Chapter 60
Chapter 60
Dark.
Not just dark–empty.
I don’t feel floor, or air, or cold. Nothing touches me. My arms hang at my sides, but I can’t even tell if they’re moving when I breathe. It’s like my body lost its edges and I’m just… floating.
“Hello p>
My voice snaps out of me and ricochets into the void like I yelled inside a metal tank. Too loud. Too sharp.
I swallow, but even that feels wrong. No sound. No click in my throat. Just… nothing.
“Great,” I mutter. “I get knocked out trying to save the stupid Alpha King and now I’m dead. Fantastic p>
My words echo again, everywhere and nowhere.
I choose a direction–forward. Or what I think is forward. My feet don’t hit anything, but I’m moving. I feel it in my chest. some kind of forward pull. Five steps. Ten. Fifty? I don’t know. The space doesn’t change.
Then-
A light flickers behind me. Silver. Small. Like someone clicked a lighter in the dark.
When I turn, it’s gone.
“Okay…” I breathe, already hating this. “Not creepy at all p>
Another silver glint blinks ahead. Then another. They appear like breadcrumbs, scattered across the black.
I move toward them because standing still feels like begging to lose my mind.
Each step pushes the dark back a fraction. My heartbeat gets louder. Realer. Like my body is stitching itself back together with every light I follow.
The last light doesn’t blink out. It swells–slowly, then all at once–until it forms a shape.
A silhouette. Female. Tall. Still. Hair like moonlight.
My lungs tighten.
No.
No, it can’t be-
The shape sharpens just enough for me to see her face.
The Moon Goddess,
My mother.
Her presence hits me like cold water. Not icy–clean. Familiar in a way that makes my chest ache.
She doesn’t touch me. She doesn’t smile.
She says one sentence.
Chapter 60
“Find the truth. And rum p>
My lips part, but before 1 can breathe, the floor—if it even is a floor—cracks under me like shattering glass.
I fall.
Straight down.
No scream comes out. I just drop, weightless and helpless, until-
I jolt awake with a gasp that scrapes my throat raw.
My hands clutch at sheets. Soft. Expensive. The air smells like cedar and smoke and something distinctly… him.
Alaric’s room.
The palace.
My pulse kicks hard against my ribs.
It’s dim–early morning bleeding through heavy curtains. The kind of light that barely exists. The room is big, too big, shadowed and warm. The mattress dips beside me.
Alaric sits there, Elbows on his knees. Shoulders hunched forward like he’s been rooted in that spot for hours.
His hair is messy. His shirt is gone. His jaw is clenched so hard I can see the muscle twitch even in the low light.
He lifts his head the second I shift.
And the first thing out of his mouth-
“Do you not like me anymore p>
I blink.
“What p>
His
eyes lock onto mine like he’s afraid to look away.
W
“Do you,” he says slowly, voice deep and rough like gravel, “not like me anymore p>
“I–what are you talking about p>
He doesn’t answer.
He grabs my ankles.
Not gently.
He pulls my legs into his lap like he’s claiming territory, hands warm and huge around my calves. His touch is careful in strength but not in intention–possessive, territorial, feral barely leashed.
“Alaric p>
“How much more,” he says, voice low, “should I do for you to stay p>
My heartbeat stutters.
高
4.44
Chapter 60
“That’s not
“And don’t lie.” His thumbs tighten against my skin. “I can smell it when
you
do p>
His eyes drop to my ankles. His breathing edges on ragged.
“A chain would fit here p>
He says it like he’s discussing interior decor.
“Lock you to this bed. Keep you where you can’t run. Where no one can touch you p>
My mouth goes dry.
He’s not joking.
He means it.
He would actually do it.
“Alaric p>
His eyes flick up. Sharp. Gold glinting in the dim. “You wouldn’t get hurt. I’d take care of everything. You’d just… stay p>
I try not to flinch, but my pulse gives me away. His nostrils flare.
He leans in, crowding into my space, towering, terrifyingly calm. “I could keep you safe p>
“By chaining me to a bed p>
“If that’s what it takes p>
Holy shit.
Arguing would be the worst decision I could make right now. He’s not rampaging like last night, but he’s on that thin, dangerous edge. One wrong word and he’ll spiral.
I exhale slowly.
“Alaric p>
I sit up and reach for him. He stiffens like he expects me to push him away. Instead, I cup his jaw in both hands and his breath catches.
His eyes lock onto mine though I’m the only thing holding him together.
“Look at me,” I whisper.
He does. Instantly. Obedient in a way that should scare me. Maybe it does. But I know him. I know what works. I know what this is–fear wearing teeth.
“You don’t need chains,” I say softly, brushing my thumb along the sharp line of his jaw. “You already have me p>
His eyes widen just a fraction.
“You’re mine,” he breathes, barely audible. He’s like a kid asking for candy.
“Yes.” I meet his stare without blinking. “Yours. Only yours. You don’t need to lock me up to keep me p>
08:44 Mon, Jan 12
Chapter 60
His breathing starts to slow. The tension in his shoulders cases half an inch. His thumbs loosen on my calves.
I keep going, steady, grounding him with my touch, my voice, my presence,
“I’m here,” I whisper. “I’m not running p>
He swallows hard, throat bobbing. “You always run p>
His hands slide up behind my knees, gripping, anchoring himself on me more than holding me in place.
“Sorin…” he murmurs, voice cracking just slightly. “Don’t leave p>
“I’m not leaving p>
I press my forehead to his, closing the space entirely. His breath fans across my lips, warm and shaky. His whole body lowers, the beast settling back into its skin.
His hands curl around my thighs, trembling–not from rage.
From fear.
I stay exactly where I am, breathing with him, letting each inhale calm the tremor in his shoulders.
“Told you,” I whisper. “You don’t need chains p>
Alaric exhales, long and heavy, as though the weight on his spine finally loosens.
His forehead rests against mine.
His voice drops to a raw whisper-
“Don’t ever scare me like that again p>
It doesn’t take long before he gets pulled away by the Elder Council before sunset. No warning. No explanation. Just Beta Cole again, appearing at the doorway with a stiff little bow and a “His Majesty is required immediately p>
Alaric gives me one last look before he leaves–hot, frustrated, still keyed–up under the surface–but he doesn’t say anything. He just presses his hand to the back of my head like he’s making sure I’m real and then disappears down the corridor.
The room feels too quiet without him. Too big.
I try reading. I try staring out the window. I try not replaying the moment his voice cracked.
None of that works.
So I’m pacing the length of the dining room like a caged cat when someone knocks. Quiet. Two one more. The kind of knock that’s used in places where walls have ears.
taps.
Then a pause.
Then
I open it a crack.
Marg stands there, eyes wide, apron still dusted with flour. “He’s looking for you,” she whispers.
“Who p>
She shakes her head quickly. “Not here.” Her gaze darts to the ceiling corners. “Just–go. Now p>
My stomach tightens. That’s all the information I need.
Chapter 60
Islip out the door and into the servant corridors while Alaric is gone because it’s the only time I can without hum materializing out of thin att like some territorial, unhinged gargoyle.
The air in the back passageway is cooler, smelling faintly of stone and soap. My footsteps barely make a sound on the old floorboards. I move fast, hair tied back, sleeves rolled up, every nerve awake.
The meeting room Marg mentioned is tucked behind a storage closet, the kind of place only staff or rats would know t 1 push the door open-
Cassian is already inside.
Beta Cassian, envoy of the Woodridge Pack, the man whose jaw nearly dropped to the floor when he saw my hand glowing over Rosaline’s chest.
He straightens quickly, stiff as a post. “My Lady-
“Don’t call me that.” I shut the door behind me. Quiet. Deliberate. I slide the lock into place. “We don’t have time for formalities p>
He swallows and nods. “Sorin, then p>
He’s trying to keep his face calm, but his fingers twitch against his thigh. He’s nervous. Good. I need him nervous.
I step closer until he has no choice but to look me in the eye.
“Start talking p>
His brows pinch. “About what p>
“You know damn well what.” lift my hand–the same one that glowed. “Tell me what you think you saw p>
He hesitates. Not long. Just enough to calculate the safest answer.
Then:
“I saw light,” he says. No wavering. “It came from your palm. You placed your hand over Rosaline’s chest and she–she started breathing again. Her pulse returned p>
My heart thuds once, heavy.
He’s not lying.
“And you didn’t tell anyone p>
“I didn’t.” His voice stays steady, but his throat works. “If I did, I’d be dead before sunrise. Your King isn’t known for patience p>
“Good,” I mutter. “Keep it that way p>
He takes a slow breath. “Sorin…what are you p>
The question lands harder than I’m ready for.
For a moment, the dream from last night flashes–moonlight, a woman’s voice I didn’t recognize, the way my skin prickled like someone touched me without touching me at all.
“I don’t know,” I finally say. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out p>
I cross my arms. “Tell me what you know about saintesses p>
Chapter 60
Cassian shifts, like the word alone carries weight. “They only appear every century. They can heal. Not small einz healing. Life and death. They can speak directly to the Moon Goddess herself”
blink.
That last part punches straight through my ribs.
Communicate with the Moon Goddess. Directly.
My brain immediately goes back to the dream–the voice calling my name in that pitch black darkness. The gentle pressure on my shoulders. The calm that wasn’t mine.
Was that…was that her?
The thought makes my pulse spike.
No. No, I’m not going down that mental rabbit hole right now. I shake the idea off like dust.
Focus.
“Then, don’t you know about Ariel? The pronounced Saint?” I ask and he nods. “One of the biggest packs under the Imperial Pack’s Woo p>
“Woodridge Pack. Yes, I know. She’s um…” I scratch the back o fmyhead, “She the Luna there now.” I murmur and he nods. “Shouldn’t she be the saint p>
“I’m not sure,” he answers plainly. “Her background is full of gaps. And a saintess appearing out of nowhere in Woodridge Pack, found by Alpha Wade–right when tensions rise–is far too convenient p>
I snort. “You’re telling me p>
I fix my posture and stare straight at him. “Then your envoy. What are you actually here for p>
Cassian meets my gaze this time, holding it. “Our borders are being pressured. We need the Imperial Pack’s support. Land, trade routes…a show of favor p>
I pace once, thinking.
We need each other. I hate that. But it’s true.
“Fine,” I say, turning back to him. “We make a deal p>
Cassian looks like he just got slapped with it. “A…deal p>
“You help me investigate Ariel Willows. How she’s become a saint. Quietly. Thoroughly. No half–assed rumors, no political bullshit. I want facts. ”
“And in return p>
“I give your people what they want.” I hold his gaze. “I get you access to the palace through the proper channels instead of whatever sneaking–around crap you’ve been doing p>
He goes very still. His heartbeat jumps–werewolves always give themselves away with their chest.
“That would secure our territory for the next decade,” he says.
“Then we understand each other p>
I extend my hand.
08:45 Mon, Jan 12
Chapter 60
He hesitates a second too long, then grasps it. His palm is warm, grip firin, more desperate than he wants me to notice.
We shake on it.
But before we release-
The door slams open.
Hard.
The sound cracks through the room like a gunshot.
Cassian jolts and drops my hand.
I turn.
Alaric fills the doorway.
Shoulders squared. Chest heaving like he ran the entire palace. Eyes blazing–amber, wild, locked on the exact spot where Cassian’s fingers just were.
His gaze drags slowly from Cassian…
down to our joined hands still too close…
and then up to me.
“I really should lock you up, darling p>
His jaw tightens. A single muscle jumps.
He steps
inside.
And the door behind him clicks shut.
Adminj