Reclaiming My Broken Luna 2

Astrid's POV

I studied Andros's face as he spoke, searching for even the faintest trace of deceit, but there was none.

His expression was raw, stripped bare of his usual indifference, and in its place was something achingly human.

Beneath the steady timbre of his voice, I caught a faint sadness-not just for Rowena, but for Killian, too. It made my chest tighten.

I turned to Killian and felt my heart break at the sight of him. His golden eyes, usually so fierce and commanding, burned with a storm of emotions that threatened to drown him-anger, sorrow, regret.

He stood frozen, like a man facing the wreckage of his entire world.

"Then why didn't she?" Killian's voice, sharp and brittle, sliced through the heavy air.

His fists trembled, clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles were white. "If she regretted everything so much, why didn't she just say something? Why didn't she stop?"

Andros let out a quiet sigh, leaning his head back against the damp stone wall. "Because she couldn't," he said, his voice heavy with the weight of the truth.noveldrama

"The rogues wouldn't let her. They were using her as a spy, forcing her to betray you-to betray the Pack. And if she refused..." He hesitated, the words catching in his throat. "Someone else would have paid the price."

Killian's breath hitched, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he absorbed the words.

"So she let them use her?" he asked, his voice rising with each word. "She let them destroy everything?" His voice cracked, the anguish seeping through.

"She didn't have a choice," Andros said, his tone steady but firm. "She played the villain because she thought it was the only way to protect you to protect all of us. Every move she made, everything she did, was for us. For you."

"What are you saying?" Killian whispered, his voice barely audible now, his shoulders slumping under the weight of the revelation.

Andros straightened slightly, his gaze locking onto Killian. "She planned all of this," he said, his words slow and deliberate.

"From the moment the rogues came to her, she decided how it would end. She knew she was going to die. And she decided that when she did, she'd take the Rogue King with her."

The words struck like a physical blow. Killian staggered back a step, his breath catching as he ran a hand through his hair.

His fingers trembled, and his golden eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "She planned to die," he said hoarsely. "All this time... she knew."

Andros nodded, his expression heavy with the weight of his own emotions.

"She helped in ways you couldn't see," he continued. "She was harsh, cold, and distant because she thought it would hurt less when she was gone."

Killian's head dropped, his chin pressing against his chest as he released a shaky breath.

"She's my mother," he said, his voice breaking. "She raised me. She took care of me. How could she... how could she have thought that I could hurt less when she dies?"

Andros inhaled sharply, the tension in the room growing thicker. "She thought it was the only way to fix what she'd done," he said quietly.

"The only way to protect you. And she didn't tell you, didn't let you see her regret, because she thought... she thought it was a punishment she deserved."

Killian turned away from Andros, pressing a hand to his face. His broad shoulders trembled, his breathing ragged and uneven.

"Her punishment," he echoed, his voice trembling. "To die without making things right."

"She knew she had done terrible things, Killian," Andros said, his voice softening.

"She didn't expect forgiveness. She

didn't think she deserved it. But she also didn't want you to carry the weight of her mistakes. She thought that...maybe, if you hated her, it would be easier for you to move on."

Killian let out a sound-a mixture of a sob and a growl-as his grief finally broke through. He leaned forward, bracing himself against the iron bars of the cell.

"I hated her," he admitted, his voice shaking. hated her for so long. And now... now she's gone, and I can't-" His words dissolved into silence, the weight of his pain too much to bear.

Andros's expression softened, a rare flicker of emotion crossing his face. "She knew how you felt," he said gently. "And she didn't blame you. Not once."

Killian shook his head, his voice barely a whisper. "She's gone. I can't fix it. I can't

"She didn't want you to fix it," Andros interrupted, his voice quiet but firm. “She wanted you to live. To move forward. That's why she did what she did."

Tears slid silently down Killian's face as he leaned his head against the cold iron bars.

His body trembled with the weight of his grief, and I felt my own throat tighten as I watched him.

I stepped closer, placing a hand gently on his back. "Killian," I whispered, my voice soft but steady, "we'll get through this. Together."

He didn't respond, but he didn't pull away, either. Instead, he leaned into my touch, his raw, silent pain radiating through the room like a storm that refused to abate.

"She loved you," Andros said, his voice steady but filled with quiet sadness. "In her own way, she always did."

Killian didn't speak. He just bowed his head, his tears falling silently as the truth settled over all of us.

Rowena's Sacrifice, her choices, had been for something far greater than herself a love she had never been able to express in words, but one that spoke volumes in her final act.