The Return of the Fallen Luna: Rise of the Heiress-Chapter 20 Find Her!

Ashley almost scoffed at the thought.

But now, she was grateful for it.

Without cameras, there were no unseen eyes watching her every move, only guards she could observe, predict, and slip past. It didn’t make things easy, but it gave her a chance.

And right now, a chance was enough.

If she could get past the patrols around the granary, she might be able to reach the dungeon... and find out if her mother was inside.

She stayed low in the bushes, forcing her breathing to slow, to quiet, anything that would keep her presence from drawing attention. Not far away, the patrol guards moved in steady rotations. Ashley watched them closely, tracking their patterns, their timing, their blind spots.

She waited.

Counted.

On the third pass, when they moved just beyond a ten-meter radius, she acted.

Slipping forward, she kept her body close to the ground, crawling through the underbrush as she inched toward the dungeon entrance. Every movement was careful, deliberate, and controlled.

It wasn’t dignified.

As a werewolf, she knew that. Once, she would’ve scoffed at this, would’ve faced them head-on without hesitation. Wolves don’t crawl. They fought. They dominated.

But that version of her was gone.

Right now, charging in would be suicide. Even if she managed to take down a few guards without her wolf, it wouldn’t matter. The rest would call for reinforcements, alert Nathan through the mindlink, and once he arrived, everything would be over.

She wouldn’t even get close to saving her mother.

So pride meant nothing.

Survival did.

And if she had to crawl through the dirt to make this work, then so be it.

After some time crawling through the bushes, Ashley finally reached the edge of the clearing. She stilled, eyes narrowing as she took in the stretch ahead. Open ground. No cover, just rows of golden wheat swaying gently with the wind.

Even if she kept low, the stalks would shift unnaturally around her when she moved, and the guards would notice. There was no clean way across.

Ashley stayed crouched, her mind racing, scanning the surroundings for anything, any angle, any distraction she could use.

Nothing.

For a moment, she froze, caught between urgency and risk.

Beep.

Beep...

"Hey! Open the warehouse’s door! We’re here to pick up the grains for distribution!"

A truck rumbled down the dirt road, cutting through the quiet. The driver leaned out through the window, shouting for the double doors to be opened so he could park the truck normally. The moment it arrived, the guards stationed near the dungeon glanced over, then jogged toward the granary without hesitation. It was just a routine supply pickup, nothing suspicious.

Their vigilance slipped.

The dungeon entrance sat just behind the granary, built back-to-back but separated by enough distance to create a brief blind spot. And for a few crucial seconds, no one was watching.

Ashley moved.

Keeping low, she slipped out from the edge of the clearing and reached the dungeon door. She paused just long enough to confirm that the patrols in the forest were still far off, then crouched and pushed the heavy metal door open, inch by inch, until there was just enough space for her to slide inside.

The moment it cracked open, the thick, suffocating stench hit her nostrils like a punch.

Ashley’s nose wrinkled, her stomach turning, but she forced herself through and shut the door quietly behind her. Darkness swallowed her whole. She pulled out her phone, switching on the flashlight as she began descending the stairs.

Each step deeper made the air heavier.

The smell of blood, sweat, urine, and human waste clung to everything, soaked into the walls, the floor, and into the air itself. It was overwhelming, nauseating, like the place had been steeped in suffering for far too long.

Ashley swallowed hard, steadying herself.

Even the stench alone felt enough to make her sick.

Still, she made it to the bottom of the stairs. A flickering yellow bulb buzzed weakly ahead, casting a dim, sickly light across the narrow hall. Ashley switched off her phone’s flashlight at once, letting the gloom swallow her as she moved forward. The underground air was cold and damp, clinging to her skin, making every step feel heavier.

At the end of the short corridor stood another metal gate, which was the entrance to the cells.

She had just taken a step toward it when a figure appeared.

A guard was walking straight in her direction.

Ashley froze, panic flaring sharp in her chest. Her eyes darted around, but there was no cover, no shadows deep enough to hide in. Nothing.

Her mind raced.

If she attacked, her injured knee would slow her down. Even a slight delay would be enough for the guard to react, and if she failed to take him down in one move, he would raise the alarm. Against a full-grown werewolf, without her wolf, her chances were slim. It was too risky.

So fighting wasn’t an option.

Hiding was.

But where?

Ashley pressed herself tightly against the wall, barely daring to breathe. The dim lighting worked in her favor, swallowing her outline into the shadows. The guard, distracted, glanced down at his phone as he walked, his steps lazy, careless even.

If he had been even slightly more alert, he would have noticed her immediately.

But he wasn’t.

And that single moment of negligence... was the only reason she wasn’t discovered.

Luckily, Ashley spotted a narrow crevice in the wall, just enough for her to slip into if she turned sideways and held herself still. The dim lighting cloaked her further, and the guard, distracted by his phone, never once lifted his gaze. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Had he paid even the slightest attention, his sharp wolf senses would have caught her instantly, darkness be damned. But Ashley knew how to erase herself, to quiet her presence until it thinned into nothing.

Without a wolf, she was even harder to detect. It was a bitter kind of irony that what had once marked her as weak now became the very thing that kept her hidden.

Only when his footsteps faded did she ease herself free and move forward, silent and careful. The dungeon lay still as there were no more patrols, or no interruptions, as she checked each cell one by one, her gaze searching, hoping, fearing.

But as she neared the end, her chest tightened.

It was empty.

The last two cells held nothing. No trace of her mother. Relief and dread tangled within her—if she wasn’t here, then she hadn’t suffered in this place... but then, where was she? Ashley turned to leave, only for something to catch her eye—a scrap of paper half-hidden beneath a small stone.

It was barely visible in the low light, easily missed. And yet, she saw it. As if something unseen had guided her gaze there. Curiosity stirred, quiet and insistent—followed closely by a creeping sense of unease that settled deep in her stomach.