that slipping through my fingers twisted something deep inside me.

Hunter's features softened, just a fraction, and he stepped back into the room, closing some of the distance without invading it.

"You haven't," he replied, his tone steady and reassuring, like the rumble of distant thunder that promised rain but not destruction. "I understand how unfamiliar you are with rogue rules and customs, and being Luna, there are certain things required of you. For now, rest and recover. Lila would guide you when you feel better. I am merely here to protect you if needed."

He bowed his head slightly once more, the gesture polite but final, before straightening and turning toward the door again.

This time, he didn't hesitate, slipping out into the corridor with a quiet click of the latch behind him.

The room felt larger in his absence, the air thicker with unspoken questions. Luca nestled closer, his small hand clutching the rag doll, and I pulled him into a hug, trying to shake off the lingering unease.

Kane was gone, fighting shadows at the border, and now Hunter's protection felt like both a shield and a cage.

What 'certain things' awaited me as Luna? I buried my face in Luca's hair, breathing in his innocent scent, and willed the soreness in my body to fade faster. Recovery couldn't come soon enough.