Chapter 70: The keeper

The days leading to the eclipse passed in a strange kind of quiet—the kind that made even the wind seem to hold its breath. Mount Pleasant was wrapped in fog, the forest below heavy with mist. The air hummed faintly with the promise of change, like the world itself was waiting.

I could feel it too.

Every night, the pull of the moon grew stronger. The babies kicked harder beneath my ribs, their heartbeats echoing through my own. Sometimes I’d wake in the dark, breath shallow, light flickering at my fingertips even though I hadn’t called it. The power was always there now—just under the surface—like something alive inside me.

Kevin noticed first.

“You’re not sleeping again,” he said quietly one morning as he leaned against the doorway. He looked tired too, dark circles under his eyes. “Every time I wake, you’re already sitting up.”

“I just…” I trailed off, staring out the window. “I keep feeling it. Like the moon’s watching me.”

He crossed the room and knelt beside the bed. “Then let it watch. You’re safe here.”

I smiled faintly, brushing a hand over his cheek. “You don’t believe that.”

He didn’t answer, but his eyes said everything.

Later that day, Kelvin found me in the gardens. The fog clung low to the ground, dampening the sound of my footsteps. He walked beside me in silence for a while before speaking.

“Kevin’s worried.”

“I know.”

“So am I.” His tone was gentle, but the truth in it cut deep. “Whatever Kael meant about the price… it’s haunting him.”

“And you?” I asked.

He hesitated. “I’ve already decided I’d pay any price if it means keeping you safe.”

The words hit me harder than I expected. “Kelvin—”

He stopped me with a look, fierce and tender all at once. “Don’t. Not now.”

Before I could reply, thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance, though the sky above was clear. The sound didn’t fade—it grew, deep and rhythmic, like the heartbeat of the earth.

Kelvin’s hand found mine instantly. “It’s starting.”

That night, the pack gathered in the courtyard of Mount Pleasant. No one spoke. The air was thick with tension, the scent of pine and frost mixing with fear. Above us, the moon glowed enormous and red, slowly slipping behind the shadow of the earth.

The eclipse had begun.

Kevin stood to my left, Kelvin to my right—both in wolf form, silver and gold pelts gleaming beneath the dimming light. I stood between them, my heart pounding in rhythm with the earth. As the shadow deepened, the hum beneath my skin turned into a pulse—steady, insistent, impossible to ignore.

Then I heard it again.

Molly…

The voice wasn’t real. Couldn’t be. But it echoed inside my mind, ancient and familiar all at once.

The balance demands its due.

I staggered, clutching my stomach. A searing warmth bloomed under my skin, spreading outward until my whole body burned with silver light. The twins stirred, and the power surged like a wave.

Kelvin shifted back instantly, catching me before I fell. “Molly, breathe—stay with me!”

Kevin’s wolf snarled, pacing in circles around us, protective and wild.

“I can’t stop it,” I gasped, light spilling from my hands. “It’s too strong—”

“You can,” Kelvin said fiercely. “You’re not alone this time.”

He pressed his forehead to mine, grounding me. His heartbeat thundered against my chest. “We’ll hold it with you.”

Kevin shifted back too, kneeling on my other side. His hand found mine, the same spark flowing through our skin where we touched. “Together,” he murmured. “Always.”

The light flared brighter, so intense it drowned everything else. The ground shook, wind tearing through the courtyard. The pack fell to their knees, howls rising into the night as the energy surged outward in a blinding wave.

And then—everything stopped.

Silence.

The world seemed to freeze in that breathless moment. The moon hung in complete shadow, black against the sky.

I opened my eyes—and saw her.

A figure stood on the edge of the courtyard, half-hidden in mist. Not Evelyn—someone else. Taller, cloaked in white, her face pale as moonlight. Her eyes glowed silver.

“Who are you?” I whispered.

Her voice was soft, but it carried easily through the still air. “The Keeper. I guard the balance between light and dark.”

Kevin and Kelvin stepped forward instinctively, positioning themselves between her and me.

“What do you want?” Kevin demanded.

“The Heart has awakened,” she said simply. “The twins are nearly ready to be born. But the world must make room for them. A new power cannot rise without one fading.”

Kelvin’s jaw tightened. “You’re saying someone has to die.”

The Keeper’s eyes glimmered. “The moon does not take life without offering a choice.”

My pulse roared in my ears. “What choice?”

She looked at me. “Sacrifice the bond—or the world breaks.”

The words sank like stones into the silence.

“What bond?” I asked, though part of me already knew.

“The triad,” she said. “The sacred link between you and the twin Alphas. The union that anchors your power. If it remains when the twins are born, the balance will tip. The world will drown in light.”

Kelvin’s hand tightened around mine. “Break it, and she dies.”

“Keep it,” Kevin said darkly, “and everyone else might.”

The Keeper bowed her head slightly. “When the eclipse ends, the choice will be sealed.”

And then she vanished, fading into the mist like she’d never been there at all.

The silence that followed was unbearable. The eclipse hung low in the sky, the moon’s light slowly returning, pale and cold.

Kelvin was the first to speak. “She’s lying. She has to be.”

Kevin didn’t answer. He just looked at me—really looked—and I saw it in his eyes.

He believed her.

“Molly,” he said quietly, voice cracking, “we’ll find another way.”

But deep down, I already knew there wasn’t one.

The moment the first sliver of moonlight broke free, pain tore through me like lightning. I screamed, dropping to my knees. The world spun, and all I could feel was heat—wild, consuming light pouring from my chest.

Kelvin caught me, shouting my name, but the sound faded under the rush of power.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard the twins cry out—not with voices, but with power. The mountain trembled. The moon flared white.

And then, everything went dark.