Moonblood

Chapter Eight

Night And Rumours

~Five Years Later~

Eira

“Momma,” Kael cries out in his sleep.

My eyes pop open to find him thrashing in the bed, I frown and sit up. Rubbing at my eyes, I blink away the sleep. His cries pierce through the room.

“Kael.” I touch him but immediately jerk away, regretting it. His body is hot to the touch. Like he‘s in a pit filled with angry flames.

My brows furrow in confusion, and a little bit of fear. I round the bed to his side.

“Kael,” I call. He whimpers, curling into himself and I swallow.

My own heartbeat thuds loud and frantic, the only sound in the world.

I touch him again, and yelp when he sits up abruptly. My hands jerk sharply and I stumble almost falling over the desk by the side.

His lashes flutter, and for a heartbeat his eyes snap open—one blue like mine, the other molten gold.

The exact shade of Cassian’s eyes.

His eyes flicker violently between blue and gold as he stares in the direction of the only lamp in the room.

My mouth falls open as I watch the lamp trip off and on.

Tentatively, and with trembling limbs, I take a step forward. “Darling,” I whisper.

Suddenly, the lamp levitates and I gasp and rush towards it.

“Kael!” I shout. “Wake up!”

My heart is in my throat as I try to reach for the lamp that keeps floating in the air.

“Momma,” he cries again but he’s still asleep. My eyes dart frantically between the floating lamp and my son who sits asleep on the bed.

In less than a second, the lamp shatters in the air. I scream, my hands instinctively shoot up to cover my ears as the glass rains down on me.

“Kael! Goddess, wake up!”

That seems to rouse him up, and he begins to cry. He moves to get down from the bed but I hold up a hand.

“I’ll come to you, darling. Wait.” My words are shaky. I tiptoe bare feet around the brown glass in pitch darkness, and I pick Kael up, settling him on my thighs as I rock him.

“Shush, pup. It’s okay,” I console him, rocking him in my arms until his cries die down. My body trembles, and my heart rate refuses to calm down.

Goosebumps span across my skin and I shudder at what just happened. My eyes are blank in the darkness. The digital clock by the bed blinks 3:45 a.m. and my jaw clenches.

“Kael?”

He looks up at me through watery eyes, bottom lips jutted out in a pout.

I wipe the tears on his cheeks with my thumbs. “Can you remember what happened?”

His lips wobble and he shakes his head. “No, mama.”

A shaky breath leaves my lips, and I recall the conversation I heard between Alpha David and Felix. They mentioned a rebellion in Ashbane Pack and something concerning a child of prophecy.

His temperature gently drops to normal, and I hold him close to my chest. I have a bad feeling, and it has to do with the color of our hair.

I will protect my son, with every fiber of my being.

My jaw sets. “No one will take you away from me, pup. I’ll protect you, always,” I swear to Kael, but when I look down at him, he’s asleep.

That’s when I realize that no one comes in. No one rushed in when I screamed. I crane my ears, but all I’m left with is silence. Quiet.

Not the quiet of sleeping bodies. This is a silence so heavy it presses against my eardrums. Not even the crickets chirp.

My blood runs cold. I don’t know what just happened, but I know no one heard it.

I wish this is a dream or some sort of imagination, but it is far from it. The paranoia wraps around my lungs and squeezes.

“We’re not safe,” I think immediately. “Ashbane Pack will look for us.”

I run my hands through Kael’s white hair as I rock him, scared to put him down.

My eyes don’t close, not when the sun rises in the horizon. Not when Kael wakes up, and not when Asha and Hana barge into my room to play with Kael.

Then, a thought pops into my head.

I know what to do. Hopefully, it buys us some time.

***

“All done!” Wendy says, spinning me in the chair to face the mirror.

I gasp.

Tears shimmer in my eyes and I cup my mouth as I see my reflection. My white hair is dyed black and cut short to my chin level, and so is Kael’s. Although we didn’t cut his.

“Wendy…” My lips wobble, and I manage a shaky smile at her. “Thank you.”

She presses her face against mine as we both stare at the mirror. “You’re welcome, Eira. I don’t know why you had to cut it or dye it, but you both look beautiful still.”

My throat tightens. “Thank you, Wendy.”

I can’t tell her why I took this decision. Five years and they don’t know my mate is—was— the Alpha of Ashbane Pack.

It’s unfair to them, I know that. But, it’s to protect them. And to protect me.

After what transpired last night, I had asked everyone if they heard any noise and they all disagreed with furrowed brows.

Kael and I look different enough. The short dark hair suits me, especially because I had put on a little bit of weight during the pregnancy and after it.

“Do you like your hair?” I pinch Kael’s cheeks, and he giggles with a nod, touching his hair.

“I like it, momma.” He gives me a toothy grin.

Asha pops her head into Wendy’s room and Kael immediately squeals, squirming down from my legs and running to Asha.

She picks him up, gives him a little spin and c***s her head as she stares at my new hair.

“Whyyyyy?” She drawls with a pout.

I smile. “Something different, less unique and more normal.”

Her brows pinch together. “Did someone say something about your hair?”

I laugh.

Asha and Hana are the ones I can call any hour of the day to beat someone up for me. Thankfully, I haven’t had to do that. They’re protective, fiercely.

It feels great to be at the receiving end of such love and friendship. And I feel like such a traitor keeping a huge secret from them.

“No one said anything about my hair, I promise.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Okay, I guess I believe you. Your white hair was beautiful, but black suits you as well. I do wish you didn’t go so dark, I hardly recognize you.”

That is the point. But I don’t say anything, instead I smile. “I’ll take it back to normal after a while.”

“But did you really have to dye Kael’s too? The poor pup hasn’t even had the opportunity to flaunt his beautiful hair.” She glares with an exaggerated eye roll.

“I’m sorry, it’s just for a few months,” I lie. “My hair has been the brunt of pack jokes for the longest of time. I didn’t want that for him.”

I know I’m compensating the lie with a truth. It’s the least I can do. I watch Asha struggle not to ask me what pack I came from, and when she sighs and walks away with Kael… I breathe.

It’s a breath of appreciation, and relief.

“You know we’re here if you ever want to talk right?” Wendy suddenly asks, and I clear my suddenly tight throat.

“I know,” I croak.

She squeezes my shoulders. “We want you the best for you. If you’re not ready to talk, we understand. But we’re here, and we can be whatever you want us to be. No matter what.”

I hold the hand that rests on my shoulders. Our eyes meet in the mirror, and I make sure she sees how grateful I am.

“Thank you. I appreciate all of you. All your love, and all your care for me and for Kael.”

She smiles. “I know. There’s nothing to thanks us for.”

“Wendy!”

The moment is broken by Felix’ voice and the rapid series of knocks on the door.

“Come in,” Wendy announces, and I get up from the chair. I see my white hair on the floor, and my heart feels heavy in my chest.

I press my lips together and blink my tears before excusing myself. Felix nods at me, but I don’t miss the confusion and questions in his gaze.

Just before I shut the door, I hear the words that solidify my decision. But also the words that chill me to the bones.

“Alpha David says we should all be on guard in case our pack is evaded during the search of the child of prophecy,” Felix says. His voice only a whisper.

“Tell the gammas and the deltas to prepare in case of a war, because at the end of the day…” he trails off.

“We’re still rogues,” Wendy concludes.

She isn’t wrong. I squeeze my eyes briefly and walk away from her door with the words still ringing in my ears.