Chapter 255
Chapter 256
FAYE
I was halfway down the corridor to Irene’s room when I heard voices.
I hadn’t meant to listen. I was already turning the corner, already thinking about how I would knock, how Irene would probably be sitting on her bed with a book she wasn’t really reading, when
Alexander’s voice reached me–low, tense, familiar in the way that tugged at something instinctive in my chest.
I slowed.
Then I stopped.
It wasn’t just his voice. Irene answered him, sharper than usual, threaded with disbelief. The sound of their conversation pulled me back like a hand closing around my wrist. I knew I should turn away. I knew better than to linger where I wasn’t invited. But my feet wouldn’t move.
Instead, I followed the sound.
They were standing a few steps ahead, near the tall windows that overlooked the grounds. They hadn’t noticed me yet.
Usually, Alexander could smell me from quite a distance, so I knew whatever he was talking about must have been so serious that it dulled his senses.
Alexander had his back partly to the corridor, one hand braced against the stone wall like he needed the support. Irene faced him, arms folded tightly across her chest, her brows drawn
together.
“…I’m telling you exactly what she said, Alexander was saying. His voice was controlled, but I knew him well enough to hear the strain beneath it. “She said she wasn’t taken to Shadow Fang territory at all. She said they kept her within Blood Crescent borders.”
Irene let out a short breath. “That’s crazy… ”
“Of course it is, but I’m not surprised. I suspected it the moment she arrived at that hour,”
Alexander said.
I edged closer without meaning to, stopping just before the light from the windows could spill fully
onto me. I stayed in the shadow of the corridor, my heart beginning to thud harder, faster.
“She claims Atlas wouldn’t dare harm her,” Alexander continued. “That he knew exactly who she
was. She didn’t speak like someone who was held against her will.”
Irene shook her head slowly. “She’s unbelievable. Well, did she at least say why she was released?
I’m sure that was the point you two started fighting
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There was a pause. I held my breath without realizing it as I waited for Alexander’s response.
“That’s the part that is literally driving me crazy right now,” he went on. “Turns out they didn’t let her go out of mercy or fear. They let her go because she convinced them she’d be more useful outside
than as a prisoner.”
Irene’s eyes narrowed. “Useful how?”
Alexander didn’t answer immediately. When he did, his voice was quieter. Heavier.
“She told them she could convince Faye to surrender herself for their stupid ritual. Can you
imagine that?”
The word hit me like a physical blow.
Me.
I felt the air leave my lungs in a rush, my fingers curling reflexively at my sides. For a moment, I thought I might actually fall where I stood.
“What? That’s…” Irene started, then stopped. She ran a hand through her hair. “That’s a wild thing to say… even for Mom. She can’t have meant that.”
“Oh, she did,” Alexander said flatly. “She admitted it. Why do you think I was mad? And she went further to try and convince me that Faye would not be killed… that all they wanted was her blood.”
“You don’t believe that, do you?” Irene asked.
“I don’t. But Helen does,” he replied. “That’s the problem. Shadow Fang is crafty. They always have been. It’s possible they fed her half–truths. Or outright lies. They could be manipulating her, and she
bought it.”
I wanted to step forward then. To announce myself. To demand he look at me while he talked
about my life like it was a strategic inconvenience without talking to me first.
But my body refused.
“Still,” Irene said slowly, “there’s something we need to consider.”
Alexander lifted his head, his jaw tightening. “What?”
“If what she says is true,” Irene continued, her voice lower now, more careful, “then she’s right about one thing… Faye has a target on her back. Not just from Shadow Fang. From anyone who
hears about this.”
My vision blurred slightly at the edges.
“It would only be a matter of time,” Irene went on, “before other packs start listening.”
The words echoed in my head, strange and heavy and terrifying.
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Alexander’s shoulders stiffened. “That’s assuming any of this is real.”
Irene met his gaze without flinching. “And what if it s?”
Silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating.
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“What if Mom is right?” she pressed. “Mom grew up in that world, Alex. She understands spiritual law in ways most of us never could. Rituals, blood rites, old magic. If she believes that Faye’s blood could do what Atlas claims–rewrite bloodlines, elevate a pack’s power, create a new breed of
werewolves because of the gifts–then that’s not something to ignore.”
I had to press my hand against the wall to steady myself.
So this was it.
This was why they had come for me.
Not because I was Alexander’s mate. Not because was Luna of Blood Crescent. Not because of
any crime or war I had chosen.
But because of what flowed in my veins.
Because of my gifts.
A bitter thought rose unbidden: Was this what the goddess had given them to me for?
Not protection. Not balance.
But sacrifice.
I swallowed hard, my throat aching. Did that mean even Blood Crescent might want a piece of me
too? If my blood was that useful… why wouldn’t Alexander also want it for his pack?
My stomach twisted violently. I became acutely aware of my body–of the quiet life growing inside
me, of the way my instincts screamed danger even as my mind struggled to catch up.
Why wasn’t he talking to me about this?
Why was he standing here with his sister, dissecting my existence, weighing possibilities, deciding
what was real and what wasn’t–without me in the room?
I was his mate. I was his Luna.
This concerned me more than anyone.
And yet, here I was, hidden in the shadows, learning about my own fate like an eavesdropper in my
own life.
A quiet, sharp ache settled behind my ribs.
Maybe he thought he was protecting me.
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Maybe he thought ignorance would keep me calm
But all it did was make me feel small, excluded… managed.
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Another thought crossed my mind… maybe he was starting to entertain the idea himself. If what they said was true, then it was a tempting possibility for an alpha to consider–no matter how much he loved his mate.
No matter how much he loved me.
I realized then that if I stepped forward now, if I let them see me, something would break–either in me, or between us, or both.
I wasn’t ready for that.
Not yet.
My legs felt weak as I slowly took a step back, then another, retreating carefully, silently, until the sound of their voices dulled behind me.
Before either of them could notice my presence, I turned and left.
A
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