Chapter 42

Seris’s POV

Dawn arrived far sooner than I’d expected. I hadn’t managed more than broken minutes of sleep, pacing the room and practicing smiles in the mirror so I wouldn’t wake Nessa. At my thousandth attempt, Eirwen’s exasperated sigh cut through the silence.

“Can you calm down and act confident?” she complained. “Your nerves kept me awake all night!”

My carefully rehearsed grin faltered. “I’m terrified. I don’t want to meet the pack. They won’t like me,” I admitted, voicing the same fear I’d felt since Ronan first broke the news.

Eirwen rolled her eyes. “You can’t be Luna if you tremble like this,” she scolded. She had a point: no one would respect a leader who couldn’t face her own pack.

“Ronan and Noctyr will support us,” she added, trying to reassure me.

“That’s not the point,” I shot back. “What if they boo me? What if they reject me?”

She sighed. “They wouldn’t dare. Just relax—breathe. Everything will be fine.”

I manage