THE LYCAN PRINCE HUMAN LUNA

Chapter 4 : “Threats in the Dark”

Elara’s pov

The kitchen table was covered with hospital bills.

I stacked them slowly, one on top of the other, pretending the numbers printed across the pages didn’t scare me.

Each total felt heavier than the last, like the paper itself carried the weight of everything I was trying not to think about.

In the next room, Liora was still asleep. The apartment was quiet except for the faint hum of the refrigerator and the soft ticking of the clock on the wall.

I glanced toward her door, letting out a slow breath.

For a moment, I allowed myself to wonder how much longer I could keep pretending everything was fine.

Then the clock caught my eye again.

Work.

I gathered the bills into a neat pile and pushed them aside before reaching for my bag. There wasn’t time to sit with fear, not when another shift was waiting for me.

Weeks had passed, but time had done nothing to ease the ache inside my chest.

If anything, it had sharpened it.

I functioned, but I wasn’t living. I moved, but my body wasn't whole.

Each day dragged on like a punishment, and the ache of heartbreak refused to fade.

No matter how hard I tried to focus, my mind always drifted back to that night, to his words.

His cold eyes.

The way everything ended so suddenly.

My life felt like a bad dream, one I kept hoping I would wake up from.

.

.

By the time I reached the office, the building was already buzzing with quiet morning activity.

Phones rang in the background, keyboards clicked nonstop, and soft conversations filled the open workspace.

I slipped into my chair, placed my bag beside the desk, and turned on my computer.

Emails flooded the screen almost immediately.

Good. Work was easier than thinking about my life.

My mind replayed that night over and over again like a cruel loop.

How could he do that to me?

How could he plan a wedding behind my back?

How long had I been a fool?

And then it hit me.

Our couple’s account….

No.

Not our account anymore.

The joint account.

Back then, Daniel held my hand and smiled.

"This is the beginning of our future," he had said.

I had believed him.

Every month we deposited money into that account.

Saving for our life together, our home, our dreams, our future….but now those dreams were nothing more than ashes

Anger slowly replaced the sadness.

There was enough money in that account. I knew the password. I had full access. Everything I needed was right there.

If he could walk away without remorse, then I deserved something in return.

I deserved payback.

I opened the banking app.

My thumb hovered over the screen for several long seconds.

Will this be wrong?

Or was it survival?

Just as my thoughts darkened, the sharp ringing of my phone cut through the silence.

The sound echoed on the edge of my desk, pulling me back to reality.

I picked it up.

“Hello?” I said, my voice tired.

“Elara!” Tiffany’s voice came through, breathless and panicked. “It’s Liora! She collapsed! Her heart stopped for a few seconds and we are at the hospital!”

For a moment, the world around me stopped.

My heart skipped a beat.

“What?”

My voice barely came out as a whisper.

“She’s unconscious! They’re rushing her to emergency right now!”

Fear slammed into me so hard I nearly dropped the phone.

“I’m coming,” I said quickly, already grabbing my bag.

“Please… please make sure she stays alive.”

I rushed out of the office without looking back. My coworkers stared, confused, curious but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered anymore.

My sister’s life was slipping away, and the world I was barely holding together was breaking apart, piece by piece.

.

The hospital lights were too bright, too cruel for a place meant to save lives. The smell of antiseptic hit me the moment I stepped inside, making my stomach twist.

I rushed down the corridor, my footsteps quick and uneven, with every step feeling heavier than the one before.

My mind raced with terrifying thoughts.

What if I lose her too?

Liora was the only family I had left, I couldn’t lose her. Not now.

Not ever.

I stepped into the room the doctor kept her. I saw her before she saw me.

Liora, so small in that hospital bed, so pale, so fragile.

She lay on the bed, pale but breathing, her chest rising slowly. Tubes and wires surrounded her fragile body, machines humming softly beside her.

Her eyes were open, weak, tired, but alive.

Relief crashed into me so hard my knees almost gave out.

“Liora,” I whispered, rushing to her side, tears finding its way down my cheeks.

She turned her head slightly and forced a faint smile.

“You look like you ran through the whole city,” she murmured.

I laughed through tears, gripping her hand tightly as if letting go would make her disappear.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again,” I said, my voice breaking.

A nurse cleared her throat gently, standing nearby with a file in her hand. “She’s stable for now,” she said. “But she needs immediate treatment. We’ll need payment to proceed.”

“How much?” I asked.

When she said the amount, my ears rang.

It was almost everything in that joint account.

Almost everything.

Fate had a twisted sense of humor.

The words hit me hard

And just like that, reality settled in. I knew what I had to do.

At the bank, everything felt mechanical, cold, and quiet. I sat there, staring at the screen as numbers stared back at me.

The joint account

what was once meant to be our future now felt like a cruel reminder of everything I had lost.

My fingers trembled slightly as I logged in.

A bank officer glanced at me. “Miss, are you sure about this full transfer? It may require both parties’ consent depending on….”

“It’s a joint account,” I said calmly. “I have full authorization.”

The cursor blinked.

I was waiting.

One click…that was all it would take.

I inhaled slowly.That money was never just his, it was ours.

It was built on promises, sacrifices, and love that turned out to be a lie.

Without hesitation, I transferred everything.

Every last bit of it, from the joint account into my personal one.

There was no guilt. No second thoughts.

Only a calm certainty.

If love had failed me, then I would do whatever it took to save the only person who truly mattered.

And as the confirmation message appeared on the screen, one thought settled quietly in my mind

Daniel had taken my heart, but I had just taken back my future.

.

.

Back at the hospital, I sank into the stiff plastic chair by my sister’s hospital bed, my body trembling with exhaustion.

My hands still smelled faintly of antiseptic, and my eyes were red and raw from crying.

Liora's slow and steady breathing was the only thing keeping me grounded.

I reached out to her, brushed a strand of hair from her face, and let myself finally exhale.

For a moment, the world felt almost quiet, almost safe….almost.

Then my phone buzzed in my hand.

I glanced at the screen.

Daniel.

A cold shiver ran down my spine. The message was short, sharp, and deliberate:

"Meet me tonight. The usual place. Don’t make me come find you."

My fingers trembled as I read it again. The usual place… My mind went straight to the nightclub.

Another message followed, almost immediately:

"You think you can take what’s mine and just walk away? You emptied the account"

My heart hammering, I thought I was ready for payback

Another message came, slow and deliberate

“You shouldn't have done that, if you don't come tonight, I will handle it my own way and trust me you won't like how that ends”

My heart started racing.

Was that a threat? Or a promise?

Another buzz.

A picture.

I opened it. It was taken from outside the hospital.

The entrance was visible in the background.

Was he outside right now?

Watching?

Waiting?

I slowly lifted my eyes toward the hospital window.

And that’s when I saw it…a black car, parked across the street, engine quietly running, its headlights dark.

My phone buzzed again.

“Tick tock, Elara.”

My fingers trembled violently.

I slammed the phone down onto the chair beside me, my chest tight, my heart pounding.

“What's the problem?” Tiffany asked.

I didn't respond, she took the phone from the chair and glanced at the screen.

Part of me wanted to delete the messages, pretend they never existed, lock myself away in this hospital room forever.

But another part, angry, defiant, dangerous wanted to go.

I glanced at Liora, sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the storm raging in my life. I couldn’t leave her, not like this. But I also couldn’t ignore him.

My stomach tightened with tension, a cold fear creeping in that tonight might bring everything back, anger, heartbreak, maybe even more.

I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to calm my nerves. I stood near the window, staring down at the dark street outside.

That black car was still there.

Behind me, Tiffany’s voice broke the silence. “Elara… you can’t be serious.”

I didn’t turn around.

“I have to go.”

“No.” Her footsteps approached quickly.

“Absolutely not. That man is dangerous. After everything he’s done to you, you still want to meet him?”

I closed my eyes for a moment. “It’s not about what I want.”

Tiffany grabbed my arm and forced me to face her.

Her eyes were wide with worry.

“He threatened you! And now he’s sitting outside the hospital like some kind of stalker. What if this is a trap?”

I gave a quiet, bitter smile. “It probably is.”

“Then why are you even considering it?” she demanded.

My gaze drifted past her toward Liora. She was sleeping peacefully, her tiny chest rose and fell slowly beneath the blanket.

Fragile and Innocent.

My heart tightened.

“If I don’t go,” I said softly, “he might come here instead.”

Tiffany followed my gaze, realization slowly dawned on her face.

“Elara…”

“I can’t let him anywhere near her,”

Silence stretched between us.

Tiffany shook her head, her voice trembling, “There has to be another way.”

“If there was, I would’ve found it already.”

My phone buzzed again in my hand.

Daniel again.

I didn’t even open the message. I already knew what it would say.

Time was ticking.

Tiffany stepped closer, “Please… don’t do this.”

For a moment, I wished I could listen to her.

I wished I could stay here beside Liora where it was safe.

But life had never been that kind to me.

I took a slow breath, then I placed my hand on Tiffany’s shoulder.

“If anything happens…”

Her eyes widened immediately, “Don’t say that.”

But I continued anyway.

“Take care of Liora for me.”

Her face went pale. “Elara…”

I forced a small smile, even though my chest felt like it was breaking apart.

“She trusts you.”

Tiffany grabbed my hand tightly. “You’re coming back,” she said firmly. “You have to.”

I didn’t answer.

Instead, I turned toward the hospital doors, toward the night waiting outside.

Toward Daniel.