Chapter 24 Intruder alert
Elinra POV
The wind rushed past my ears as Emily galloped through the woods with breathtaking speed. The rhythm of her hooves echoed like a heartbeat against the earth, steady and powerful. Trees blurred into streaks of green and brown, their leaves fluttering behind us like a living curtain. For the first time in years, I felt something inside me unclench. It felt as though my soul, the part I thought I had lost, was slowly returning home.
My hair flew wildly behind me, dancing freely with the wind as though celebrating its release. A smile spread across my lips, genuine and full. My hands tightened instinctively around Candice’s waist to keep my balance, but also because the moment felt too fragile to let go of. It was liberating, hauntingly beautiful, and frightening all at once.
Candice glanced over his shoulder at me, his voice raised slightly above the rushing wind.
"Do you like it?" he asked while guiding Emily forward, controlling her with the kind of ease that spoke of experience. He was a remarkably skilled rider, and I could tell he had done this all his life. I remembered the stories whispered through my father’s pack, the tales of how his people rode horses into battle, charging fearlessly to overthrow alphas and reclaim lost territories. It made sense that he rode with such confidence. This was a part of him.
"It seems you love the ride," he added, his tone playful as he looked back again.
I nodded eagerly, still holding tight.
"Yes, I love it so much. Thank you for bringing me out. I felt like I was about to pass out in that pack," I said, the wind swallowing my words slightly, but I knew he could hear me. He was a werewolf, after all. Even my faintest whisper would not escape his senses.
He burst into laughter, a sound so warm and contagious that I found myself laughing too. It had been so long since I laughed freely, without restraint, without the weight of fear or pain pulling me down. We rode for several minutes, passing through shimmering lakes bathed in moonless light, climbing trails that curved around mountains, and moving across quiet fields where the night air was clean and crisp.
We even stopped at a small lake to let Emily drink and rest. She bent her head gracefully, the water rippling around her muzzle, and Candice stroked her gently to calm her nerves. She was such a beautiful creature, loyal and patient.
After she had regained her strength, we mounted her again and continued deeper into the woods. It was during this stretch of silence, with the stars dim and the forest unusually still, that I noticed something strange.
"Candice," I called over the wind.
"There is something I noticed about your pack. Is it that you all do not have a moon here? Because ever since I came, I have never seen the moon once. Normally, the moon influences our transformations. I should have transformed long ago, yet there has not been even a glimpse."
Candice kept his eyes ahead, guiding Emily between two tall trees as he responded.
"What did you notice about our pack?" he asked, though I knew he already understood my question.
"The moon," I repeated, my brows furrowed.
"How come I have never seen it here? The moon is the heart of any werewolf territory. A pack without a moon feels wrong. Strange. It feels like a place cut away from the very thing that gives us life."
Candice sighed quietly, the sound deep and thoughtful.
"It is because of the curse on the pack. Ever since the first generation alpha died, we stopped seeing the moon completely. Since I was born, I have never seen a moon in this territory. I only see it when we travel to other packs."
I stared at the back of his head, stunned. He sounded so casual saying something so unbelievable.
"You mean you have never seen a moon here? Not even once?" I asked, my voice thick with disbelief.
"Yes. And it is not just me and Versus. Kaerlix has never seen a moon either. Any time he visits another pack, if it happens to be a full moon night, the moon will not show. It is almost as if the moon itself fears him. Kaerlix has never seen a moon and does not even know what it looks like physically."
My jaw dropped open in shock. I could not wrap my head around the idea. Kaerlix, an alpha more than one thousand years old, had never seen a moon? Never experienced the full moon glow that shaped every werewolf’s existence?
It suddenly explained so much. His constant tension. His unpredictable anger. His heavy aura. Perhaps living his entire life without the moon had carved something dark inside him.
"So how do you transform into wolves if you have no moon?" I asked, still struggling to make sense of their world.
Candice answered calmly, as though this was normal.
"We can transform any time we want, with or without the moon. That is one of the strange things about us. We do not need the moon to shift."
I almost fell off the horse.
"What? Are you serious? How is that even possible? Is it because you are hybrids?" I asked quickly, needing clarity.
Candice shook his head.
"Versus and I are not hybrids. Only Kaerlix is."
I froze.
"But you are triplets. How can only one of you be a hybrid? Should you not all be the same?"
He responded slowly, the words carrying weight.
"Our mother was human. Our father was something else entirely. Something mixed. Kaerlix took more of our father’s blood than we did. That is why he is dangerous. He has more than one bloodline flowing in him, and even we do not fully understand what he is."
I trembled slightly. I knew Kaerlix was dangerous the moment I saw him. His aura felt ancient, heavy, suffocating, and powerful beyond reason. But hearing this confirmed what my instincts had screamed from the very beginning.
No wonder everyone feared him.
No wonder other alphas avoided provoking him.
No wonder the moon refused to appear in his presence.
As Emily slowed down, I stared at the back of Candice’s head. Something felt off. Not about Kaerlix this time, but about Candice himself. There was something hidden beneath his warm smile, something dangerous beneath his gentle way of speaking. He was kind, open, and friendly, but I sensed a darkness he was either unaware of or trying desperately to conceal.
But he never made me uncomfortable. Instead, he made me feel strangely safe. It was a confusing feeling.
After a long and thrilling ride filled with revelations, we finally slowed down and came to a stop at a place I had never seen before. It was breathtaking. The trees parted into a clearing where soft pale flowers glowed faintly in the darkness. A small stream flowed nearby, sparkling despite the moonless sky. The air smelled like fresh water and blooming petals, almost magical, as though the place was untouched by the rest of the cursed territory.
Candice jumped down gracefully then turned and helped me off Emily. I placed my hands in his, and he carefully lifted me down. When I touched the ground, my legs wobbled slightly, still affected by the long ride.
Candice tied Emily to a strong tree trunk nearby and made sure she was comfortable. The horse snorted softly and nudged his shoulder affectionately. He smiled and petted her before turning back to me.
We walked slowly through the clearing, not straying too far from the horse. The air felt different here, softer, almost sacred. The sound of the flowing stream created a peaceful rhythm that calmed my racing thoughts.
After a short walk, Candice suddenly stopped. I turned to face him, confused about why he halted. His eyes were on me, warm and bright.
"You look beautiful," he said softly.
My breath caught. Heat rushed to my cheeks immediately.
He stepped closer, closing the distance between us. Gently, he reached for my hair and tucked a loose strand behind my ear. His fingers brushed my cheek lightly and I felt my heart skip.
Everything froze around us.
The woods.
The wind.
Even the air felt suspended as he leaned forward.
I felt his breath on my skin, warm and soft. He was inches away, close enough for me to feel the heat radiating off him. My heart slammed painfully against my ribs, unsure of how to react or what to do. His eyes flicked to my lips and my breath hitched.
He leaned in even closer.
I felt the moment stretching, thick with tension, as if something important was about to happen.
But before his lips could touch mine, a sudden piercing sound echoed through the woods.
Emily screamed.
We jerked back instantly.
"Emily?" I gasped as her cry turned into a painful whinny.
We ran toward her, panic surging through both of us. Emily collapsed onto the ground with a heavy thud, her legs kicking weakly. An arrow was lodged deep in her side. My heart squeezed painfully.
"Emily," I cried, kneeling beside her. I reached for the arrow, my hands trembling, ready to pull it out.
Candice crouched beside me, his eyes scanning the woods with quick sharp movements.
"Someone is here," he said in a low voice.
My heart raced as we looked around, searching for the attacker. The woods were silent. Too silent. The air felt tense and wrong, as though something dangerous lurked just beyond the trees.
Then it happened.
A huge intoxicating net dropped from above with a violent swoosh, col
lapsing onto both of us before we could move.
The world spun.
Darkness rushed in.
And everything went silent.