Not Finished
1492 Words
The knock came again—sharper, more urgent.
Darius stayed still, forehead against Luna’s, one hand at her waist, the other braced on the mattress. His breathing was controlled. Barely.
Luna felt his frustration through the bond and smiled against his mouth.
“We’re not done,” she whispered.
Darius opened his eyes. Gold flickered.
“No,” he agreed. “We’re not.”
Another knock.
“Alpha?” Mason called. “I’m assuming you can hear me.”
Darius didn’t look away. “That would be a mistake.”
Mason sighed. “Right. You’ve both lost your hearing.”
Luna bit back a laugh.
“Don’t encourage him,” Darius murmured.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You’re smiling.”
“I can’t control my face.”
“You control very little.”
“Sounds like criticism from a man who forgot his name five seconds ago.”
“I remembered yours,” he said quietly.
That shut her up.
Evelyn’s voice joined outside. “Stop tormenting them and explain why you’re here.”
“I was creating urgency,” Mason said.
“You were creating an early death.”
Luna laughed softly.
“We should answer them,” she said.
“We should send them away.”
“That’s not very Alpha-like.”
“I’ve been Alpha a century. I get one bad night.”
“One night?”
“I was optimistic.”
Heat rose in Luna’s cheeks. The bond pulsed with hunger—but he still didn’t kiss her again.
Darius pulled back.
The loss of warmth stung.
“I need to know what they want,” he said.
“After,” she reminded him.
A promise passed between them.
He opened the door.
Mason stood mid-knock. Evelyn looked unimpressed.
“So no one was dying,” Mason said.
“Not yet,” Darius replied.
Evelyn stepped in. “Lydia is conscious. Really conscious.”
Luna stood. “Is she okay?”
“Physically, yes. Mentally… she remembers the Shadow King inside her.”
The room cooled.
“She asked for Luna,” Evelyn added.
Darius stiffened. “Alone?”
“No,” Luna said immediately.
“I knew you’d say that,” he muttered.
Evelyn shook her head. “Alden isn’t interrogating her. But Lydia wants Luna.”
Darius didn’t like it. At all.
Luna felt it—fear under his control. Not for himself. For her.
“I won’t touch her without you nearby,” she said.
“That’s not enough.”
“You can stand outside.”
“No.”
“Darius.”
“Luna.”
Mason slowly backed away. “I recognize danger. I’m leaving.”
Evelyn dragged him off.
Darius exhaled. “If she was used once, she can be again.”
“And if she has answers, I need them,” Luna said.
“We need them.”
“She asked for me.”
“That worries me.”
“Everything worries you.”
“Yes.”
No shame. Just truth.
Luna took his hand. He softened slightly.
“I’m not asking you to stop protecting me,” she said. “Just don’t make it a cage.”
That landed.
He looked down at their hands.
“I’ll wait outside.”
“Thank you.”
“If I feel anything, I’m coming in.”
“Agreed.”
“If you call my name—”
“You come in.”
“If you stop responding—”
“You break the door down.”
“I would anyway.”
“I know.”
Mason muttered, “This is weirdly romantic,” before being dragged away.
The clinic still looked like a battlefield.
Lydia lay pale in bed, shadows under her eyes. Mara stood nearby.
“Ten minutes,” the healer warned.
Lydia looked at Darius. “Alone.”
His jaw tightened.
Luna touched his arm. “You promised.”
He stepped out.
Luna sat beside Lydia.
“I’m sorry,” Lydia whispered.
“You were used.”
“I let it happen.”
“You were dying.”
A broken laugh escaped her.
“What did you want to tell me?”
Lydia glanced at the door. “He hears everything.”
“Probably.”
“The Shadow King wasn’t trying to possess you,” she said.
Luna froze. “Then what?”
“To wake something between you.”
The bond stirred.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know everything. But I saw pieces—his memories.”
“Whose?”
“His… and the Guardian Queen’s.”
Cold spread through Luna.
“A palace burning,” Lydia whispered. “A crown in blood. A man who looked like Darius.”
Luna’s breath caught.
“The Shadow King,” Lydia said. “He loved the Queen.”
“That’s impossible.”
“He wasn’t always what he is.”
“What changed?”
“She chose someone else.”
The bond hit like a shock.
Luna swayed.
“The warrior,” Lydia added. “The one with Darius’s face.”
Luna went still.
“The Queen killed him,” Lydia said quietly. “With a golden sword.”
Silence crushed the room.
“No,” Luna whispered.
But she saw it anyway.
Darius falling.
Blood.
Fire.
The bond twisted—fear flooding in.
Darius entered instantly.
“I felt that.”
“I’m fine,” Luna said.
“You’re not.”
Lydia flinched.
Darius stopped, careful. “I won’t hurt you.”
“She said you would,” Lydia whispered.
“He lies,” Darius said.
“Not always.”
That hit harder than expected.
“What else?” Luna asked.
Lydia swallowed. “The bond always ends the same.”
Darius stepped closer. “How?”
“One kills the other.”
The bond went still.
Luna reached for him.
He stepped back.
Small. Final.
“Did he show you this?” Darius asked.
“He believed it.”
“Belief isn’t fate.”
Luna watched him—he was afraid.
Lydia looked at Luna. “One more thing.”
Darius warned, “Enough.”
“No,” Luna said.
Lydia exhaled. “He can’t control your bond.”
Darius stilled.
“He can influence it,” she said. “But it pushes back.”
“Why?”
“Because this bond isn’t the same as before.”
Darius sharpened. “What changed?”
“You did.”
She looked between them. “You choose each other.”
The tension eased slightly.
“That scares him,” Lydia said.
Mara stepped in. “Enough.”
Luna squeezed Lydia’s hand. “Thank you.”
“Don’t become her,” Lydia whispered.
They walked back in silence.
Darius kept distance.
Luna stopped. “Are you avoiding me?”
“I’m not.”
“You’re far away.”
“Normal distance.”
“Not for you.”
Mason muttered, “She’s right,” before being dragged off.
Luna stepped closer. “Talk to me.”
“There’s nothing.”
“That’s a lie.”
His jaw tightened.
“Are you afraid I’ll kill you?” she asked.
“No.”
“Are you afraid you’ll kill me?”
The bond flared.
He looked away.
That was answer enough.
“You almost died,” she said.
“I know.”
“And I wouldn’t hurt you.”
“You’ve known me a week.”
“And you took an arrow for me.”
“It wasn’t for you.”
“It was meant for me.”
Silence.
“So you stepped away?”
“I’m afraid of becoming what destroys you.”
Luna softened.
“You don’t get to decide that alone.”
“This isn’t a debate.”
“It is with me.”
A faint laugh escaped him.
She touched his face. He closed his eyes.
“You gave me a choice before,” she said.
“That doesn’t change what I could be.”
“It shows who you are.”
The distance faded.
“You said we weren’t finished,” he murmured.
“Then don’t stop now.”
He kissed her.
Harder this time. No restraint left, only choice and fear and relief.
The bond opened—warm, steady.
He pressed her gently to the wall, then stopped.
“Do you want me to stop?”
“No.”
“Then why—”
“I just wanted to say your name.”
Something in him broke open.
He kissed her again, slower.
“Careful,” he warned.
“Serena said that too.”
He froze.
“She said you don’t love halfway,” Luna added.
“And you?”
“I don’t know what you feel.”
Silence.
Then, quietly:
“I don’t know what to call it,” he said. “But when you’re afraid, I turn toward you.”
His thumb brushed her cheek.
“And when you laugh… I forget things.”
- Writer
