Chapter 31
1867 Words
Bloodmoon
Hailey
The moment the Ironclaw gates disappear behind us, something inside me finally begins to c***k beneath the weight of everything I have been holding together since the orphanage attack.
Until now, survival kept me moving.
Shock kept me functioning.
The bond, Selene, the prophecy, the witches, my parents, Alpha Darius turning against me in front of the entire pack, every revelation arrived so violently and so quickly that I never truly had time to stop and feel any of it properly.
But now, trapped inside the steady silence of the SUV while rain lashes endlessly against the windows around us, exhaustion settles into my bones deeply enough that even breathing feels difficult.
The storm follows us down the mountain roads like something alive.
Thunder rolls heavily across the dark forests surrounding Ironclaw territory while flashes of lightning illuminate the towering trees in brief violent bursts of silver-white light. Water races down the windows in uneven streams, distorting the world outside until the mountains blur together into shadows and movement.
No one speaks at first.
The tension from the courtyard still clings to all of us, thick and heavy inside the vehicle, carrying the sharp aftertaste of violence barely avoided.
I sit silently in the back seat between Rider and Kael, my injured arm throbbing steadily beneath fresh bandages while my thoughts spiral painfully inward.
Alpha Darius wanted me imprisoned.
Even now, the truth feels unreal.
Not because I believed he loved me.
But because I believed he respected me.
For years I fought for Ironclaw without question. I trained harder than everyone else because I had to. I obeyed every impossible expectation placed on me because I thought if I proved myself useful enough, disciplined enough, loyal enough, eventually I would stop feeling like an outsider inside the only home I had ever known.
And for a while, I truly believed Alpha Darius saw that effort.
He praised my combat scores.Allowed Garrick to train me harder than most unmated females inside the pack.Trusted me during patrol rotations.
Or at least...
I thought he trusted me.
Now, replaying the courtyard confrontation in my mind, everything feels different.
The way he looked at me when the silver beneath my skin appeared.The way his expression sharpened instead of softened.The complete absence of surprise in his eyes.
Fear was there, yes.
But beneath it,
something colder.
Something hungry.
Selene stirs uneasily inside me.
He does not fear you because you are dangerous, little moon.
My gaze drifts toward the rain-streaked window again.
No.
The realization settles slowly and horribly into place.
He fears losing control of me.
The thought sends cold unease curling painfully through my stomach.
And then another thought follows immediately behind it.
Beta Garrick.
Pain tightens sharply in my chest.
My fingers curl slowly against my lap while memories rise one after another without permission.
Garrick teaching me how to throw my first punch.Garrick carrying me home after training injuries when I was too stubborn to admit I was hurt.Garrick standing between me and pack warriors who called me defective behind my back when they thought I could not hear them.
He loved me.
I know he did.
Not because of prophecy.Not because of destiny.Not because of power.
Just... me.
And somehow that makes this hurt even worse.
Because if Dr Elara knew the truth...If Alpha Darius suspected something...If the witches had been searching for me all these years...
Then why didn't Garrick warn me?
The question aches so deeply inside my chest it nearly steals the breath from my lungs.
Did he know who I was?
Did everyone know pieces of my life except me?
Emotion burns unexpectedly behind my eyes as I stare harder out the window, blinking quickly before the tears can fully fall.
Immediately, the bond reacts.
Concern crashes sharply through all four brothers at once.
The response is so immediate and instinctive that it startles me every single time it happens now. Their emotions move through me like waves breaking against shorelines, impossible to ignore even when I try.
Rider turns toward me first beside the window, his body shifting closer automatically before he even speaks.
"What happened?"
His voice is quieter now than it was at Ironclaw, stripped of aggression and dominance until only concern remains.
I shake my head automatically.
"Nothing."
The bond pulses instantly.
Disbelief from Zane.Frustration from Kael.Quiet concern from Asher.Protectiveness from Rider strong enough that warmth spreads across my skin.
Apparently lying is officially useless now.
Wonderful.
Kael studies me carefully from beside me, his silver-blue eyes calm and unnervingly perceptive beneath the dim lighting inside the vehicle.
"You're thinking about Garrick."
Not a question.
I hate that he already understands me this easily.
My jaw tightens slightly before I finally exhale softly and lean my head back against the seat.
"He found me," I say quietly after several long seconds of silence. "He raised me. Protected me. Taught me how to survive inside a pack that never fully accepted me."
The words begin catching harder in my throat the longer I continue speaking.
"He was the only person who never looked at me like I was broken."
Pain ripples softly through the bond.
Not pity.
Empathy.
"And now suddenly everyone else knew pieces of the truth except me."
Silence settles heavily through the SUV again.
Not uncomfortable.
Careful.
The kind of silence people use when they know grief is sitting too close to the surface.
Asher finally speaks from the front passenger seat, his calm voice grounding enough that I instinctively focus on it.
"I don't think Garrick betrayed you."
I look up slowly.
"How would you know?"
Asher glances toward me briefly over the seat.
"Because he searched for you like a man losing his daughter."
The memory flashes sharply through the bond immediately.
Garrick storming through the rain toward me earlier, fear and relief colliding across his face so violently the emotion practically shook the air around him.
Not political concern.
Not obligation.
Love.
Real love.
Rider's hand shifts slightly closer beside mine against the seat between us.
"He loves you," he says quietly.
The words hurt in ways I cannot explain.
Because I know they are true.
But love still kept secrets from me.
"I'm tired of people deciding things for me," I whisper softly, more to myself than anyone else. "My parents hid the truth. Dr Elara hid the truth. Garrick hid the truth."
The silver beneath my skin flickers faintly in response to my emotions, soft moonlight briefly dancing across my fingers before fading again.
"And Alpha Darius..." My voice hardens slightly now. "Whatever he wants from me, it isn't protection."
The atmosphere inside the SUV changes immediately.
Danger moves sharply through the bond.
Kael's expression shifts almost imperceptibly beside me.
"You noticed."
"I'm not blind."
No.
If anything, I finally feel awake for the first time in my life.
And the realization unsettles me deeply.
Because now I keep replaying memories differently.
Alpha Darius watching me during combat training.The strange questions he occasionally asked Garrick after difficult missions.The way his attention sharpened every time I won fights, I should not have survived.
At the time, I thought he was observing a useful warrior.
Now?
I think he was waiting for something to awaken.
A slow chill moves through me.
Immediately, Rider's hand slides fully over mine.
Warmth rushes sharply through the bond at the contact.
Steady.Grounding.Safe.
My pulse stumbles hard inside my chest.
Selene rises softly beneath my skin in direct response.
Mate.
The word echoes warmly through my soul, ancient and certain.
Awareness crashes through me instantly.
The bond no longer feels distant or abstract now. Every touch between us carries emotion so intense it borders on overwhelming. I can feel Rider's protectiveness wrapping carefully around me through the connection, can feel Kael's constant awareness, Zane's restless concern, Asher's steady calm.
And somewhere deep inside myself,
I stop fighting it quite so hard.
Dangerous.
Gods, this entire situation is emotionally dangerous.
Because the truth is becoming impossible to deny now.
I trust them.
Not blindly.Not recklessly.
But enough that silence beside them no longer feels lonely.
Enough that my body relaxes instinctively when they are close instead of preparing for betrayal.
Enough that part of me already feels safer with them than I ever did inside Ironclaw.
The realization nearly terrifies me.
The SUV rounds another mountain pass before the forests slowly begin changing around us.
The trees grow taller here, older somehow, their trunks massive enough that several wolves could not wrap their arms fully around them. Ancient stone markers begin appearing along the roadside every few miles, each carved with symbols glowing faintly silver beneath the rain.
Not pack symbols.
Older.
Ancient.
Selene stirs immediately.
Recognition hums softly through my soul.
I straighten slightly in my seat.
"What are those?"
Kael follows my gaze through the window.
"Boundary markers."
"No," I murmur softly. "The symbols."
The brothers exchange brief glances.
Careful glances.
Interesting.
Because suddenly all four of them look like men deciding how much truth they are willing to reveal.
The SUV finally slows as enormous black gates rise into view ahead of us, carved directly into dark mountain stone towering high enough to disappear into the storm above. Massive wolves stand sculpted along either side of the entrance, ancient runes glowing faintly beneath centuries of weather and rain.
And there,
above the gates,
four enormous symbols are carved into the stone itself.
A snowflake wrapped around a crescent moon.A storm spiral split by lightning.A towering tree woven through roots and rivers.A burning sun rising above desert dunes.
My breath catches instantly.
The ancient clans.
The same symbols from Selene's visions.The same symbols carved into the ruins where Garrick found me.The same symbols hidden inside the old prophecy texts.
Rain pours harder across the windshield as the gates slowly begin opening before us.
And suddenly,
everything clicks into place.
I turn slowly toward the brothers.
"You knew."
Silence answers me first.
Not denial.
Confirmation.
Kael's silver-blue gaze holds mine steadily.
"We knew pieces of the truth," he admits quietly.
My pulse quickens sharply.
"You knew your bloodlines came from the ancient clans."
"Yes."
The bond pulses carefully now, almost cautious.
Asher turns slightly in the front seat.
"Red Moon was built by descendants of the four ancient clans after the Great Sundering," he explains calmly. "Our bloodlines preserved knowledge most modern packs abandoned centuries ago."
I stare at them in shock.
"And none of you thought that information might have been important?"
Zane winces slightly.
"To be fair," he mutters, "we also didn't expect our mate to turn out to be the literal missing Silvermoon heir from prophecy."
Despite everything, a weak laugh almost escapes me.
Annoyingly fair.
Still,
something settles heavily inside my chest now as I look back toward the massive Bloodmoon gates opening slowly before us.
The brothers always knew they were connected to something larger than ordinary packs.
They knew their bloodlines carried ancient purpose.They knew destiny was waiting for them eventually.They knew the old clans were never truly gone.
And somehow,
without any of us fully understanding it,
I was the missing piece they had been waiting for all along.
- Writer
