Chapter 201

Chapter 201
Elvira

I woke up to dawn threading through the curtains. I blinked against the light and found Jaxon already awake, his eyes trained on me as if he watched me all night, his eyes gave him out—he looked so sleepy.. My pulse stuttered at the thought, he probably had.

“Morning,” I whispered, still half-lost in the fog of sleep.

“Morning,” he replied, his voice low and warm, the kind that made everything else fade into insignificance. He traced lazy circles on the back of my hand. “You slept well?”

“I… think so.” My words felt hollow, though. There was too much weighing on me, too many truths I hadn’t fully processed yet.

Jaxon’s gaze softened. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I shook my head slightly, though the tremor betrayed me. “About what?”

He tilted his head, a small smirk tugging at his lips. “About Deric. About… us. About everything. I know you’ve been holding it all inside.”

I exhaled, heavy and unsure. He was right, of course. I’d been running from the weight of the truth as if pretending it didn’t exist would make it disappear. But it wouldn’t. It never had.

“I… I don’t know how I feel,” I admitted finally. “It’s like… everything shifted overnight. Telling Deric he’s my brother was supposed to make sense of the past, but it just… feels like a dream. A dream I’m not sure I want to wake from, yet I have to.”

Jaxon leaned closer, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear, and for a moment, the world narrowed to the warmth of his touch. “You have to accept it,” he said gently, “but that doesn’t mean you have to be ready all at once. You’ll feel your way through it. And I’ll be here.”

I nodded, though I wasn’t entirely sure I believed it yet. Memories of my mother surged unbidden, the soft scent of sunflowers from her garden, the way she would hum lullabies in the twilight, and the hidden diary I had found once tucked beneath the loose floorboard in her room. Each memory was a shard of light and pain, reminding me of what had been lost.

I sank back against the cushions, staring at the wooden floor as if it could anchor me to some truth. “Do you remember when I told you how she used to tell me stories at night?” I murmured. “About… how the stars were guardians, and if you listened closely, they would speak your name?”

Jaxon nodded, though his expression was distant, reflective. “I remember you telling me she believed in everything. Even the impossible. And somehow… you inherited that same stubborn faith.”

A small smile escaped me, though it was tinged with sadness. “I used to hate that she left so soon, leaving me with questions instead of answers. But now… I wish I had asked more. Paid attention more. Maybe then I’d remember the small pieces, the ones that matter.”

Jaxon reached for my hand again, threading his fingers through mine. “Sometimes the pieces come back to you when you least expect them. And sometimes… they come with a price.”

I didn’t ask what he meant. I already had a sense of it, an unease feeling that had settled in my chest since the morning.

Before I could dwell on it further, there was a sharp knock at the door, startling me so much that I nearly yanked my hand from Jaxon’s grip. He stood, his protective presence immediate, and moved to the door.

I followed, curiosity prickling at the edges of my nerves. When he opened it, a small envelope lay on the mat. There was no name, no mark, just the creamy paper and a faint trace of perfume that I didn’t recognize.

I picked it up, my fingers trembling slightly. The scent was faintly floral, sharp beneath the undercurrent of something metallic—something warning me.

“Who is it from?” Jaxon asked, his voice cautious.

“I… don’t know.” My thumb traced the embossed swirl on the corner. “It smells… like someone who knows me, but not in a friendly way.”

He nodded, eyes narrowing. “Read it.”

I unfolded the letter with care, almost afraid that the words themselves might bite. The handwriting was elegant, deliberate, with an undercurrent of menace I couldn’t ignore.

“You’ve undone everything. You’ve broken the legacy of Bloodmoon. But remember—nothing is ever truly over. I see you, Elvira. I won’t sit back forever, and I will come for what is mine. Sleep lightly, little wolf. You are not safe, even in the arms of your golden shadow.”

My breath caught. Every muscle in my body tensed as if the words themselves had wrapped around my throat. The memories of Felen’s cold, calculating gaze flashed in my mind, and I could feel the echo of her anger even though she no longer ruled Bloodmoon.

Jaxon’s hand found mine, gripping tightly. “It’s her, isn’t it?”

I nodded, my stomach twisting. “It has to be. Who else would know so much… who else would have the nerve to threaten me?”

He frowned, jaw tight. “She has no fear threatening you like this.”

I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself. “I have a feeling she has something to do with my mother’s death, I feel it deep in my bones”

Jaxon tilted my chin gently, forcing me to meet his gaze. “We’ll handle it. Together. Whatever it is, I swear it.”

I wanted to believe him. I did. 

I sank onto the couch, cradling the letter to my chest. “I remember… little details about my mother,” I said slowly, almost to myself. 

Jaxon knelt beside me, his hand brushing against mine. “Memory has a way of keeping the heart tethered to what matters, even when the mind forgets.”

I nodded, closing my eyes. “I’ve been thinking about her so much lately. About all the things she never got to tell me. About Deric… about me… about everything. And now, this letter… it’s like the past is reminding me that even though we’ve survived, we’re not done yet.”

Jaxon leaned closer, voice a low rumble. “We’ll survive. We always do.”

For a moment, I let myself believe it. I let myself feel the warmth of his hand, the steady beat of his heart against mine. But the letter burned against my skin like fire, and I knew the threat wasn’t empty. Felen’s reach might be broken, but her ambition was not.

I stood, smoothing my dress with trembling hands. “I need to prepare. If she comes, I need to be ready. I can’t let her hurt anyone else—not Deric, not you, not anyone who matters to me.”

Jaxon rose too, wrapping an arm around my waist, pulling me close. “You’re not alone in this. And neither is Deric. We’re a pack, Elvira. All of us together.”

I leaned against him, letting the warmth seep into me, grounding me. Yet, in the back of my mind, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the pieces of the past, the memories, the threats, the lingering shadows  were aligning, forming a pattern I couldn’t yet see.

“Do you ever wonder,” I whispered, my voice almost lost, “if we’ll ever be free of it all? The Bloodmoon, the secrets, the lies… the ghosts?”

Jaxon pressed a kiss to my temple. “We’ll always carry pieces of it,” he said softly. “But freedom isn’t about forgetting, it’s about surviving it. And together, we will.”

I let the words sink in, feeling their weight and their promise. And so, with Jaxon by my side, I took a deep breath and prepared for whatever came next, knowing that while the past had shaped me, it would not define me, not if I had the strength to face it.