Rissa's Pov

I groaned and sat up, heart still thudding from the realization that Mark was nowhere to be found.

Stupid!

“He ditched me”

Although what I was expecting, I just wanted some fun and he gave me just that. Why am I hurting that he was also gone? The effect of Josh's rejection still lingered in everything, even in the way I started perceiving things and people.

Then there was a knock on the door.

The knock came again. Harder this time.

Probably it was one of the motel attendants.

I wrapped the blanket around me and moved close to the door of the tiny motel room. My body ached. My thoughts were still a swamp of fatigue and fragmented memories.

I opened the door just a crack.

And to my greatest surprise, it was no one other than Josh's closest beta.

Lucan.

“What are you doing here? “How did you find me?”

He didn’t even wait for an invitation. He pushed in, face tense, eyes wild.

“Your scent is rare and quite traceable, I could always find you.”

No doubt that Lucan does this effortlessly, and that's why Josh always had him by his side. His sensory nerves were really sharp amongst the other pack members.

“Why are you here?” Still questioned him.

“You left without protection.” He sounded and looked concerned.

“I’m not part of your pack anymore,” I said flatly, backing away.

“You don’t stop being important just because you’re hurting,” he immediately added.

“I’m not important, Lucan. I’m a half-human who got rejected by her fated mate in front of a crowd.”

“Stop it,” he growled. “You and I Know that’s not what you are.”

He was right as always, and I hated him for it.

Lucan's jaw tensed, his nostrils flaring like he was holding back a growl. He closed the door behind him with more force than necessary, his broad frame casting a shadow over the dimly lit room.

“I don’t care what Josh did,” he said, voice low but shaking with emotion. “He’s the Alpha, but he doesn’t speak for the Moon Goddess. You were chosen for him”

I turned my face away, hiding the tears that threatened again. “He doesn’t have to. His rejection already did the damage, if I keep loving him then I will keep on hurting.”

“You’re still Luna in my eyes,” he murmured, stepping closer.

“No,” I whispered. “Don’t say that. I’m not. You’ll get yourself killed if you keep talking like that, Lucan. That's you talking against the Alpha's orders.”

He hesitated, eyes darting toward the bed, then to the chipped walls of the room. “This place isn’t safe. You’re too exposed. If anyone loyal to Josh finds you here—”

“Nothing really would happen. I was rejected and you need to understand that. I really don’t need your protection,” I snapped, though my voice cracked. “I can take care of myself.”

Lucan exhaled sharply, then ran a hand through his messy dark hair. “Rissa, please just come with me. I know a place—deep in the east wing of the old pack house. No one uses it anymore. Not even the guards. I’ve kept it hidden. You could stay there, at least until you figure out what to do. You can’t obviously be wandering from one place to another. It’s just too risky out there, Rissa.”

I stared at him.

Hope flickered. For a second. Then I crushed it. I really didn't want to get him into trouble.

“No.”

His brows furrowed. “Why?”

“Because if Josh finds out you’re helping me, he’ll kill you. He won't hesitate to.”

“I’m not afraid of him.”

“Well I am!” I shouted, the words ripping out of me. “I’m afraid of losing what little I have left. And I won’t let your loyalty to a broken Luna be the reason you lose your life, Lucan. I won't ever forgive myself if that happens.”

He flinched at the word—broken Luna—but didn’t argue.

“You think I’ll just walk away knowing you’re out here alone?” he said.

“You’ll have to,” I replied quietly. “Go back to the pack house. Pretend you never saw me. Pretend I died with the rejection fire. Just like the others already do. Like I was a nobody that went away, gone and forgotten.”

Silence stretched between us. It was really heavy and painful.

Lucan clenched his fists. “You’re not dead. Not even close. I can't accept that.”

I looked up at him, my voice steady despite the pain in my chest. “Then let me prove that. Alone. Let me do this.”

He opened his mouth, then closed it again. After a long beat, he nodded.

But I saw it in his eyes—the silent promise that he would still be watching.

Lucan turned, heading to the door. But before he left, he paused, fingers on the knob.

“If you ever need me… just howl. I’ll come.”

I gave him a ghost of a smile, one I barely felt.

He left without another word.

As the door clicked shut behind him, I let myself fall back onto the bed. The pain in my chest hadn’t faded. But somewhere beneath it, something stirred.

It was warm.

It felt ancient.

Not pain. Not sadness.

But power.

The Knowing—the cursed gift I’d been born with—was awakening. Sharper. Stronger. No longer humming.

Now it was roaring, and I couldn't help it.

And it whispered a single, terrifying truth in my mind:

This is only the beginning.