CHAPTER TWO:THE HOLLOW GOODBYE
1110 Words
Next! Here's Chapter Two of Moonlit Secrets:
The morning after, the forest seemed quieter, as if mourning her decision. Elena Carter walked barefoot down the winding trail, her boots dangling from her hand, her dress wrinkled and stained with dew. The cool air nipped her skin, but nothing compared to the chill clawing at her heart. She didn’t look back, nor have a change in decision.
The image of Ronan, his eyes wide with shock, hurt bleeding from them, his wolf disappearing into the night-played over and over in her mind. She told herself she had done the right thing. She had to reject him, so she believed… Mates or not, their worlds weren’t meant to intercept.
But every step away felt like a betrayal of something deeper.
By the time she could reach her family’s home, nestled at the edge of Black Hollow's old town, she had convinced herself she could forget, that it had been mistaken, that the ache in her chest would fade.
It didn’t.
Her old father, Harold Carter, sat on the front porch in his wheelchair, a plain blanket over his legs. He'd been diagnosed with early Parkinson’s just a year ago, a few years after her mom died in a terrible accident. Her father's prolonged illness had progressed faster than anyone expected. He smiled when he saw her.
“You’re back,” he rasped, his voice weak.
“I’m staying a while,” Elena said, forcing a smile.
She hugged him gently, then turned to see her younger brother, Elliot, barreling down the porch steps. At twelve, he had her same stubborn streak and wild curls. He hugged her tightly.
“Missed you, Eli.”
“Missed you too, monkey.”
"Hope you'll stay for a while before leaving?" he asked, "I'll try to stay dear."
Elena moved into her childhood room, painted in shades of purple and lined with dusty books. She tried to loosen herself in caregiving, taking Elliot to school, helping with school work and fathers’ physical therapy, cooking dinner and reading at night. But at odd hours, when the moon rose or the forest wind whispered-her mind wandered back to Ronan.
She missed more than she dares to admit.
The signs began subtly:
The first week, Elena chalked up the nausea to stress. The second week, she blamed it on exhaustion, always developing an excuse and ignoring the true reality of the signs. But when her sense of smell heightened and her dream turned vivid-almost prophetic, she couldn’t ignore the gut-deep instinct that something had truly changed.
One morning, after nearly passing out while feeding the chicks, she locked herself in the bathroom with a pregnancy test trembling in her hand.
Minutes later, two pink lines stared back at her.
She dropped to the floor, hands shaking.
A baby?
Ronan’s baby?!
The world spun. Her heart warred between joy and terror. This child was conceived the night she had to run from fate, from her mate, from the man who she felt a connection she had never felt with anyone before.
Her stomach churned-not from nausea, but from the magnitude of it all.
She should tell someone. Her dad? Her best friend, Asher? But the thought of seeing pity in her eyes, of explaining the impossible-no! She couldn’t. Not yet.
She cleaned the evidence, buried it deep in the trash, and went about her day.
Asher stopped by that evening. He had been her best friend since high school-charming, sarcastic, fiercely protective and was definitely a crush. He bought a Chinese takeout from the only spot in town and settled on her bed like he owned the place.
“So how did your work retreat to the woods go?” he asked, mouth full of dumplings.
Elena forced a laugh. “Peaceful, muddy, good for clearing my head.”
He studied her deeply. "You look different, tired, but also…weirdly glowing. "Are you pregnant or in love?” he asked jokingly.
Her heart slammed.
“Neither,” she said quickly.
Asher’s brow furrowed, but he didn’t press.
Still, his gaze lingered.
“I missed you though,” he said. “You know, if you ever want to talk about what really happened out there...”
“I’m fine,” she interrupted. “Really.’
But she wasn’t.
Then weeks passed in a blur. Her belly hadn't grown yet, but she swore she could feel the changes inside her. Her dreams became filled with wolves-always one black and golden-eyed.
She’d wake in a cold sweat, hand on her stomach, whispering apologies to the life growing within her.
She thought about Ronan constantly.
Did he know? Could he feel her through the bond she tried to sever?
She’d tried writing him a letter once, wrote three words in it and ripped the paper into pieces.
She couldn’t go back, and she couldn’t risk him finding out-not while rogues still roamed, not while her family needed her the most.
Then one night, the wind howled louder than usual.
Elena was putting Elli to sleep when he popped up a question, “Why do you always stare at the forest every night?”
She blinked, “I don’t.”
“You do,” he replied hurriedly. “And you even cry, I hope all is well monkey?”
She kissed his forehead. “Go to sleep dear.”
But after he drifted off, she stood by the window, watching the tree line.
And there-just for a second-two golden eyes glowed in the distance.
She gasped. Her heart leaped, but when she blinked, they were gone.
Had he found her?
Or was her heart playing cruel tricks?
She began sleeping less, always anxious. Her father grew sicker, and between caregiving and hiding her growing fatigue, she barely had time to breathe. She wore baggy sweaters, avoided mirrors, and dodged Asher’s questions with practiced ease.
But secrets have a way of unraveling.
One evening, as she folded laundry, a slip of paper fell from her hoodie pocket-a scrap from the tom letter she tried to write to Ronan.
It read: “You deserve to know.”
She stared at it for a long time.
That night, she dreamed of Ronan again-only this time, he held a baby with her eyes and his wolf mark across its collarbone. She reached for them-and woke to the sound of howling.
Closer this time.
Her breath hitched.
The baby inside her kicked for the first time.
And Elena knew-she was running out of time.
Will Elena’s secret be out, or will she continue to hide it? What has become of Ronan after the rejection?
Find out these and more in chapter 3!
- Writer
