Chapter 30
Samantha’s POV
“You’re thinner than the last time I saw you.”
Lena’s voice pulled me from my thoughts as she placed a steaming cup of tea on the small table between us. She settled into the chair across from me, scanning me in the way only she could — half affectionate, half appraising.
I let out a short laugh, one that felt foreign and awkward after years of keeping myself guarded. “I guess life has a way of wearing you down,” I replied.
She frowned, her lips pressing into a thin line. “You’ve been through too much, Samantha. More than anyone should have to endure.”
I avoided her gaze, my hands warming against the teacup. The years apart had not dulled her ability to see right through me. It was comforting and unsettling all at once, after all, when my mother died, she took me in, cared for me, and raised me to be the Luna I had been. But fate decided to hand me a cruel life I had to escape from.
“I’ve managed,” I replied after a moment. “The Moonstone Pack has been good to me. It’s peaceful there.”
Lena tilted her head slightly as she focused her eyes on me, searching. “Peace is important. But it’s not everything,” she finally said. It was no wonder to me how she managed to reach me. I knew Dominic must have told her where I was. And when she contacted the Moonstone Pack, requesting my presence and contact details, who was I to decline? So I took the contact details that she used in reaching out to the Pack and contacted her for an afternoon tea. Despite the fallout between me and Dominic, I wouldn’t deny that I still missed Lena. She was like a mother to me already — always been nice, and caring.
Seeing her again after all these years felt surreal, like stepping into a memory that was both familiar and foreign.
“I’ve missed you,” I admitted, my voice softer than I intended. “More than I realized.”
Her expression softened, and she reached across the table to squeeze my hand. “I’ve missed you too, Samantha. You were like a daughter to me. You know that, right? Losing you... it felt like losing her all over again.”
Her words hit me harder than I expected. Lena had been my lifeline after my mother’s death. She filled the void left by my mother’s absence. Hearing her speak of that loss reminded me just how much we had shared.