Luna

Luna The Wolves of Lusana Book Two Mikayla Whitaker Mikayla Whitaker ©️ 2023 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission from the author. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. Paperback ISBN 979-8-3627-9788-1 Hardcover ISBN 979-8-3646-8765-4 Edited by Jessica McKellen Cover design by MiblArt Formatted by Mikayla Whitaker Published by Mikayla Whitaker This book explores various themes of trauma that may be upsetting for some readers. Luna The Wolves of Lusana Book Two Mikayla Whitaker To A. D. Hunter, You are absolutely magnificent. Table of Contents Part One Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Part Two Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Part Three Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty One Chapter Twenty Two Part Four Chapter Twenty Three Chapter Twenty Four Chapter Twenty Five Chapter Twenty Six Chapter Twenty Seven Chapter Twenty Eight Chapter Twenty Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty One Epilogue Acknowledgments About the Author Also by Mikayla Whitaker Part One The Betrayal Chapter One With a long sigh, I dropped the large, leather-bound books on the beautifully crafted mahogany table, the weight of them easing instantly as soon as they left my arms. The library was unusually busy today. But despite the crowds, none of the conversations around me were above a low whisper, which I was thankful for. The one thing that irritated me was people who were unnecessarily loud in a library. Clearing my throat, I took my seat, popping my neck before getting ready to dive into the stack of books I had in front of me, only to be jolted from my relaxed and totally focused state when one of my best friends ran toward me. “Happy birthday, Em!” my best friend, Clarissa, said while hugging me from behind. “Clarissa!” I protested, my voice low as she took her seat beside me. She plopped her books down, along with her laptop. “We’re in a library, be quieter,” I warned. She rolled her eyes. “Please, no one can hear us.” I sighed. “Thank you though. I’m glad you remembered—unlike some people.” “What? Did Andrew forget?” Clarissa asked, clearly starting to get angry. All I could do was nod. “Oh! That mother— Just wait ‘til I talk to him! I’ll give him a piece of my mind.” “No, no, Clarissa, wait! It’s fine, it’s—it’s…” I sighed. “I know it’s an asshole move, but maybe he’s pretending to forget. Like I don’t know, a surprise party?” The look on Clarissa’s face said that I was most definitely wrong, but she played along. “Maybe,” she said. “Hey, have you seen Eliza? She was supposed to be here an hour ago.” “Um, no, I haven’t. She said she was busy, I guess with her new boyfriend. What was his name? Liam, I think.” I wonder why she hasn’t introduced us yet. Maybe she is worried? Who knows. Wait, what was I supposed to be doing? Oh right… my thesis. Without hesitation, I turned to the tomes in front of me, hoping I could at least get some work done. Clarissa hummed, unimpressed. “Well, she better get here soon. We have an article to write.” “What’s this one about? “The differences between born wolves and bitten wolves,” Clarissa replied, looking over at me, her eyes taking on an otherworldly golden glow. “I wasn’t a huge fan of pointing out the difference between us bitten wolves and naturally born ones, but it is what it is.” She shrugged, tossing her blonde hair back into a ponytail. Clarissa had been bitten three years prior, and though she had a pack, she regularly visited those she knew when she was human. I was thankful that despite the fact she was no longer human, it hadn’t changed who she was. She still wanted to have some semblance of normalcy in our friend group, even if we weren’t all the same species anymore. “Hey, Clarissa, sorry I’m late. I—uh, had a rough morning,” Eliza called as she ran up to us. Her dark-colored skin glowed, while her usually unruly curls were even more of a mess than usual. “Hey Em, happy birthday.” “Thank you.” I smiled, catching a whiff of a man’s cologne, which I instantly recognized as the one my husband wore. Did Liam and Andrew wear the same cologne? Pushing the thought away, I turned back to my books. “It looks like you did have a rough morning.” She blushed and looked away. “Yeah, it was— it was fun.” She cleared her throat, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Anyway, I should probably get to work.” God, how I missed those days. I wasn’t naive to the fact that Andrew and I had problems, but I was pretty sure it just came down to stress. And when I brought up children—well, let’s just say he wasn’t too fond of that idea. With a sigh, I flipped open one of the leather-bound tomes and carefully skimmed to the page I left off on during my last trip to the library. The tome was old, possibly dating back to the early 1700s. I was surprised it was still together after all of these years. Excitement filled me as I began to decipher the lettering, taking notes in my notebook so I could finish writing at home. I had unfortunately forgotten my laptop. I guess I could write it on my phone, but that seemed like too much work. “Is this for your