When star falls

A LOT MORE

CHAPTER TWELVE

Maya woke slowly, tangled in her sheets. The scent of Leo still lingered warm pine, something wild and magnetic. Her hand instinctively reached for the empty space beside her. He was gone.

She sat up, pulling the blanket around herself. On the pillow, something small and deliberate waited for her: a black string tied into a loose knot. One of Leo’s he always wore them around his wrist. Her chest ached, but she pressed the string to her lips and exhaled.

He had come, he had held her, and he had left.Her phone buzzed on the nightstand.

Elle: Fall bonfire party tonight at Rook’s Bluff! Get ready! Costumes optional, but attitude mandatory.

Maya stared at the message. Part of her wanted to say no. After everything last night, partying felt like walking blindfolded into a trap. But part of her also knew she couldn’t afford to draw more suspicion. Blending in still mattered.

The Rook’s Bluff party was in full swing by the time Maya and Elle arrived. The clearing pulsed with music, laughter, and shadows. Golden string lights looped through trees, flickering above a roaring bonfire that cracked like it was alive. People wore half-costumes, wolf ears, vampire cloaks, glitter-painted faces but Maya kept it simple: black sweater dress, knee-high boots, and Leo’s necklace, the charm resting just over her heart.

The air smelled like cider and something else spice, woodsmoke, danger.

“Maya!” Elle shouted above the music, dragging her to a crowd of dancers near the fire.

She let herself laugh. Just a little. Just enough to forget the weight she carried.

And then, as if summoned by her thoughts, Kieran stepped out of the crowd.

Dressed in a fitted button-down, sleeves rolled and dark curls tousled, he moved with that same confident ease like he belonged to the night. He held out his hand with a smirk. “Dance with me, Moonlight.”

She hesitated. “You’re not scared of what Leo will do?”

“Terrified,” he said. “But only how I’ll feel when you say no.”

She rolled her eyes but laughed and took his hand.

The song shifted to something low and rhythmic. Kieran spun her into him, their bodies close as they moved in sync with the beat. He didn’t touch her inappropriately, but the tension between them was undeniable. It wasn’t romantic—it was something else. Charged. Like two elements testing if they’d ignite or cancel each other out.

Kieran leaned in, voice teasing near her ear. “You still wear his mark,” he said, nodding toward the necklace. “Is that what this is now? You and Hale?”

Before she could answer—

A hand gripped Kieran’s shoulder and spun him away from her.

Leo.

His jaw was clenched, his eyes glowing faintly under the firelight. “You think this is a game?”

Kieran didn’t flinch. “Only if I win.”

Maya stepped between them. “Leo stop.”

“You let him touch you?” Leo snapped, his voice low but shaking with fury.

“Leo, it was a dance,” Maya said, hands raised. “You’re acting insane—”

He turned on her, pain flashing in his gaze. “You don’t know what it does to me, seeing you with someone like him.”

Her heart hammered. “Someone like him? Or someone who isn’t you?”

They stared at each other, firelight flickering, tension snapping like a wire. Without another word, Maya turned and pushed through the crowd, the sting of his voice still in her ears. The world blurred. The cider hit harder now, and her head spun with heat and confusion. She just needed air.

Leaves crunched beneath her boots as she wandered away from the fire, further into the tree line. Music faded. Laughter dimmed. The lights no longer reached this far. A slight drizzle had started, and the night had turned cold.

She wrapped her arms around herself. I shouldn’t have let him see that. I shouldn’t care this much. But she did. So much it scared her. The edge of the bluff was steep, the forest just beyond. She staggered near a tree when a shadow stepped from the woods.

A man and woman, both young, but wrong somehow. Too still. Too quiet. Their eyes gleamed red in the flickering light.

“You smell different,” the man said, voice calm and curious. “Not fully turned yet. But close.”

“She’s the girl,” the woman said, lips curling. “The Hale girl. Kai will want her dead before she awakens.”

Panic struck her like lightning. Maya stumbled backward through the underbrush, breath catching in her throat. The two strangers closed in—predatory, silent, their movements too smooth to be human.She fumbled for the necklace. The charm glowed faintly in her hand.

She pressed it. The sound was silent to her but it shattered through the supernatural world like a scream.

But then. A sudden gust of wind blew through the trees, and with it came a blur of motion.

Kieran.

He emerged from the shadows like lightning shoulder crashing into the male attacker, sending him flying into the dirt. Kieran’s eyes were glowing faintly red, his face twisted in fury as he turned to block the woman from reaching Maya.

“You want her?” he snarled. “You’ll have to come through me.”

The woman lunged. Kieran caught her by the throat and slammed her against a tree. Maya dropped to the ground, gasping. Her fingers tightened around the charm at her neck. Just as the other attacker recovered and started toward her again—

A deeper sound cracked through the air. A growl that made the trees shake.

Leo.

He exploded from the darkness, eyes burning gold, teeth bared, and tackled the male attacker into the ground with bone-shattering force. Claws emerged as he raked through the air, forcing the stranger back. The woman, shaken and now bleeding, shrieked something in an unfamiliar language.

The two intruders vanished into the night.

Breathing hard, Maya stayed on her knees, trembling, as the world around her seemed to settle again.

Leo turned first, his face a mix of rage and worry. “Are you hurt?”

“No… I—I’m okay. Thanks to Kieran, and ……. You.”

Kieran stepped back, wiping blood from his jaw. “They were Kai’s. I could smell it.”

Leo stood tall beside Maya, his presence almost territorial. “You should’ve stayed at the fire.”

She glared at him. “You don’t get to be mad. You pushed me away.”

His expression softened. “And I was wrong.”

Then, before she could speak—he kissed her.Right there. In front of Kieran. It wasn’t rough or possessive—it was slow, aching, and full of everything he hadn’t said. His hand slid behind her neck, anchoring her to him. When they finally broke apart, Maya blinked, breathless.

Kieran looked away, jaw tight.

“Great timing as always, Hale,” he muttered.

Leo ignored him. “Come on. I’m taking you home.”

They reached Maya’s house just after midnight. Her boots were muddy. Her head throbbed. But her hand didn’t leave Leo’s not once.As they walked up the porch, the front door opened before she could knock. Aunt Lyla. Uncle Rob. Two cousins Maya barely saw from out of state. Their faces were drawn, tense.

“You pressed the charm,” Lyla said softly.

Maya nodded. Leo stood behind her, silent but protective.

Her uncle’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s this?”

Leo stepped forward and extended a hand. “Leo Hale. Maya’s friend”

“Friend? ” Rob asked sharply.

Leo didn’t flinch. “ Yes, she was almost in danger. Kai’s people. They came for her tonight at the Rook’s Bluff party. Two of them.”

Lyla stiffened. “They’re here already?”

Maya’s voice was small. “He saved me. So did Kieran.”

Rob’s eyes flicked to the necklace. “So you are his mate now?.”

“We’re not—” Maya started, but Leo cut in gently.

“I love her,” he said. “And nothing is changing that.”

The room fell still.

Lyla finally nodded. “Come inside. Both of you. We have a lot to talk about.”

The living room had quieted. Maya sat curled into the corner of the couch, her hands clutching a steaming mug she wasn’t drinking. Leo stood behind her, his presence like a second spine—steady but tense. Then the hallway creaked. A door opened.

Maya looked up.

Her grandmother stepped into view, a short, silver-haired woman wrapped in a thick knitted shawl. Her eyes—clouded by age, but sharp with memory—locked onto Leo the moment she entered. A long, eerie silence.

“…You,” she whispered, her voice thin but firm. “I know those eyes.”

Leo bowed his head slightly. “Ma’am.”

“You’re a Hale boy.”

Maya tensed. “Grandma?”

The old woman stepped closer, circling Leo like a spirit inspecting the living.

“I knew your father. Elijah Hale. And your uncle before him.” She stopped inches from him, lifting a trembling hand and brushing the edge of his jaw. “Too many wars. Too much blood. Your kind were warriors. Killers.”

Leo’s jaw clenched. “I’m not them.”

She nodded, slowly. “No. I see that. You’re the quiet one. The protector. You love her.”

He didn’t deny it.

“But that doesn’t erase the truth,” the grandmother said, voice firm. “Hale wolves and our blood have never mixed. Not without death following. We are sworn enemies. You… being here—kissing her, touching her—it’s blasphemy to the old ways.”

“She’s not a bloodline to me,” Leo said. “She’s Maya. I’d burn every law to keep her safe.”

Her grandmother looked at Maya next. “Child… your heart’s at war. Be sure the one you feed is the one you can survive.”

Then she turned and left, her warning thick in the air like smoke after a fire.