Chapter 9: Beneath the moon
559 Words
Lyria’s POV)
Ironfang wasn’t what I expected.
I thought a fortress ruled by wolves would be wild and savage — but it was quiet. Too quiet.
Stone towers rose into the mist, carved with symbols that pulsed faintly under moonlight. The scent of pine and steel filled the air, mixed with something older… magic.
Kael dismounted first, his movements sharp and controlled as always. His wolves bowed their heads slightly when he passed — respect laced with fear.
I followed, feeling every stare like a blade on my skin.
“She’s the one?” a voice whispered behind me.
“The girl from the Crescent border?”
“She shouldn’t be here…”
Kael ignored them all. “Inside,” he said, his tone brooking no argument.
I walked beside him through the great hall — tall pillars, flickering torches, and murals of wolves under twin moons. I should have felt awed. Instead, I felt trapped.
When the doors shut behind us, I turned on him. “You could’ve warned me your pack would look at me like a curse.”
He didn’t turn. “They don’t trust easily.”
“Or at all.”
He sighed, facing me finally. “You think trust is easy when your world’s been bleeding for years?”
Something in his eyes softened then — only for a second. “This place was built to keep monsters out. Not welcome them in.”
“And what am I?” I asked quietly.
He didn’t answer. Just stepped closer, closing the space between us until I could feel his breath.
“Someone I can’t figure out,” he said, voice rough. “And that’s what scares me.”
The air thickened between us — heavy, electric. My heart wouldn’t listen to reason; it kept finding his rhythm instead.
“Maybe,” I said, “you’re scared because you already know.”
He stared at me like he wanted to deny it — but couldn’t. His hand lifted, brushing a strand of hair from my face. The touch was featherlight, reverent almost, and the world just… stopped.
Then the torches flickered. The ground trembled.
He pulled back instantly, eyes scanning the ceiling. “Another tremor?”
“No,” I said, because I felt it — the pulse, the energy. It came from beneath us.
From me.
A sharp glow flashed at my wrist — the crescent mark, faint but burning through my skin. Kael caught my arm gently, his thumb grazing over it.
His voice dropped to a whisper. “It reacts when I touch you.”
I tried to step back, but he held me there — not roughly, but with a kind of desperate restraint. His eyes searched mine, silver blazing like lightning.
“Tell me the truth,” he said. “Who are you?”
“I don’t know.”
He leaned closer. “Then we’ll find out. Together.”
The tremor stilled, leaving us standing too close in the flickering light. His hand was still around mine, his heartbeat wild beneath the calm mask he wore.
Something had changed between us. Not spoken, not acknowledged — but real.
And as the moon rose higher, I realized the truth I didn’t want to admit.
I was falling for the one person I shouldn’t.
And the worst part?
He was falling too.
- Writer
