The Nameless Luna – Book Three: For Her, He Falls

‘Will you come with me?’ I asked.
I’d been speaking to Tristan, feeling the urge to have him by my side.
Now, I’m standing outside the door of my father’s chambers with Nico leaning on Lucy to stand on his injured leg, and Mark is carrying Amara in his arms despite Helena’s protests that they should all stay back and rest. Tristan’s hand is resting on the small of my back, his touch barely there but somehow enough to steady me.
After spending most of my life feeling utterly alone, I can’t help but wonder if I’ll ever actually be alone again. My pack seems disinclined to allow it.
Honestly? I’m okay with that.
Helena opens the door, and my heart skips a beat as my father’s crimson gaze lands on me. He was sitting on the edge of his massive bed, gently wiping Vanessa’s brow with a damp cloth. When he sees me enter, he slides to his feet with that unnatural grace and speed of his, and in the blink of an eye, he’s standing in front of me, his worried look scanning me from head to toe to see if I’m hurt.
‘I’m okay, Dad. I—’
Before I can finish, he wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a tight hug. I chuckle, warmed by the stiffness lingering beneath his warm embrace.
‘You’re getting better at hugs,’ I say softly as he steps back to survey me once again, his hands resting on my shoulders.
‘Forgive me, my brave girl. I never should have left you on that battlefield.’
‘No, don’t say that.’ I shake my head, swallowing the lump in my throat that forms at the sight of such guilt on his usually controlled expression. ‘You were hurt, and so was Vanessa. You had to get her out of there; otherwise, Viktor would have just used her against us. There is nothing else you could have done.’
If he’d stayed, Viktor would have killed them both. I glance down at his chest, which is visible below the unbuttoned collar of his loose shirt. Just as Tristan says, the vicious slices across his chest and down his abdomen are already starting to heal, his skin weaving itself back together thanks to the blood he drank from his enemies. He’ll recover in no time, but if he’d remained a minute longer on that bridge…
Nico clears his throat slightly, and my father glances over my shoulder at my companions, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.
Helena nods respectfully at her king before saying, ‘I tried to tell the wolves not to come, but they insisted on accompanying your daughter.’
‘Of course they did,’ my father replies softly, dropping his hands from my shoulders as the hint of a smile tugs at his lips.
His gaze lands on Tristan, and he clenches his jaw as if to hold back the emotions that threaten to break his perfect composure. After a moment, he takes a deep inhale and offers his arm to the Rogue Alpha.
‘My clan is forever indebted to you and your pack. My condolences for the losses your people suffered. If there is anything I can do to repay you, you need only say the word. You have my thanks, Tristan Lyall, King of Outcast and Lost Wolves, Protector of the Night.’
Tristan takes Marco’s extended arm and bows his head gracefully. At another time, I would have been enchanted by the exchange, touched to see the mutual respect between the two men that loved me most in very different ways.
But I can’t help but look beyond my father, my attention landing on the unconscious woman on his bed.
‘I regret the circumstances that forced us into an alliance,’ Tristan replies. ‘But I am grateful to have fought by your side. It would be an honor to continue to do so and to help protect your people as my own.’
‘The honor would be mine, but there will be time to discuss such matters later. For now, I must ask your noble entourage to excuse us. Vanessa has been through an unimaginable ordeal, and I think it best not to overwhelm her when she wakes.’
I’ve already started walking toward the bed, my feet pulling me toward the slumbering woman of their own accord. But I stop for a moment and glance back at my pack.
‘Of course,’ Tristan says, motioning to dismiss the others. But instead of leaving, Mark looks at me, his grey eyes searching mine as if waiting for my permission to leave.
How strange to think that a man that once seemed determined to hate and mistrust me has become someone I care for, with the Beta’s protectiveness towards his Alpha somehow extending to me.
‘It’s okay. We’ll join you guys later. Go get some rest.’
‘Come,’ Helena adds. ‘I’ll show you to your rooms, and I can have another look at those cuts.’
The healer leads the Rovers away, leaving only Tristan to close the door behind them as my father returns to the bedside, gesturing for me to join him.
I walk over to where my mother lies unmoving, lingering by the foot of the bed. Now that we’re not fighting for our lives, I have the chance to finally look at Vanessa.
She’s beautiful.
Where my father’s hair is such a pale shade of platinum, it’s almost silver, hers is a warm strawberry blonde. It falls around her shoulders, sleek and silky, framing her soft features. Her skin is light from having been locked away for so many years, but even so, there’s a natural flush to her cheeks, and I wonder if Helena must have given her some sort of potion to help her heal.
‘How is she?’ I ask under my breath.
‘Weak,’ my father replies dryly. ‘Malnourished. Bruised in more places than I care to count. But she’ll recover.’
Tristan comes to stand a few steps behind me, and I sense rather than see the unease that washes over him.
‘She almost looks like you did when we first brought you to the Villa,’ he says, his voice husky as if the memory of the state he’d first found me in still pained him.
The sound of a soft groan stops me from considering his words long enough to formulate a reply, and my chest tightens as Vanessa stirs. Instinctively, I reach out for Tristan’s hand, and he squeezes mine reassuringly as my mother’s face crumples.
‘Shhh, it is alright, my star,’ Marco says soothingly, brushing a strand of hair with a tender touch. ‘I’m right here.’
She groans again, her eyes fluttering open to reveal an electric shade of blue. She blinks a few times as if clearing her blurry vision before taking in her surroundings. Her gaze is foggy, her movements lethargic as she tries to sit up.
‘What happened? Where is he? What has he done?’ she asks, her light voice sounding raspy and raw as if she’d been screaming.
‘You’re safe,’ Marco reassures her. ‘Viktor is gone. He can never hurt you again.
A painfully familiar mixture of relief and disbelief washes over her features as things seem to come into focus, and my father helps her sit and lean back against the pillows propped behind her.
‘Marco?’ she asks, tears filling her glacier-blue eyes as she looks upon the man she thought she’d never see again.
‘Hello, my north star,’ he replies with a smile I’ve never seen him don before. ‘Take a breath. There’s someone I want you to meet.’
My heart thunders against my ribcage, my hand clasped around Tristan so tightly I imagine it must border on painful, but he makes no move to pull away.
This doesn’t feel real.
Vanessa’s brow furrows in confusion, and then she turns slowly to face me. For what feels like an eternity, she just looks at me, taking in the color of my eyes, the round lips that resemble hers, and the slender nose that resembles my father’s. The frown melts away from her expression as more tears trickle down her cheek, and I’m not quite sure at what point I started crying too.
‘Hi.’ I choke out the word, not knowing what else to say.
‘Oh, my baby girl,’ she sobs and leans toward me. I have to let go of Tristan’s hand to step forward and help her as she reaches out to me, her slender fingers pulling me into her arms.
Something taut snaps within me, and I collapse into her embrace, letting my tears fall freely as I hug my mother for the very first time. She shakes from the shock and the emotions swirling between us, whispering the same words over and over again as if trying to convince herself that I’m real. ‘My baby, my baby, my baby.’
I whisper back the word that feels like a dream, tasting of long-forgotten hope on my lips.
‘Mom.’