Bonds at War: The Untouched is Mine novel Chapter 376

Attachment 376

Chapter 376 Lantern Festival

LUNA

We found ourselves in the yearly carnival that Ylarc had during their lantern festival.

Arden and Tessa had been the masterminds behind this outing. The moment they found out there was a festival nearby, they dove into researching it like it was a mission.

Now, under strings of lights, the six of us wandered through the sea of colors and sound. Tessa lingered by a booth selling handmade jewelry.

“Calla would have loved this,” Tessa murmured.

Rowan turned to her. “Then let’s go again tomorrow,” he said.

Tessa let out a small, surprised laugh but didn’t deny it.

Meanwhile, Arden was busy buying Cade a headband with floppy bunny ears. He looked mortified, which only made her laugh harder. “You’re wearing it,” she told him. “End of discussion.”

“I am not wearing that in public,” Cade protested, his ears tinting red.

“Oh, yes, you are,” Arden teased, reaching up to place it on his head anyway. “You’re adorable.”

He sighed, defeated, though I caught the way his lips quirked when she wasn’t looking.

Watching them made something warm rise in my chest. The nausea that had been haunting me for days had lifted the moment we stepped off the docks. Maybe it really had just been seasickness. Morning sickness, too, though part of me knew it was denial.

But right now, I didn’t want to think about any of that.

I just smiled and turned to Abel, looping my arm through his. “What do you want to do?” I asked.

He gave me a sideways glance, amused. “What do you want to do?”

“Let’s play games,” I said, tugging his sleeve. “Please?”

His lips twitched into a smile. “Games it is.”

The next thing I knew, we were standing in front of a row of carnival booths, each brighter and

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louder than the last. The first one was a ring toss. Cade and Rowan were already sizing it up like it was some kind of military operation. Abel folded his arms, assessing the distance to the bottle.

“This is going to end badly,” I whispered to Tessa.

“Oh, absolutely,” she said, smirking. “They’re going to turn this into a war.”

And they did.

By the second round, a small crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle of three giant men competing over who could win the most stuffed toys.

“Best of three?” Cade challenged, grabbing a handful of rings.

“Best of five,” Rowan countered.

Abel simply smirked and threw. The first ring landed perfectly around the bottle’s neck.

The humans around us gasped.

“Lucky shot,” Cade said.

“Skill,” Abel replied smoothly.

“Fluke,” Rowan added, tossing his ring—and landing it perfectly, too.

The next few minutes devolved into chaos. Rings flew in perfect arcs, every single one landing exactly where it was supposed to. The poor clerk running the booth had long stopped trying to hide his disbelief.

“This is impossible,” someone from the crowd whispered. “They haven’t missed a single one!”

“Are they professionals?” another murmured.

“It’s like they’re not humans!”

I held in my laughter at that.

By the time they were done, the three of them stood surrounded by towers of oversized plush toys.

“I think we’ve broken the booth,” Tessa said between giggles,

Cade turned to the stunned clerk. “More rings, please.”

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Chapter 376 Lantern Festival

The man pursed his lips. “Sir… we’re out.”

“Out?” Rowan asked, genuinely confused.

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“You won,” the man said flatly, rubbing the back of his neck. “You can just… take them all.”

“This is too much,” I said, trying to hold back a laugh as I gestured to the ridiculous pile.

With that, we started handing the toys out to nearby children, who squealed with delight. The parents looked stunned but grateful, and soon enough, our pile of winnings dwindled.

But Abel kept one small stuffed toy in his hand–a white polar bear with a snowflake stitched on its chest. He turned to me, holding it up.

“Keep this one,” he said softly.

I tilted my head. “Why this one?”

His lips curved. “It’s for our little Snow.”

“Snow?” I repeated.

He leaned in, his breath brushing my ear. “You were shivering when we were doing it,” he murmured.

I gasped, swatting at his chest. “Abel!”

He laughed while I shook

my

head.

I looked down at it, running my thumb over the little snowflake. “Snow,” I whispered again.

It felt right.

I looked up–and realized the others had already wandered off somewhere down the lantern- lit street, leaving just the two of us.

The festival glowed around us, laughter rising like fireflies.

“Come on,” I said suddenly.

“Where?”

“The Vikings ride,” I said, pointing toward the enormous swinging ship that loomed at the far end of the fairground.

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Chapter 376 Lantern Festival

His face paled instantly. “The… what?”

I tilted my head. “The big ship thing. It swings.”

“I know what it is,” he said quickly, eyes narrowing.

“Then let’s go,” I smiled.

He exhaled slowly, a single muscle twitching in his jaw. “Sure,” he said.

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The line to the Viking ship stretched almost all the way around the corner, but I didn’t mind. I could smell caramelized sugar and roasted nuts from a nearby stall, and it made me even more excited.

I wanted to do everything with him.

We inched forward, step by step, until we were almost near the booth when someone called

my name.

“Luna?”

I froze.

The voice was familiar. I turned, heart dropping to my stomach.

“Joshua?”

Abel’s posture stiffened immediately.

Joshua was walking toward us through the crowd. He looked quite different. He appeared thinner, with dark circles under his eyes, and his clothes hung looser on his frame.

“Seriously?” I muttered under my breath. “Of all times and of all places…”

Joshua stopped in front of us, and for a moment, he didn’t say anything. He just stared, his eyes flicked downward, catching on the gentle curve of my stomach.

“You’re pregnant?” he said.

I pursed my lips and stepped forward, placing myself firmly at Abel’s side. I wasn’t scared- after facing Cade’s cousins, Joshua felt almost harmless, like a fragile egg that might break if I raised my voice.

“Leave,” I said. “Don’t make a scene.”

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“You’re really with him,” he said softly.

“That’s what I told you, Joshua.”

He shook his head. “What about me?” he asked.

Abel let out a quiet scoff beside me. I could feel his restraint; he was seconds away from stepping in, but I touched his arm lightly, stopping him.

“We never had anything, Joshua,” I said gently. “You were always with Princess. You should be happy with that.”

He looked away, shoulders slumping.

Then, without waiting for another word, I tugged Abel’s hand and pulled him with me into the ride’s entrance.

Abel didn’t say a word until we were seated in the very back. He looked at me, a small smile curving his lips.

“My girl,” he said quietly.

I shrugged lightly, grinning back. “He deserved it.”

He chuckled, but his laughter faltered when the ride lurched with its first creak. The massive ship began to sway.

I turned to him, and immediately had to bite back a laugh.

Abel’s knuckles were white where he gripped the safety bar. His usually confident expression had drained of all color, and his jaw was locked tight.

“Wait,” I said when the realization hit me, staring in disbelief. “You’re scared?”