BLOOD MOON

Chapter 4

Haliya

True enough, the door wasn’t locked.

My fingers trembled slightly as I gripped the handle, turned it and it opened without resistance. For a brief second, I stood there, stunned, waiting for an alarm to blare or some magic to snap me back inside.

Nothing.

Cautiously, I stepped out.

But I didn’t get far.

Two men stood just beside the entrance, positioned like statues against the stone walls. I hadn’t noticed them earlier, silent, still, perfectly disciplined.

They wore identical black uniforms. Not military, but something close. Clean. Sharp. Their boots shined, and both had identical swords strapped across their backs.

The one to the left—tall, with dark brown skin and piercing gray eyes—straightened when he saw me.

“Is there something you need, Miss Haliya?” he asked.

I blinked.

Miss Haliya? He knows me?

I wasn’t expecting that.

“I…” I glanced between the two of them. The other, shorter and broader, remained quiet but watchful, his eyes never leaving me.

I folded my arms.

Crazy, Kieran. Sure, the door wasn’t locked but why the hell do I have guards standing outside?

So much for freedom.

I narrowed my eyes, lifting my chin. “No. I was just… stretching my legs.”

The taller one nodded. “You may walk the corridor, but please don’t go beyond the west wing.”

So, I’m allowed to roam now? Just not too far. How generous.

“Right,” I said flatly, stepping out a little further. My bare feet made no sound on the cool stone floor. “Wouldn’t want to cross a boundary I didn’t know existed.”

Neither man reacted.

I turned left, choosing a random direction, and started walking slowly down the corridor, forcing myself to appear calm, unbothered, even though I could feel their eyes tracking me.

As I moved, I scanned everything. Every corner. Every hallway. Every door.

No windows. No fresh air. Just stone, torches, and silence. A fortress, not a home.

Kieran’s fortress, my wolf murmured.

I pressed my lips together.

What kind of man says I’m not a prisoner… and then assigns guards to my door?

And not just any guards. These weren’t like the wolves back home. They didn’t feel like pack members. Their scents were faint, almost suppressed, as if masked with something foreign. Like trained soldiers. Or bred ones.

I didn’t trust it.

I didn’t trust any of it.

If Kieran thought he could make this feel less like captivity by removing locks and adding polite guards, he was wrong.

Dead wrong.

What is this place, really? I wondered. A pack? A hideout? A grave for secrets?

I stopped at the end of the corridor and leaned against the cold brick wall, pressing my palm against it like it might give me answers. It didn’t.

I closed my eyes.

I wanted to know what was beyond these walls. Just a hint. A breeze, a leaf brushing the ground, the call of a raven… anything. Were we still near where my pack was attacked? Or had I been dragged halfway across the continent?

I didn’t know.

And that terrified me more than I wanted to admit.

I took a breath, reaching inward, trying to call on my wolf’s senses.

Sometimes, when I focused deeply enough, I could pick up things my human ears missed—the heartbeat of prey in the brush, the howl of a wolf in the distance, the crackle of something moving in the woods.

But here?

Nothing.

Just silence.

Too perfect.

Too still.

I couldn’t hear wind. I couldn’t hear trees or water or even the subtle buzz of birds in the distance. There was nothing outside this stone cocoon.

It was like I’d been swallowed by the earth itself.

My eyes snapped open.

Where the hell was I?

I pushed off the wall and started walking again, deeper into the maze of turns and dimly lit passages. The two guards didn’t follow me but I knew they were watching. Somewhere.

I turned a corner. Then another.

The hall twisted again and again until I realized… I had no idea where I was anymore.

Was I still outside the west wing? Or had I already crossed whatever invisible line they warned me about?

Every wall looked the same. Bricks and torchlight. Brick and torchlight. No windows. No signs. No life.

A chill crawled up my spine.

Was it just me, or was the temperature dropping?

I walked a little faster, scanning every door I passed. Most were sealed tight. Some looked like storage. One, I swear, had claw marks near the base.

I paused there.

Knelt.

Ran my fingers along the deep grooves etched into the stone floor—three lines, jagged and uneven.

Not human.

Definitely not decorative.

My wolf stirred uneasily.

We’re not alone here, she whispered.

I stood quickly, heart suddenly racing. Something about this place was wrong. Not just hidden. Not just secret. Wrong.

And if Kieran had put me here, it meant he wasn’t just keeping me safe. He was keeping me from something. Or… someone.

I swallowed the knot in my throat and kept moving. Slower now. More cautious. Each step felt heavier, like the air thickened with every foot forward.

Then suddenly, a strange tightness gripped my chest. Something’s not right.

I froze.

The corridor ahead was darker than the rest, the torches spaced farther apart. A subtle pressure pressed down on me. It wasn’t fear, not exactly. It was instinct. My wolf felt it too. Her ears perked up in my head, her breath shallow and sharp.

Go back, she warned.

And she was right.

The farther I walked, the more wrong the space began to feel. The walls here whispered silence. The air was colder. Not the usual underground chill but something else. Something unnatural.

I turned around, deciding I’d had enough. I needed to get out of here before—

Thud!

I stopped dead in my tracks.

The sound had come from a door to my left. A heavy one, made of steel, with thick edges sealed against the floor like it was designed to hold something.

Or someone.

It sounded like something or someone had been shoved against the inside of it. Hard.

Another soft thud followed, like a body collapsing to the ground.

I pressed closer, holding my breath. I tried tapping into my wolf senses again, hoping for something a voice, a scent, anything. But… nothing.

It was like the door was shielded. My wolf couldn’t see past it. Couldn’t hear through it aside from the faint thud.

A barrier?

“What could be in there?” I whispered to myself.

I stepped closer and reached out to the knob, but the moment my fingers touched it, I yanked my hand back with a hiss.

It was ice cold. Like real frozen metal. As if winter lived inside. I stared at the door, heart pounding. That wasn't normal. Before I could try again—

Another thud. Louder.

Followed by... breathing. Labored. Rough. Like something was alive in there. Struggling. I reached again but just as my hand touched the knob, I froze. I heard footsteps.

Fast. Sharp. Coming from behind.

Then a familiar voice.

Low. Male. Firm.

“Miss Haliya?”

Shit!

I spun around, heart racing. Was it the guards? I couldn’t tell yet. But the footsteps were closing in fast. Had I crossed the boundary? Was this the west wing?

A rush of panic bloomed in my chest. I didn’t wait to find out. I backed away from the door and turned on my heel just as a shadow rounded the corner.

What should I do?

Instead of retracing my steps like a smart, rational wolf, my instincts screamed something else entirely.

Run.

So I did.

I ran.

Forward. Farther. Away from the voice, the guards, the cursed silence of that frozen door. Away from whatever the hell I almost stumbled into.

My feet pounded against the stone floor, the torchlight blurring past me like streaks of fire. My heart beat louder than my footsteps. My breath came out in sharp bursts.

I didn’t know where I was going. I didn’t even know if I was running toward something better or something far worse.

I’m going to die if they catch me, I thought wildly. Kieran’s going to lose it. Maybe he’ll lock me underground next. Maybe I’ll never see the sun again.

Still, I didn’t stop.

I couldn’t.

Every part of me screamed that I should, that I was making things worse, but I ran anyway. I ran like I was chasing the truth even if it destroyed me.

And then a metal door slammed open from the side hallway and I collided into it hard, my body slamming against the cold, unyielding frame. I didn't see it coming. Pain immediately shot up my arm and shoulder.

“F-f**k!” I gasped, stumbling back, disoriented.

I blinked rapidly, my body screaming from the impact.

But then… I saw a woman. My eyes instantly widened.

She was being dragged by a man stepping out of the very room I had slammed into. She looked barely conscious, her face pale, her hair matted and tangled like she hadn’t seen a brush in weeks. Her white dress was torn at the sides, soaked in blood and filth, clinging to her bruised, trembling body.

Her wrists were shackled with thick iron cuffs, dried blood crusted around the edges.

I froze. Everything inside me stopped. What the hell—

The man holding her looked up.

Tall. Muscular. Unfamiliar.

But not surprised to see me.

His eyes, cold and unreadable, met mine. He didn’t panic. He didn’t flinch. He just stared as if he'd been expecting me.

“Miss Haliya,” he said coolly, his voice void of any emotion, “you’re not supposed to be here.”

I couldn’t answer.

I couldn’t even breathe.

The woman… she turned her head slightly, her eyes fluttering open. Just barely. Her lips parted as if to say something, but no sound came.

She looked broken.

Used.

And the worst part? She didn’t look surprised to see me either. As if this happened all the time.

“What is this place?” I whispered.