Chapter 136: They Are Afraid of Her
When they returned to the packhouse, the others were waiting.
A wall of wolves, warriors, people who had once looked at her as their Luna.
But now?
Now they looked at her like she was something else.
Something other.
Something dangerous.
Bella's stomach twisted.
Dante noticed immediately.
His fingers tightened around hers, his blue eyes sharp, furious.
"They don't understand," she whispered.
Dante's jaw ticked.
"Then they will learn."
Sage stepped forward, her arms crossed, her expression unreadable.
"Bella… we saw what happened."
Bella forced herself to stand taller, to meet her gaze without hesitation.
"I'm fine."
Silence.
Then—
"Are you?"
The question hung in the air like a blade.
Bella's throat tightened.
Because she wasn't sure.
She could still feel it.
The darkness.
The lingering touch of the Hollow One, like something had been carved into her soul.
"She is our Luna," Dante growled, his voice laced with warning.
"And she is alive. That is all that matters."
Bella swallowed hard, forcing a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"He's right," she said softly. "I'm still me."
But deep down?
She wasn't sure if that was true.