The Luna is a Witch

Chapter 12:Dual

Claire’s pov

I freeze. LJ freezes. Even the air freezes — like the room is holding its breath with us. Carter whimpers once, tiny body trembling in my arms. His little voice rasps out: “Bad man… up…”

BOOM. Something hits the roof. Not hard enough to break through, but hard enough to shake dust from the ceiling and rattle the light fixtures.

LJ screams. “WHAT WAS THAT—WHAT WAS THAT—WHAT WAS THAT—”

Draven’s voice sharpens, low and deadly. “Claire. Listen to me.” My heart is pounding so violently I can hear the blood rushing in my ears. “Something is above your apartment,” he says. “Not at the door. Not at the street. Above. Do you understand?”

My breath catches. The wards protect the entrance. The windows. The floors. They, in theory, should protect the roof, but I haven't had a reason to ever doubt it. Carter starts crying again, not big loud sobs, but small, terrified, shaking ones. His magic flares against my chest like a heartbeat coming apart.

“Momma… bad man see Carter…” I pull him closer, pressing his glowing forehead to mine, trying to shield him with my entire body. “It’s okay—it’s okay—I’ve got you—”

But inside I am panicing. Like full on panic attack. LJ grabs my arm, frantic. “Claire—Claire, what do we do—Claire say something—CLAIRE—”

I can’t hear her. All I hear is Carter’s ragged breathing,. His little heartbeat racing against my ribs. Draven’s shadow under the door. Something is here and it found us. Carter is moon-marked, glowing like a beacon. I stand up, clutching Carter against me, and I open the door.

LJ SCREAMS. “CLAIRE WHAT THE ACTUAL—”

There is Draven. Sitting against the wall across from the door. His chest rising and falling fast like he sprinted through the realms to get here.His eyes snap up to mine—Silver. Not like how Carter's were, but still just as bright. He takes one look at my shaking hands, Carter’s glow, my face pale with fear and exhaustion—And something inside him shatters.

“Claire”His voice breaks.“Get behind me.”

I shake my head, clutching Carter tighter. “I can’t he’s watching. He’s...”

But Draven isn’t listening. He rises in one smooth, predatory movement between one breath and the next—tall, imposing, every muscle coiled, ready to kill something I can’t even see. He steps inside the threshold without crossing the wards, like he knows exactly where the boundary lies. Then he angles his body in front of me, shielding Carter with his own silhouette. His voice drops into a growl that vibrates through the floor.

“Get away from the windows.” I stumble back, instinctively obeying. Not because he commanded. Because the ceiling shifts, just slightly, as something moves above us. Not walking. Crawling. Dragging.

LJ claps a hand over her mouth. “Oh gods—oh gods—oh my GODS—” Carter clings to me so tightly his tiny fingernails dig into my shoulder.

“Momma…” he whispers, so small, so scared, “woof protect us?” I don’t answer, because I’m staring at the ceiling now too and whatever is up there—It knows exactly where we are. Draven feels it the same moment I do. His head tilts up, pupils wide, and bares his teeth.

“Claire.”

“Yes?” My voice is paper.

“Don’t scream.”

I inhale sharply.

“Why would I scream—”

CRRRRRK.

A talon punctures the ceiling. Dust rains down. Now I get it understand.

Draven’s pov

The moment the talon punctures the ceiling, my wolf takes over. Not fully. Not the dangerous kind of shift that tears through bone and skin. A partial shift — the one designed for murder. Claws sharpen in my fingers. My spine straightens, muscles tightening until my shirt strains. My vision darkens at the edges, silver bleeding into everything. I step forward. Between them and the threat. My voice comes out low, rough, layered with the growl of a creature older than any prophecy: “Stay behind me.”

Claire doesn’t argue. Her fear slams through the air in waves, thick and frantic, and her heartbeat stutters so violently that my wolf nearly loses control—But Carter’s heartbeat steadies her. The child clings to her, tiny arms wrapped around her neck, magic flickering in terrified sparks. He trusts me. He shouldn’t. Not yet. Not after the classroom. Not after the fear in his little voice.

He whispers, barely audible: “Woof… protect.”

With the gods as my witness I will. The creature above us drags its claws, scraping slow, deliberate lines across the ceiling. Testing. Tasting the wards. Savoring the fear leaking from the cracks in Claire’s magic.

LJ whimpers behind Claire. “It’s on the ROOF. Why is it on the ROOF—why don’t monsters use DOORS like normal nightmares—”

“Quiet,” I growl without looking back.

I can feel the creature through the wards. Its hunger for Carter's power. But when it felt Claire awaken? It shifted its target to her.

“Luna…” it rasps through the wood and insulation, voice slithering like smoke. Claire gasps. I hear it—feel it—like a blade to the ribs. My wolf roars inside me. NO ONE SPEAKS HER NAME. Not like that. Like it has some RIGHT to claim her and her son. The ceiling cracks further. Dust falls. LJ screams again. Carter lets out a soft, terrified cry—low, instinctive, the kind pups make when danger is close.That sound—that tiny sound—breaks me. I step forward so fast Claire flinches, but I don’t stop. I place myself directly under the cracking ceiling, spreading my stance.My claws lengthen. My teeth sharpen. My skin ripples with the half-shift fighting to break free.

My wolf snarls in absolute, ancient certainty: PROTECT THE LUNA. PROTECT THE PUP. KILL ANYTHING THAT TOUCHES THEM. I raise my head, eyes glowing bright silver, and speak to the darkness above us:“If you want her,” my voice echoes with the bass of my wolf's voice to amplify it, “you’ll have to go through me.”

The creature hisses. The ceiling buckles. I brace myself for it to come crashing down. Energy ignites beneath my skin. My aura flares hard enough to scorch the paint on the walls. Claire whispers behind me, voice trembling “Draven…”

I close my eyes for a split second at the sound of my name. My wolf presses forward, wanting to turn, to look at her, to make sure she’s safe—But I don’t look back. Not when death is above us.

“Stay behind me,” I repeat, voice breaking on the edge of a growl. “I won’t let it touch you.”

The ceiling fractures. Wood snaps.A talon punches through, grabbing at empty air, searching. I push my wolf to continue the shift. My bones reform. My muscles swell. My fangs lengthen into full wolf shape. Not full transformation. Half-wolf. Half-man. All monster. Claire gasps. LJ screams. Carter stares in aware. I bare my teeth, every instinct honed on one single truth: If I die here, I die facing the threat. If this creature dares break through the roof, I will paint the walls with its blood. If the realm burns, I burn standing between the Luna and the fire. I will not let them fall. Not while I breathe. Not while blood is flowing through my veins. Not even Hades will stop me.

I raise my head and leaped as the ceiling caves in.