Free Web NovelChapter 244: Chapter 244 The Moon Goddess Shrine
Elara
Another month went by. Nothing.
I looked fine on the outside. Did my Luna duties. Smiled at pack events. Answered emails.
Made sure the house didn’t fall apart while Dominic was gone.
But inside? I was a mess.
Dominic was on a business trip. Some Alpha summit on the West Coast. A full week. The house felt wrong without him. Too quiet. I kept rolling over at night and reaching for him. Just cold sheets.
I spent most of my evenings on the couch, phone in hand, scrolling through Instagram and PackNet forums. Mindless stuff. Cute puppy videos. Memes. Anything to shut my brain up.
That’s when I saw the post.
It was in this werewolf mom group I’d joined months ago. One of those private Facebook-style groups where she-wolves swap advice and share Luna memes.
Someone had posted a photo of the Moon Goddess Shrine up in the Catskills. Said it was blessed by an Elder. That she-wolves who made the pilgrimage and prayed there always conceived within three months.
I stared at the photo for a long time. freёwebnovel.com
My thumb hovered over the screen. I almost scrolled past. This was ridiculous. A rock with a face carved into it wasn’t going to fix my uterus. I knew that.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
The idea dug in like a tick.
By day three, I had convinced myself. I packed an overnight bag, left a note for Linda, plugged the address into Google Maps, and hit the road.
--
The shrine was tucked into the Catskill Mountains, about two hours north of the pack territory. The roads got narrower as I drove. Trees got thicker. Cell service dropped to nothing. By the time I parked, I was completely off the grid.
The path was old stone, worn smooth by decades of footsteps. Tall pines lined both sides. The air smelled like rain and wet earth and pine needles. It was quiet. Not city quiet. Real quiet. The kind of quiet that settles into your bones and makes you slow down.
I walked up the steps slowly. My boots echoed against the stone. At the top, the clearing opened up and there she was.
The Moon Goddess stood in the center, carved from white marble. Probably eight feet tall.
Her face was calm. Peaceful. Her hands were open, reaching out like she was offering something to anyone brave enough to come looking.
I stopped in front of her.
For a long moment, I just stood there. Staring up at her face. The marble was streaked with moss. Wildflowers had grown up around the base. Someone had left a small offering—a bundle of dried herbs tied with red string.
I felt stupid. Standing there, a grown woman, praying to a statue like some teenager at a wish fountain.
But I closed my eyes anyway.
I didn’t ask for much. Just one thing.
A healthy pup. That’s all I wanted. Boy or girl, I didn’t care. I just wanted a baby.
I opened my eyes.
The statue didn’t move. Didn’t glow. Didn’t give me any sign that she’d heard me.
But somehow, I felt lighter.
Maybe it was the mountain air. Maybe it was the quiet. Maybe it was just my brain finally giving me a break after weeks of spiraling.
I turned and walked back down the path. My steps felt lighter than they had in weeks.
--
That good feeling stuck with me the whole way down the mountain.
It stayed through the walk back to the parking lot. Through the crunch of gravel under my boots. Through the birds singing in the pines. I was actually smiling.
Then I saw him.
Zack.
Leaning against the hood of my car like he owned the place. Dark suit. Shiny shoes. That stupid perfect hair. His green eyes locked onto mine the second I stepped out of the trees.
My smile died.
"You have to be shitting me."
I kept walking. Straight toward my car. Keys already out.
He stepped in front of me. "Elara. I need five minutes."
"Move."
"It’s important."
"I don’t give a damn." I tried to go around him. He blocked me again.
I stopped and stared at him. "Zack. I swear to God. Get out of my way."
"Just give me half an hour."
"Half an hour?" I laughed, but there was nothing funny about it. "You think you get to ask me for time? After what you did?"
His jaw tightened. That muscle in his cheek started twitching. "This isn’t about you and me. It’s about Dominic."
I froze.
I looked at him. Really looked. No smirk. No games. Just a guy who looked like he hadn’t slept in a week.
"What about Dominic?"
Zack looked around the parking lot. Checked the trees. The road. Like he was making sure no one was watching. Then he stepped closer.
"You think you know him," he said, voice low. "But you don’t. Not like you think you do."
I crossed my arms. "If this is another one of your mind games—" freёwebnovel.com
"You always said I was the liar." His voice dropped even lower. "But my lies are nothing compared to his."
My stomach dropped.
"Thirty minutes," he said again. "That’s all I want. After that, I’m gone. I promise."
I stared at him.
Every part of me said no. Said walk away. Said get in the car and drive home and pretend this never happened.
But there was something in his eyes. Something that made my skin crawl.
I let out a long breath.
"Fine. Thirty minutes. But if you waste my time—"
"I won’t."
