Written In The Moon

Chapter Four

Chapter 4

Zayan’s pov

"The Alpha is awake."

Those words echoed through the halls of the pack house, finding me as I traced the fresh scar running down my side—a jagged reminder of the battle that had nearly claimed both my father and me. My hands trembled as I yanked open the wardrobe, grabbing the first shirt I could find…

A knock sounded on my door. “I know” I thundered, swinging the door of my room open.

The servant who had come to pass the news to me nodded. “He wants to see you.”

I brushed past him without a second thought. The hallway was bustling with agitated servants, but they all shifted out of my path as I made my way to my father's room. He was moved here yesterday, and placed on life support when my mother found out I was being discharged.

"Let him be surrounded by his family," she'd said, her alpha-female authority brooking no argument from the doctors. I'd worried it would only deepen her pain, watching him fade in their shared bedroom, but she'd squeezed my hand and whispered, "Every moment is precious now." The weight of those words still sat heavy on my chest.

Perhaps what she had done did him some good since he was awake now. I took the stairs two at a time, glad that there was no one to interrupt me. Now would be the worst time for any of my brothers to show up.

The door to his room was wide open. I controlled my panting as I stepped in, eyes moving over the scene before me. My father was on the bed speaking softly with my mother, who sat beside him.

A hush fell over them as they took note of my presence. "Father," I whispered, dropping to my knees by his other side.

I had never seen him look so frail. In the course of the treatment, Dr. Jansen told us that he was also suffering from internal bleeding. He shared with us his fears that the Alpha would just fade from unconsciousness to death, and yet my mother and I hoped for him to live.

Maybe the Moon Goddess heard my prayers, I thought, choking back a sob.

The look in his eyes was dark and firm even when he was so weak. "I don't have much time, Zayan," he began.

I looked at him in confusion. His voice sounded stronger than I envisioned it would, and he was awake. Surely that meant he was going to recover. My eyes flickered up to my mother and I flinched at the sorrow on her face. It didn't make sense.

"You're going to get better," I replied.

"Don't be silly. Even I know when life is slipping out of me. I just need to do something very important before I go," Alpha Wyatt countered.

I shook my head vigorously. I had a faint idea of what he was about to do, and I didn't like it.

"You sent for me, Alpha?" a man said as he entered the room. I turned slightly to see Bane, my father's beta, and Kranos, an elder in his court.

"Yes, I have called you here to take into account all I'm about to say," he began, but was roughly interrupted by a fit of coughs.

"Oh, Wyatt," my mother sniffed, helpless. The negativity in the room was throwing me off balance, but I said nothing.

"Please help me sit up," he said, and my mother moved forward to support him. When he was balanced, he took a deep breath and started again.

"Fate has dealt us a cruel hand. A day of celebration was turned into one of great mourning, but we do not break—we endure." His gaze was fixed on something beyond Bane and Kranos.

I followed the direction to see my brothers standing behind them. Liam had tears on his face and Levi was trying to look aloof. He wasn't doing a good job.

My father gripped my arm and I turned my attention back to him. His eyes were filled with pride and sorrow. "Today, as I look at my family, my strength, I know we will rise again."

"Unfortunately, I will not be here to see it. Zayan, you were born with the heart of a leader and the soul of a protector. I have watched you grow and trained you to be loyal to this pack and everything it stands for."

I shook my head, wishing I could stop him from saying the rest of this speech, but I was tongue-tied all of a sudden.

"Today marks the beginning of a new era as I pass down my authority and my title to you. It's a burden and also an honor. Let the love you have for the lives you rule over and guard be your greatest strength."

I nodded grimly. Something in the air was shifting. I felt I needed more reaction to this moment, but the emotion of the people around me suddenly made me feel that I needed to be stronger. I couldn't show any of the pain I felt inside, so I put up a bold front.

"The pack is commanded to follow you as they followed me," he continued, his voice growing hoarse. I suddenly realized that he was actually putting in a lot of effort to speak to us right now.

"I am doing this so that there shall be no dispute about his rule. I trust that you will all uphold what this pack stands for and bring back our glory."

With that, he leaned back and exhaled, marking the end of his speech.

"All will happen as you wish, Alpha," Bane bowed.

Well, since he was done, I didn't see any point in staying here longer. I had no intention of letting my emotions overwhelm me, and I could already feel the cup tipping.

I ignored the looks they cast me and briskly walked out of the room.

Rowan was still missing. All attempts made by our security officials to track him down proved futile. We tried to contact the Mistveil tribe to see what their requirements were, but they refused to reply to us. It seemed like they had no intention of letting him go at all.

I wanted to threaten them, but I had nothing to use as leverage. And I absolutely didn't want Rowan to stay in their custody—who knew what he was going through right now? If roles were reversed, Rowan would do anything to have me freed.

His capture and my father down his authority to me on his deathbed was too much to handle. I was not ready to be alpha.

The world around me was spinning, but I managed to stay on my feet until I got to where I wanted to be—a place in the garden that only I knew about until I had decided to share it with someone else. It was still private; no one would find me.

I didn't stop or flinch in surprise when I saw Esme there. She looked up and smiled sadly, the understanding in her expression melting my mask of composure.

Without hesitation, I went into her waiting arms, sinking to the ground, and I let all the pent-up emotion out.