Mine to Protect
974 Words
No one spoke.
The words The Shadow King settled over the Archives like a storm cloud.
Luna looked from Keeper Alden to Darius.
"I feel like I should know who that is."
"You shouldn't," Darius replied quietly, his voice low and controlled, as if even speaking the name too loudly might summon something dangerous. "No one has spoken his name in centuries."
"Then why does everyone suddenly look terrified?"
Alden answered before Darius could.
"Because if he knows you've awakened, he won't stop until he finds you."
Luna let out a tired breath.
"So... another person wants to kill me."
"No," Selene corrected.
Her pale eyes remained fixed on Luna, unblinking.
"He wants something much worse."
Luna frowned.
"Worse than killing me?"
Selene didn't answer.
The silence was answer enough.
Darius placed a gentle hand against the middle of Luna's back.
"We're leaving."
Luna glanced up at him.
"Just like that?"
"You need rest."
"I've done nothing but rest since I got here."
"You've collapsed twice in one day," he said more firmly now, though his touch remained steady and grounding.
She opened her mouth to argue.
Then closed it again.
He wasn't wrong.
Mason smiled.
"I think that's the first argument the Alpha has ever won."
Darius gave him a flat look.
"I wasn't arguing."
"You absolutely were."
Evelyn laughed softly.
"I'll enjoy telling the pack about this."
Darius sighed.
"No, you won't."
"Oh, I definitely will."
For the first time all day, Luna smiled.
It was small.
But Darius noticed.
He noticed everything about her.
They left the Archives in silence.
The walk back through the estate felt strangely peaceful after everything that had happened, as if the walls themselves were pretending nothing dark had ever been spoken within them.
Sunlight poured through the tall windows, warming the marble floors.
Luna slowed as they reached a balcony overlooking the gardens.
The grounds stretched for acres.
Ancient oak trees swayed in the breeze.
A lake shimmered beyond them, catching the light like scattered glass.
"It's beautiful," she whispered.
Darius stopped beside her.
"My mother loved this view," he said quietly, almost as if the memory itself was fragile.
Luna turned toward him.
"You never talk about your family."
His expression changed almost imperceptibly, something guarded slipping into place.
"My parents died many years ago."
"I'm sorry."
"So am I."
She hesitated before asking, "Do you have anyone?"
He looked out over the gardens, jaw tightening slightly.
"I have my pack."
"That's not what I asked."
He smiled faintly, but there was no humor in it.
"No."
Something about that single word made Luna's heart ache.
For the first time, she didn't see the powerful Alpha everyone feared.
She saw a lonely man.
Without thinking, she reached for his hand.
The moment their fingers touched, both of them froze.
Warmth spread between them.
Not the overwhelming pull of the mating bond.
Something quieter.
More intimate.
Darius slowly intertwined his fingers with hers, as if deciding he was allowed to keep this moment.
Neither of them spoke.
They simply stood there, looking out across the gardens.
For the first time since arriving at Blackwood Estate, Luna felt... safe.
A feeling she barely remembered.
She leaned against the stone railing.
"I don't remember the last time I wasn't worried about tomorrow," she admitted softly.
Darius looked at her.
"You don't have to worry anymore."
She gave him a skeptical look.
"You say that like it's easy."
"It isn't."
His thumb brushed lightly across the back of her hand, slow and deliberate.
"But you won't face tomorrow alone."
Her heartbeat quickened.
She should pull away.
She knew she should.
Instead...
She stepped a little closer.
Close enough to catch the scent of cedar and rain that always seemed to surround him.
Close enough to notice the tiny scar cutting through his eyebrow.
Close enough to realize he was looking at her the same way she was looking at him.
Slowly...
Very slowly...
Darius lifted his free hand and tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear.
His fingertips lingered against her cheek, warm and steady.
"Luna..."
He said her name like it meant something precious.
Something worth protecting.
She looked into his gray eyes.
"I should probably tell you to stop doing that."
"And do you want me to?"
She searched for an answer, but nothing came except the truth rising uninvited.
Instead, she whispered it.
"I don't know."
His lips curved into the smallest smile.
"I can live with honesty."
Their faces were only inches apart now.
Luna could feel his breath, steady but just slightly uneven.
Her pulse raced.
She had never wanted to kiss someone so badly.
Darius looked at her lips.
Then back into her eyes.
He wasn't asking with words.
He was giving her the choice.
Luna's heart pounded.
Just as she leaned forward—
A loud knock echoed across the balcony doors.
"Alpha!"
Mason's voice shattered the moment.
Darius closed his eyes briefly, clearly frustrated, as if the entire world had chosen the worst possible timing.
"What is it?" he called.
Mason stepped onto the balcony, looking apologetic.
"I really hate my timing."
"You've mentioned that," Evelyn said as she followed him, arms crossed.
Mason rubbed the back of his neck.
"There's someone at the front gate."
Darius's expression became serious again in an instant, the warmth vanishing like it had never been there.
"Who?"
Mason looked directly at Luna.
"He says he's her brother."
Luna's smile disappeared.
"My brother?"
She took a step back, confusion flashing into something sharper.
"I don't have a brother."
The warmth between her and Darius vanished instantly, replaced by something cold and alert.
Darius's eyes hardened.
"Neither do I," he said quietly.
"Which means whoever is waiting outside..."
He turned toward the entrance hall, already shifting into command.
"...already knows something we don't."
- Writer
