Marked By The Moon

Chapter 5 - Cold

Olive - POV

The cold seeped into my bones, deeper than even the bruises. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been lying on the stone floor — hours, days maybe — my sense of time had melted into the darkness. My wrist ached where the guard had gripped it too hard, my ribs screamed every time I tried to breathe too deeply, and my head pounded with the same steady rhythm as the dripping water in the corner of the cell.

I had never hated anyone like this before.

Jace.

Luna Kenzy. They were exactly the same. Cruel and cold.

Their names burned behind my closed eyes like curses.

I had foolishly thought — maybe for a moment — that he had a heart. That even if I was invisible, he wouldn’t let me suffer. I had been wrong.

They had left me here to rot. To rot in this cold cell.

The darkness stretched on endlessly, interrupted only by the occasional skittering of a rat or the creak of old pipes. My throat was dry, my stomach twisted in hunger, and the pain was becoming something separate from me — a creature gnawing at the edges of my sanity.

I whimpered softly, curling tighter into a ball.

Maybe I would die down here. Maybe that would be easier.

“Hold on, Olive…”

The voice was soft. Familiar.

My swollen eyes blinked open, but there was no one there. And yet—

Tobi knelt beside me, his face shadowed, but kind. He placed a hand on my arm, and warmth spread from his touch. His voice was barely louder than the wind through the cracks in the wall.

“Don’t give up. It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

Tears spilled from the corners of my eyes. My lips moved, but no sound came.

“Just hold on a little longer.”

I blinked again and he was gone.

Silence returned, heavy and cruel. But something had shifted.

Jace - POV

“Why have you been avoiding me?”

I stood in the training room doorway, arms crossed, gaze locked on my Beta. Tobi didn’t answer. He adjusted the weights on the rack and kept his back to him.

“Tobi.”

Still silence.

Jaxx growled in the back of Jace’s mind. He’s pissed. And honestly? So am I. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

I scowled. I hadn't been himself these past few days. My chest had been tight, my skin too hot, my wolf restless and on edge. My thoughts pulled at me like a chain and my dreams had been full of stormy eyes and blood.

“Say something, Tobi,” I snapped.

Tobi finally turned, eyes blazing. “You want me to say something? Fine.” He took a step forward. “You let her get dragged to the dungeon like a criminal, Jace. That’s messed up, they girl was starving, why can’t she eat from the packhouse kitchen?.”

“What?” Jace’s heart stopped.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t know.”

“I—” He froze. “I didn’t. I swear to the Goddess, Tobi, I didn’t know. I haven’t seen her. I thought…” he ran a hand through his hair, “…I thought she left to go live with Dr, Melendez and his mate.”

Tobi stared at me judgingly.

And then something in his expression cracked — doubt bleeding into his fury.

“You really didn’t know?”

“No,” Jace whispered, horror dawning. “What happened?”

Tobi didn’t answer right away. He exhaled hard, as if letting go of something heavy.

“Your mom, beat her so badly and ordered the guards to drag her to the dungeon, now she’s in the dungeon. Hurt. Probably dying, if we don’t get her help.” He looked away. “She was hallucinating when I saw her.”

Jace’s chest clenched. Jaxx whimpered deep inside him.

“Get her out. Now. Take her to Dr. Melendez and Nurse Jennifer’s cabin. I’ll arrange everything. Make sure she’s safe. Make sure she’s… she’s okay.”

Tobi didn’t respond with words. He just gave a tight nod and turned to go.

The storm hit just as Tobi carried Olive across the muddy trail that led to the cabin on the far edge of the territory.

Thunder cracked above them, lightning flashing like the anger still burning in his gut. Olive barely stirred in his arms, her face pale and bruised, lips trembling.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered. “You’re safe now.”

Dr. Melendez met him at the door, her robe flapping in the wind, concern etched into every line of his face. Nurse Jennifer pulled the blankets back from the small bed beside the fire. “Please place her here Beta”.

“Put her down,” the doctor instructed, voice calm but urgent. “And close the door. We’ll take it from here.”

Tobi hesitated for just a moment, brushing damp hair from Olive’s forehead.

“I’ll come back tomorrow,” he said. “Let me know if she wakes up.”

Then he left into the rain.

And inside, the fire crackled to life — the first warmth Olive had felt in days.