Free Web NovelChapter 121: Chapter 121
The drive to Northern Ridge was tense and quiet. Marcus pushed his truck as fast as safely possible while Connor navigated from his cracked tablet. Christian sat rigid in the passenger seat, alpha-mode fully engaged.
I squeezed his hand. "Isabelle will be okay. She probably just pushed too hard."
"Catherine sounded scared."
Yeah, she had. Even through text, the urgency was clear.
We made it to Northern Ridge in record time. Luna Catherine met us at the entrance, her usual composure cracked around the edges.
"Thank God you came," she said, grabbing my hands. "Isabelle collapsed during advanced energy work. She won’t wake up."
My stomach dropped. "Show me."
Catherine led us to the pack infirmary, where Isabelle lay unconscious, her breathing shallow. The pack doctor hovered nearby, looking frustrated.
"I can’t find anything physically wrong," he said. "But her energy is completely depleted. Like she burned through everything at once."
I placed my hands on Isabelle’s shoulders, reaching for her with my Luna senses. Catherine was right—Isabelle’s energy reserves were bone-dry. She’d opened those channels I taught her but hadn’t learned how to close them yet. She’d just... leaked everything out.
"She did exactly what I showed her," I muttered. "But forgot the most important part."
Christian stood behind me, his hand on my shoulder. "Can you fix it?"
"I can try."
I channeled energy into Isabelle slowly, carefully, like filling a cup with cracks in it. Too fast, and it would just pour right back out. I felt Christian feeding me power through our bond, keeping me stable.
After twenty minutes, Isabelle’s eyes fluttered open. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
"Luna Sophie?" Her voice was barely a whisper. "What happened?"
"You forgot to close your energy channels, honey. Left yourself wide open."
"Oh." Isabelle looked embarrassed. "That was stupid."
Catherine nearly collapsed with relief. "You scared me half to death."
I spent the next hour teaching Isabelle—and Catherine—proper channel control. Open, release, close. Like breathing. The closing part was just as important as the opening.
"I’m sorry," Isabelle said for the hundredth time.
"Don’t apologize. Learn. That’s what training is for—making mistakes in a safe place."
By the time we left Northern Ridge, it was past midnight. We drove home in exhausted silence, all of us running on fumes.
Christian’s hand found mine in the darkness. "You saved her."
"I created the problem. I should’ve been more thorough."
"You gave her tools that helped her. The rest is learning and practice." Christian kissed my knuckles. "Stop beating yourself up."
Marcus pulled up to the pack house around 2 AM. We all stumbled inside like zombies.
"Sleep," Diana ordered, appearing from nowhere because Diana was magic. "All of you. Everything else can wait."
I didn’t argue.
I woke up to Christian watching me with this weird expression.
"What?" I mumbled, still half-asleep.
"Nothing. Go back to sleep."
"Christian, you’re being creepy."
"I’m admiring my mate."
"At—" I checked the clock, "—seven in the morning? No. Stop it."
He laughed and kissed my forehead. "Come on. I want to show you something."
"I want to sleep."
"It’s important."
I groaned but let him pull me out of bed. He made me change into actual clothes—jeans and a nice shirt, which was suspicious—and practically dragged me outside.
"Where are we going?"
"The gardens. I noticed some new plantings need your attention."
That was... weirdly specific. Christian usually left garden stuff to me and Elder Margaret.
We walked through the pack house, which was suspiciously empty for a Sunday morning. Where was everyone?
Christian led me around the corner to the main garden and stopped.
"Surprise!"
I yelped as what felt like the entire pack jumped out from behind trees, tables, decorations—
Wait.
Decorations?
The garden had been transformed. String lights everywhere, even though it was daytime. Flowers in arrangements that definitely hadn’t been there yesterday. Tables set up with food. A banner reading "Happy Birthday Sophie!" in gigantic letters.
My birthday.
I’d completely forgotten my birthday.
"Oh my god," I breathed.
Christian grinned, looking ridiculously pleased with himself. "Did we surprise you?"
"I—yes. Yes, you absolutely—" I pressed my hands to my face, feeling tears already starting. "You did all this?"
"We helped!" Diana appeared with her arms full of streamers, looking proud. "Well, mostly I helped. Christian panicked about everything."
"I did not panic."
"You panic-called me four times yesterday asking if the color scheme was okay."
Marcus and Connor stood nearby, both looking smug.
The whole pack was here—warriors, elders, and families with kids. Everyone is grinning at me. I burst into tears.
"Happy tears!" I said quickly as Christian’s face shifted to concern. "These are happy tears, I promise."
He pulled me close while I cried into his shirt like an idiot. The pack laughed good-naturedly, used to their emotional Luna by now.
"Come on," Diana said, rescuing me from my feelings.
"There’s food, and Elder Margaret will murder us all if her cooking gets cold."
The celebration was perfect and overwhelming and too much in the best way.
Little kids presented me with handmade cards—crayon drawings of me with my "magic Luna powers" that looked more like I was shooting lightning from my hands. I loved every single one.
Warriors stopped by to wish me happy birthday with respectful nods and awkward smiles. They were getting better at the whole emotional expression thing.
Elders hugged me, their weathered hands gentle and their eyes knowing.
My Luna bonds hummed constantly, feeling the pack’s genuine affection. It made my chest ache in a good way.
Diana organized games that got weirdly competitive. Marcus destroyed everyone at the strength challenges. Connor won the strategy games, obviously. I refereed and ate way too much cake.
Then Elder Margaret stood up and called for attention.
"Our Luna has been with us for just a few months," Margaret said. "But in that time, she’s changed Shadow Ridge in ways we couldn’t imagine. I’d like some pack members to share what Sophie has meant to them."
Oh no. More crying incoming.
