BLOOD MOON

Chapter 5

Haliya

“What did you do to her?” I asked, my voice shaking despite the fire behind it.

The man looked at me with eyes that belonged to someone who’d long since forgotten empathy. Cold. Unfeeling. Like if I dropped dead in front of him, he wouldn’t blink.

Still, I didn’t back down.

I didn’t care how he knew my name. At this point, it felt like everyone in this place knew who I was. And if they did, it had to be because of Kieran.

What the hell kind of place is this?

“This is none of your business,” the man replied. His tone was flat, dead. “I advise you not to put your nose into this.”

Not my business?

How could I look at that woman, barely breathing, barely standing and pretend I saw nothing? Her bruises screamed louder than any words. Her chains were a question I couldn’t ignore.

“You’re hurting her,” I snapped. “She’s not even fighting back. What kind of coward are you? Hurting a woman like that?”

His gaze darkened just slightly. A warning. But I didn’t stop.

“Are you going to kill her? Is that how this place works? You torture the helpless and call it justice? You must be really proud of yourself.”

I was ready to keep going, to scream, but a sudden, cold grip wrapped around my wrist. Tight. Firm. I turned fast, already prepared to fight—

And then I saw him.

Kieran.

His hand gripped me, but his eyes weren’t on me. They were locked on the man. And they were burning. Golden. Wild. Lethal.

The temperature in the hall seemed to plummet. For a moment, no one moved.

Then, without a word, the man gave a small nod and turned, dragging the bleeding woman with him down the corridor and out of sight.

I could still hear the metallic clink of her chains as they disappeared. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until Kieran let go of my wrist.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

His voice was calm. Too calm. But his jaw was clenched and his shoulders tight.

I swallowed the knot in my throat. “I went for a walk.”

His eyes flicked back to me. “Don’t lie.”

“Fine,” I snapped. “I was looking. I wanted to know what the hell this place really is. I wanted to know what you’re hiding behind all these walls. And now I know.”

His face didn’t change. But his silence said everything.

“You think locking me in a nicer room makes me forget I’m a prisoner?” I demanded. “You said you were saving me. From what, Kieran? Because what I saw in that room—she needs saving more than I do.”

His fingers twitched at his sides.

“She’s not your concern.”

“Not my concern?” I repeated, my voice rising. “That was a person! A woman! Shackled and half-dead!”

“Haliya,” he said, warning in his tone now.

“No. Don’t ‘Haliya’ me. You don’t get to play my protector and then walk past something like that.”

He exhaled slowly, stepping closer. His presence always had that storm-just-before-it-breaks energy.

“Do you even know what you’ve gotten yourself into?” Kieran snapped, stepping closer until his hands gripped my shoulders. His voice was low but razor sharp, shaking with something between fury and fear. “If I hadn’t come when I did, do you really think he would’ve just let you go?”

He gave me a light shake, as if trying to jolt me back to my senses.

“Don’t let your curiosity get you killed, Haliya,” he said. “Just do what I say. Please.”

My lips trembled. He didn’t get it. He didn’t understand.

I wanted answers, yes. But more than anything—I wanted out. I wanted to breathe fresh air. I wanted to wake up and find that this had all been a terrible, twisted dream.

My throat tightened painfully.

How did it all turn into this? How fast everything changed from cheers and warmth at my coming of age to this cold, bloodstained place where silence echoed louder than life.

I could still remember the full moon, the smiles of my pack, the pride in my father’s eyes.

And now?

Now, I didn’t even know if he was alive. A sharp ache bloomed in my chest and suddenly, I couldn’t hold it back anymore. My eyes began to sting, and before I could stop myself, tears spilled down my cheeks.

Kieran stilled.

His grip on me loosened slightly, his expression faltering into something unguarded. Confused. Like he didn’t expect me to break.

“Why are you doing this to me?” I whispered, my voice trembling between breaths. “I want to go home.”

I sobbed, the words tasting like salt and pain.

“I miss my father,” I choked. “I miss my mother. My pack. My bed. My people. I don’t want to be here.”

Kieran looked like I’d just struck him. His lips parted slightly, his hands hovering as if unsure whether to pull me closer or step away.

For a heartbeat, he looked lost.

But he didn’t speak. Because what could he say? Nothing would make this place feel like home. Nothing could undo what had already happened.

“I want to go home,” I repeated brokenly, curling into myself, my voice a whisper. “Please…”

The corridor fell silent, thick with the weight of my sobs. Kieran didn’t speak. He just stood there, staring at me as if something inside him cracked but not enough to bleed.

I looked up at him, my vision blurry with tears. I searched his face for anything: remorse, sympathy, even a sliver of truth. But what I got… was silence.

And then—

Footsteps.

From behind him, the two guards reappeared. Their uniforms still spotless. Their faces unreadable. Of course. Of course they were still watching. Still close. Still ready.

Kieran didn’t even turn to face them.

“She’s done here,” he said. “Take her back to her room.”

My heart dropped.

That’s it?

I stepped back, tears still sliding down my face.

“Kieran,” I whispered, barely able to speak through the knot in my throat. “Please…”

But he didn’t meet my eyes. He turned away. Like he couldn’t stand the sight of me anymore.

The taller guard stepped beside me, gentler than I expected, but still firm. “Miss Haliya,” he said quietly. “Come.”

I stared at Kieran’s back, my hands trembling. A part of me wanted to scream. To fight. To rip through him until he was forced to explain why he brought me here, why he was doing this.

But I didn’t have the strength. Not after what I saw. Not after being dragged from hope back into this suffocating place. I wonder if I'd get to experience what that woman had experienced? Will I be tortured, too?

I let the guard lead me away.

My feet moved, but everything inside me screamed. And as the hallway swallowed me once again, I realized something even worse than being a prisoner.

I was alone.

I stared ahead as the guards led me down the same cold, unforgiving halls. Each step echoed the ache in my chest.

I wonder if this is better than death itself? I thought bitterly. At least death was final. At least it didn’t come with iron doors and silences heavier than chains.

If only I had fought beside my parents. If only I hadn't cared about safety, hadn't let Cain pull me away. I could have helped. I could have stood my ground.

Instead… I ran. And now, I was here... trapped. Because I was weak. Because I’d spent my life depending on my father’s strength, my mother’s wisdom, and Cain’s protection.

And now… now I couldn’t even protect myself from these monsters in human skin.

What if I die here? Forgotten. Alone. Abandoned.

Tears threatened again, but I blinked them away. No. Not now. Not in front of them. Still, my voice cracked when I finally spoke.

“Will I die just like those women in the cells?” I asked softly, almost like it slipped out. But I watched them closely.

The shorter guard shifted uncomfortably beside me, his shoulders tensing.

“I’m not sure how many are down there,” I continued. “But I saw at least one. Chained. Bleeding. There are more… aren’t there?”

Silence stretched between us for a few seconds.

Then, the shorter one replied. “Sir Kieran would not let that happen to you.”

It wasn’t really an answer.

But it was something.

“Who is Kieran?” I asked, careful to sound confused, not accusing. “Everyone here seems to listen to him. Even that man earlier.”

I tilted my head slightly. Watched their reactions.

The shorter man glanced at me, almost surprised. “You don’t know who Sir Kieran is?”

Before I could push further, the darker man beside him cleared his throat loudly, too deliberately. A cough. A warning.

The shorter one stiffened immediately, his lips sealing shut like a switch had flipped. And that said more than any words ever could. They were being careful. Watched. Afraid to say too much.

Who are you really, Kieran? A savior? A liar? An Alpha? A monster?

The cold brick corridor felt even colder now.

And for the first time since being here, I realized something deeper than fear was crawling beneath my skin.

Curiosity wasn't the danger. It was the truth.