Avenging Luna-Chapter 173: Naked Ash

Chase POV:

The room fell silent, their bowed heads a little lower this time, though I couldn’t tell if it was out of fear or realization. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The five elders shifted uncomfortably, their gazes darting between each other as if silently voting on who was going to face her wrath first.

"Leila," I said calmly, stepping slightly in front of her. "Let me handle this."

"No," she snapped, her eyes blazing as they locked onto mine. "I want to know which one of these ancient fossils had the audacity to accuse my son."

A small part of me wanted to laugh. Leila wasn’t just angry—she was terrifyingly impressive. I almost felt sorry for the elders. Almost.

"Answer her," I said, my voice dropping into a cold command as I turned back to the elders.

The one who seemed the least brave—or perhaps the most foolish—finally stammered out, "W-We acted on the information given to us! We didn’t directly accuse—"

"Enough!" Leila’s growl reverberated through the chamber. "You blame a five year old for murder!." Her voice sharpened with every word, and the elders shrank under her gaze.

I held up a hand, silently asking her to let me take it from here. "As for anyone still suspecting Leila," I said, my tone sharp, "rest your old minds. She couldn’t have killed my father because she was with me." I let that sink in, watching as understanding—and perhaps embarrassment—dawned on their faces.

"And for those foolish enough to think that a five-year-old pup could kill a millennia-old royal vampire, even in his weakened state," I continued, "I think it’s safe to say you’ve outlived your usefulness."

A few of them gasped, the insult hitting exactly where I’d intended. Good. Maybe it would knock some sense into them.

Leila stepped forward again, her anger barely contained. "If I ever hear of another baseless accusation against me or my son, you’ll answer to me." She didn’t have to raise her voice for the warning to hit like a sledgehammer.

The elders didn’t respond. They just looked down, suddenly very interested in their shoes.

I placed a hand on Leila’s arm, gently guiding her back. "We’ve said enough for now," I murmured to her.

She gave me a look that said she wasn’t done—but she allowed me to lead her out of the chamber.

As the doors closed behind us, I couldn’t help but smirk. "You know," I said, glancing at her, "I think you just scared them into their next century."

Leila raised an eyebrow. "Good. Maybe they’ll finally learn not to mess with my family."

Damn. She was incredible. And for the first time, I was glad Damon wasn’t here to see this because he would have broke and rattled us out being intimidated. The little wolf might’ve been a handful, but his mama wolf was a force of nature.

As we walked out of the chambers, one thought lingered in my mind: Who was bold enough—and smart enough—to orchestrate this chaos?

And why was Ash shifting so early?

Something bigger was at play here. But that’s not the current problem.

Leila stopped abruptly in the corridor, her piercing eyes locking onto mine. "I want to see my boy. No, I need to see him, Chase. I feel like he needs me." Her voice was firm, but the concern beneath it was impossible to miss. "Where is Damon, Chase? Tell him to bring Ash back or take me to him. Now."

Damn it. Mama Wolf’s instincts were kicking in, and I knew I was about three seconds away from being in the doghouse—literally.

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my face neutral. Crap. Crap. Crap. She was sniffing out the truth faster than I could come up with a plausible excuse.

"Leila," I started, raising my hands in a gesture of calm, "Ash is fine. Damon has everything under control."

Her eyes narrowed, and I swear my heart skipped a beat. "Under control? Chase, do you think I’m stupid? I know something’s off. A mother knows these things."

I groaned internally. Of course, she had to go full mama-wolf mode now. "He’s safe, I promise," I said, attempting to sound reassuring. "Damon is...uh, keeping an eye on him."

She took a step closer, and I felt the weight of her Alpha aura. "Chase," she said slowly, her voice dangerously calm, "if you don’t take me to my son right now or call Damon to bring him here, so help me, I will—"

"Alright, alright!" I cut in, throwing up my hands in surrender. "I’ll call Damon and have him bring Ash back."

Her eyes bored into mine, unrelenting. "Do it. Now."

Pulling out my phone, I quickly dialed Damon. The line barely rang before he picked up.

"What now?" Damon’s exasperated voice came through the line.

"Where are you?" I demanded, keeping my tone low enough that Leila wouldn’t hear the panic in it.

"Still hiding the kid. Why? Did you stall her?"

"Not anymore. She knows something’s up. Bring Ash back now, or we’re both dead vampires."

Damon cursed under his breath. "He’s still a wolf, Chase. What do you want me to do, carry him in and hope she doesn’t notice?"

"Figure it out!" I snapped, hanging up before he could argue.

Turning back to Leila, I forced a smile. "Damon’s on his way with Ash. See? Nothing to worry about."

Leila folded her arms, her expression skeptical. "He better be. And Chase?"

"Yeah?"

"If I find out you’ve been lying to me about anything, mate or not, you won’t like me."

I winced. "Noted."

As we waited for Damon, I couldn’t help but think: This is going to blow up in our faces. Big time.

"Let’s wait for them in your chambers," I suggested, steering us away from any immediate public meltdowns. Leila nodded, her suspicious look softening slightly, though I could tell she wasn’t fully convinced.

As we walked, I decided to make small talk. Anything to distract her. "So, Leila," I began, adopting my most casual tone, "when you’re, uh, a wolf... how do you shift back?"

She paused mid-step, narrowing her eyes. "Why are you asking?"

"No reason," I said quickly, waving it off like it was nothing. "Just, you know, preparing... in case you snap one day and shift."

Leila snorted, her lips quirking up in a small smirk. "Nice try, Chase."

I chuckled, relieved she wasn’t pressing me—yet.

"Well," she started, humoring me as we walked, "you need to take back control from your wolf first. It’s all about asserting your willpower. Then, you have to focus on willing your body to become human again."

"That sounds... straightforward," I said, trying to sound nonchalant.

She glanced at me sideways. "It can be, but it depends. Sometimes, it’s difficult—especially if you’re injured or if it’s your first time shifting. In those cases, the Alpha might need to order the wolf to shift back, compelling it."

"Compelling it, huh?" I muttered, nodding as if this were purely academic interest.

Leila tilted her head, studying me. "You’re acting weird, Chase."

"What? No, I’m not." I flashed her my best innocent smile.

"Uh-huh," she said, clearly not buying it. "This doesn’t have anything to do with why Damon has my son, does it?"

Crap. I waved off her question with a laugh, hoping to God Damon was hauling tail to my chambers with Ash as a cute boy and not a a white furball right now.

"Nope. Just, you know, curious."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she let it go. For now.

As we stepped into my chambers, I tried not to fidget under her watchful gaze. "They’ll be here soon," I said, sinking onto the couch and motioning for her to join me.

She sat down but didn’t relax. "I hope so, Chase," she said, her voice calm but layered with warning. "Because if something’s wrong, I’ll find out."

Oh, Damon, you better hurry the hell up.

"Leila," I began slowly, taking her hands in mine. My heart raced as I prepared to come clean. "You need to know something."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, her grip tightening. "Did something happen to Ash?"

"No... well, yes, but he’s safe he just..." Just as I was about to explain, I spotted Damon awkwardly peeking out from behind the curtain, still clutching Ash in his tiny wolf form.

I sighed, shoulders sagging. Well, here goes nothing.

But before I could say another word, Leila’s head snapped up. "I can smell Ash..." she murmured, her tone sharp, her alpha instincts kicking in.

And then it happened. Ash wriggled free from Damon’s grip, leaping down and shifting mid-air into his human form. The problem? He was stark naked.

"Ah, crap," I muttered under my breath, watching the little whirlwind sprint across the room.

"Mommy!" Ash yelled, his voice full of glee, as he bolted toward Leila, who turned just in time to see her naked child charging her way.

Leila crouched down, her arms wide, catching Ash as he launched himself into her embrace. She clutched him tightly, murmuring reassurances as she checked him over for any injuries.

But then, her head slowly turned, her gaze locking onto Damon, who was still hovering awkwardly near the curtain.

"Why is my boy naked?" she asked, her voice calm but laced with deadly intent, her eyes narrowing.

Damon, bless him, had the audacity to smile sheepishly. "Would you believe me if I said he was complaining he was too hot?"

Leila’s glare turned colder, and Damon glanced at me, silently begging for backup.

I cleared my throat, trying to hide my amusement. "Well... one major disaster averted, right?" I offered weakly, earning a withering look from Leila.

Yeah, we weren’t out of the woods yet.