Chapter 13: Torn Between Devil And Death

Serena

The rogue pack was near.

We’d been traveling for days, and the air was colder now. We were somewhere.

The trees looked different—taller, older, their shadows heavier. My boots crunched against frostbitten grass as we passed the edge of the forest.

Then I saw it.

Tents. Fires. Rough shapes moving through the smoke. Wolves, some half-shifted, others in human form, all scarred. All watching.

The rogue camp.

And now… I was here.

I pulled the fur cloak tighter around my shoulders, my fingers trembling. My body still ached from the past few days, but it wasn’t just pain. It was fear. Uncertainty.

And something else I didn’t want to name.

I felt Xavier’s presence beside me before I saw him. He didn’t speak, just walked in silence like a shadow draped in power. Every rogue lowered their head as he passed. Even the wildest ones.

He ruled them.

He was their crown.

A crown of blood and teeth.

And me?

I was the outsider.

A whisper.

A warning.

They stared at me like I was cursed.

Because word had spread.

The girl marked by the moon.

The one carrying the child of not one—but three future Alphas.

The cursed Luna.

“She’s the reason war will come,” someone muttered as I passed.

“She should be dead,” said another.

“Kai’s right. She’s dangerous.”

I tried to keep my head down, but it was too late. The rumors had already poisoned the air. They weren’t just scared of me… some of them saw me as an opportunity. A tool.

Or worse… a prize.

We stopped at the center of camp. Fires burned in a circle, and Xavier raised a hand.

“She is under my protection,” he said loud enough for the camp to hear. “Touch her, and you answer to me.”

That shut most of them up.

But not all.

Especially not Kai.

He stood nearby, arms crossed, jaw clenched. His eyes burned into me like daggers. He didn’t like me. I didn’t like him either.

I wasn’t here to make friends.

I was here to survive.

\---

Later, after I was given a small tent near the healer’s, I tried to rest. But sleep didn’t come.

Not when whispers carried through the fabric like ghosts.

“She’s trouble.”

“She’ll bring the crown's wrath.”

“Did you hear? She’s carrying their child.”

My hand pressed to my stomach.

My baby.

Still alive. Still mine.

Still small, like a flutter in my belly.

Was that why Xavier kept me close? Because I was carrying the blood of his enemies?

What did he really want?

\---

That evening, I left my tent to walk near the healer’s tent. I didn’t mean to snoop. I just needed air. But I froze when I heard voices inside.

Xavier’s voice.

“She’s truly pregnant,” he said.

A pause.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

The healer’s voice was soft. “I checked twice. The child’s blood… it’s powerful. Tied to the Alphas.”

My breath caught.

What did he want to do withy child?

Of course he did.

He always knew more than he let on.

“I want her protected,” Xavier said. “Marcus will come for her.”

“She won’t trust you.”

“I don’t need her trust,” he snapped. “I need her alive.”

I backed away, heart pounding.

So this was all just strategy?

Of course it was.

Xavier was a devil dressed like a king. He didn’t care about me. Only what I could give him.

I turned to leave—

“Come from your hiding place.”

His voice was behind me now.

Damn it.

I stepped out from behind the tree, chin high. “I wasn’t hiding.”

“You’re not a very good liar.”

I shrugged. “Never had the luxury of lying. People like me get punished for it.”

He walked toward me slowly, arms crossed. “You heard?”

“Enough,” I said.

We stared at each other. The wind pulled at my hair, my cloak.

“What do you want from me?” I asked.

His eyes didn’t move. “I can give you Protection.”

“Why?”

“For the child.”

“Why?” I pushed again, louder this time.

He paused. Then—he stepped closer. Close enough that I could see the scar near his jaw. One I hadn’t noticed before.

“Because Marcus wants to bury every secret he ever created,” Xavier said. “And that baby inside you? It’s a secret that could burn him alive.”

I swallowed. “And the triplets?”

“They won’t save you. They can’t. And they’d never choose you over their kingdom.”

I wanted to scream.

He was wrong.

He was right.

All at once.

“You’re using me,” I whispered.

He didn’t deny it.

Instead, he said, “You’ll be safer here than anywhere else. But if you run… if they find you alone… you’ll die, Serena.”

I stepped back. “You don’t get to control me.”

“I’m not trying to.” His voice dropped. “But I am offering you a choice.”

“A choice,” I repeated bitterly. “Between what? Being your pawn or their corpse?”

He flinched.

Just barely.

But I saw it.

For a moment, the devil cracked.

And something more human peeked through.

I turned away.

\---

That night, I packed the little food I'd stolen.

My hands shook as I tucked the water flask and fur wrap into a sack. I’d waited until the camp went quiet. Until even the night sentries seemed more distracted than alert.

I couldn’t stay here.

I didn’t belong.

Xavier was dangerous. Kai hated me. And the others? They’d sell me to the highest bidder.

I couldn’t risk it—not with a life growing inside me.

I pulled on boots, fastened my cloak, and slipped out of the tent.

The camp was dark. Most fires were low. I moved quickly, keeping to the shadows.

Step by step.

Don’t look back.

Just run.

The forest was thicker here. The trees taller, like claws reaching for the stars. The cold cut through my cloak, but I kept going.

My breath puffed in clouds.

Almost there.

Almost—

A growl.

I froze.

Not a rogue growl.

Not wild.

This one was trained.

Precise.

And close.

I turned slowly, heart hammering.

From the trees stepped three figures.

Wolves.

Not just any wolves.

They wore black armor and silver crests.

Moonstone.

The royal trackers.

My blood turned to ice.

They found me.

“Target confirmed,” one of them said.

“She’s marked,” said another. “And pregnant.”

The third wolf grinned. “Orders were to kill quietly.”

I backed up.

“No,” I breathed. “Please—”

One lunged.

I ran.

Branches whipped my face. Thorns tore at my cloak. My legs burned, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

I had to live.

For my baby.

I had to—

Another growl, right behind me.

I slipped, crashing to the ground.

Pain exploded in my knee.

I tried to crawl, but something heavy landed in front of me.

The tracker.

He shifted halfway, his face now human but twisted in a cruel smile.

“Should’ve stayed in your cage, little Luna.”

He raised his claws—

And then—

A roar.

Louder than thunder.

A black blur crashed into the tracker, sending him flying into a tree.

Another figure landed beside me.

Xavier.

His eyes were glowing red.

Fangs bared.

He didn’t look human.

He looked like death.