Chapter 145 The Moon’s Hunger
The sanctuary was cold, but my skin was burning. The air smelled of old paper and the thick, oily ink from the well. Above us, the ceiling groaned under the weight of the beasts.
The Alpha was digging.
He was coming for his prize.
Evan stood before me. He looked like a man torn between two worlds. His eyes were a deep, glowing amber. He held his hand out, and I could see the struggle in his face. He didn't want to hurt me. He wanted to save me from a fate worse than death.
"Mark me, Evan," I repeated. My voice didn't shake this time.
He moved faster than I could see. One second he was a foot away, and the next, he was pressing me against the stone table. His body was a wall of heat. I felt the rough fabric of his shirt against my palms. I felt the strength in his arms.
"I won't be able to take it back, Cassia," he whispered against my neck. "Once the fever starts, you belong to the moon. You'll feel the hunger. You'll feel the pull of the pack."
"I already belong to you," I said. "That’s the only pull I care about."
He let out a low, pained sound. It was half-sob, half-growl. Then, he tilted my head to the side. I felt his breath, hot and ragged, against my pulse.
"I love you," he breathed.
Then, he bit.
It wasn't a sharp pain. It was a jolt of electricity that shot through my entire body. My back arched against the table. I saw white light, then red, then a deep, pulsing violet. I didn't scream. I couldn't. All the air had left my lungs.
Suddenly, I wasn't just in the room. I was inside Evan’s head.
I felt his fear. I felt his fierce, protective love. I felt the rhythm of his heart, and it matched mine perfectly. It was like two songs merging into one melody. I saw memories that weren't mine, a dark forest, a silver violin, and the face of a man who looked like Evan but wore a crown of thorns.
Then, the connection snapped.
I fell back against the stone, gasping. My neck stung, but the heat was spreading. It moved down my arms and into my chest. My vision sharpened. I could see the dust motes dancing in the green light of the lanterns. I could hear the heartbeat of a mouse hiding behind the books.
I could hear the Alpha’s breath through the ceiling.
"Cassia?" Evan asked. He looked terrified of what he had done. He reached out to touch the mark on my neck.
I caught his hand. My grip was stronger now. Much stronger. "I’m here, Evan. I’m okay."
"The fever," he said, searching my eyes. "Can you feel it?"
"It’s... it’s like a fire," I said. "But it doesn't burn. It glows."
A massive crash echoed through the room. The ceiling finally gave way. Stones and dirt rained down on the library. A cloud of dust filled the air.
Through the haze, a figure descended.
He didn't fall. He landed on his feet like a cat. He was tall, dressed in a black suit that looked out of place in the dirt. He had silver hair swept back from a face that was sharp and handsome, but his eyes were a cold, dead yellow.
He looked at the map on the table. Then he looked at us.
"Henry’s daughter," the man said. His voice was smooth, like expensive wine. "And the little songbird he kept in the attic. I see you’ve been busy."
"Julian?" I gasped.
The lawyer from the Board smiled. But it wasn't a human smile. His teeth were too white, too straight, and his incisors were just a little too long.
"The Board is just a name, Cassia," Julian said. "The Pack is the reality. And I am the one who leads it. Your father promised me a bride who could carry the pure strain. He promised me a Marlowe."
He stepped closer, his eyes fixed on my neck. His smile vanished. His face twisted into a mask of pure rage.
"You bit her," Julian hissed, looking at Evan. "You marked the vessel. You tainted the bloodline with your common filth."
"She’s mine," Evan said. He stepped in front of me, the silver-tipped spear held ready. "She was never yours to take."
Julian let out a sound that wasn't a growl, it was a scream of fury. He didn't transform into a beast. He didn't need to. His shadow grew against the wall, stretching into the shape of a giant wolf even as his human form stayed still.
"I will rip the throat out of the man who touched what is mine," Julian said. "And then I will bleed the girl dry and start again with the next one."
"There is no next one!" I shouted. I grabbed a heavy book from the table and threw it at the lanterns.
The glass shattered. The green light flared, then died. The room went pitch black.
But I could see.
In the dark, Julian was a glowing silhouette of anger. Evan was a steady flame of gold. I felt a surge of energy in my legs. I felt the urge to run, to hunt, to fight.
"Together," I whispered to Evan.
"Together," he replied.
We moved as one. I didn't need to think. I knew exactly where Evan was going. He lunged with the spear, a silver streak in the dark. Julian swiped at him with claws that appeared from his fingertips.
I didn't stay behind. I jumped onto the table and launched myself at Julian’s back. I wasn't a fighter, but the fever knew what to do. My nails dug into his expensive coat. I bit into his shoulder, tasting the bitter, metallic tang of his blood.
Julian roared, throwing me off. I hit the stone wall, but I didn't feel the pain. I bounced back to my feet.
Evan was holding his own, but Julian was faster. The Alpha was a master of his strength. He caught the shaft of the spear and snapped it like a dry twig. He backhanded Evan, sending him flying into a shelf of books.
"Evan!" I screamed.
Julian turned to me. He was breathing hard. The shadow behind him was thrashing. "Now, little bride. Let’s see how much of that common blood is in your veins."
He reached for me, but he stopped.
He looked down at his chest.
A small, silver needle was sticking out of his heart.
I looked at the table. My mother’s diary was open. A secret compartment had popped out when the table was struck. Inside were dozens of silver needles, tipped with a clear, shimmering liquid.
"The poison," I whispered. "The one he didn't expect."
Julian gasped. He tried to pull the needle out, but his hands were shaking. The yellow light in his eyes began to fade. He slumped to his knees, his skin turning a sickly grey.
"Henry... you traitor..." Julian wheezed.
He fell forward, hitting the stone floor with a dull thud. He didn't move again. The shadow on the wall vanished.
I ran to Evan. He was buried under a pile of books. I pulled them off him, my heart pounding against my ribs.
"Evan! Talk to me!"
He opened his eyes. He looked dazed, but he was breathing. He looked at Julian’s body, then at me. He reached up and touched the mark on my neck. It was glowing a soft, warm violet.
"Is it over?" he asked.
"For now," I said.
But then, the sound of howling returned. It wasn't just one wolf. It was dozens. They were surrounding the well. They weren't mourning Julian. They were calling for a new leader.
Evan stood up, leaning on me. He looked at the silver needles on the table. Then he looked at the hole in the ceiling.
"The pack doesn't have an Alpha anymore," Evan said. "They’re confused. They’re hungry. And they know we’re down here."
"What do we do?" I asked.
Evan picked up the remaining silver needles. He looked at me with a look of pure, heartbreaking love.
"We give them what they want, Cassia. We give them a leader who won't put collars on them."
He handed me a needle.
"But to do that, we have to go out there. And we have to show them that a Marlowe and a Cole are stronger than the Board."
I looked at the needle. I looked at the dark ink still bubbling in the well. I felt the fever in my blood, the connection to the man beside me, and the weight of the secrets in the room.
"Evan," I said. "If we do this... can we still have that family? In the sun?"
Evan looked at the hole in the roof, where the first hint of grey light was touching the sky.
"The sun is coming, Cass. But first, we have to survive the dawn."
As we climbed toward the surface, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. It wasn't hunger. It was something else. A movement. A tiny, pulsing heat that felt like a third heartbeat in the room.
I looked at Evan, but he hadn't noticed. He was focused on the wolves above.
"Evan," I whispered, stopping on the ladder. "I think the fever isn't the only thing you gave me tonight."
Before he could answer, a giant shadow blocked the light from the well. A new beast, larger than Julian, peered down at us. But it wasn't a wolf. It was Mrs. Higgins, and she was holding a heavy iron key.
"The Board is coming with the silver bullets!" she screamed. "If you're going to run, you do it now!"
Who is the new heartbeat inside Cassia, and can they reach the safety of the mountains before the Board wipes out the entire valley?