Chapter 35 CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Chapter 35 CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Hellen’s POV

The dawn crept in slowly, tinted with a gray that bled through the curtains like smoke. The air was heavy, still, charged with something I couldn’t name, something that felt like a storm waiting to break. I could feel it pulsing through the bond… the anger, the betrayal, the restraint.

Matt.

His emotions thundered in my chest even though I wasn’t near him. That wild, raw energy that always clung to his presence is now sharper, darker. He’d found the note. I knew it before my mind even caught up. He knew the truth, or at least part of it, and the thought made my pulse race.
I rose from the bed quietly, my bare feet brushing against the cold marble floor. My strength had returned; every muscle felt alive, responsive, vibrating with power I hadn’t felt in months. But with that power came fear, not of myself, but of what he might do if he let his rage take over.
I reached out mentally, calling through the bond, “Matt…”

No response. Just a solid wall of silence. His defenses were up; he built them when he was on the edge of something dangerous.
I exhaled shakily. “Don’t do something stupid,” I muttered to myself, slipping on my cloak before stepping into the corridor. The morning guards bowed as I passed, confusion flickering in their eyes. They hadn’t seen me walk like this in months, ot weak, not limping, but with purpose.
The entire packhouse felt… different. Uneasy. Whispers followed me, fragments of words like ‘Alpha’s temper’ and ‘Luna’s return.’
The garden was quiet, shrouded in mist. Dew clung to the petals of the moonflowers, glimmering faintly as I walked past. That’s when I heard it, two voices behind the stone arch.
Laura.

And the healer.
I froze, sinking behind the fountain, my breath shallow.
“He knows,” Laura hissed, her tone sharp. “The Alpha’s found something. He’s been in the archives. If he connects it to us...”
“He won’t,” the healer snapped. “Not if we act now. The Luna’s alive because of you hesitating. You should’ve finished her when you had the chance.”
My wolf growled low inside me, her voice echoing through my skull. “They dare speak of ending us.”
Laura’s voice trembled. “We need to take him out before he acts. He’ll destroy everything we’ve built if he learns the truth.”
“He’s too strong for a clean kill,” the healer warned. “We’ll need to weaken him first, the same way we did her.”
The same way...

My heart stopped for a second. The poison. The enchantment. They were planning to use it again, this time on him.
A surge of fury roared through me, my wolf clawing to the surface. My hands trembled as my vision flickered, colors fading into a silver tone, and my eyes glowed faintly. The shift wanted to happen; the power beneath my skin wanted to tear free and rip them both apart.
Not yet, I told her. Not here. Not until we know everything.

My wolf reluctantly retreated, but the air around me trembled, humming with energy.
I returned to my chambers only briefly, enough to change into something darker, something that didn’t scream fragile Luna. When I looked in the mirror, I barely recognized the woman staring back. My hair fell freely around my shoulders, my skin pale but radiant, and my eyes… my eyes were no longer dull. They burned.
I wasn’t the same woman who had collapsed weeks ago, choking on the healer’s herbs. I wasn’t the Luna begging for air.

I was the storm that survived.
When I stepped into the main hall, silence followed. Conversations froze. Wolves bowed instinctively, the weight of my regained aura pressing against them. The guards exchanged uneasy looks, some in awe, some in fear.
“Where’s the Alpha?” I asked.
Paul stepped forward from the corner, his expression both relieved and cautious. “He’s been in the war chamber since dawn. He hasn’t eaten. Hasn’t slept.”
“He knows,” I said quietly.
Paul nodded. “He found something. And Hellen… whatever it is, it’s tearing him apart.”
“I need to see him.”
He hesitated. “Be careful. His temper’s worse than I’ve ever seen.”

A faint smile curved my lips. “I’m not afraid of Matt.”
The war chamber smelled of smoke and tension. The heavy oak doors creaked as I entered, and I found him standing by the window, his back to me, the morning light casting his silhouette in silver. His hands were braced against the table, muscles taut, shoulders rigid.
I didn’t speak at first. I just watched him, he man who carried the world like it was his punishment.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said finally, voice low, gravelly. “You should be resting.”
“I’ve done enough resting,” I said softly, stepping closer. “You read the note.”
His head turned slightly, just enough for me to see the glint of fury in his eyes. “I did.”

Silence stretched between us, sharp and heavy.
“They poisoned you,” he said, his voice trembling with barely contained rage. “They stood beside you, treated you, and they poisoned you.”
I took a step forward. “And now they plan to do the same to you.”

His gaze snapped to mine. “What?”
“I heard them this morning. Laura and the healer. They want to end you before you act.”
His jaw tightened, his breath coming heavier. “Let them try.”
I moved closer, my hand brushing against the edge of the table. “You’re angry. I understand that. But you can’t go after them unthinkingly. That’s what they want for you to lose control.”

He turned fully then, and the sight of him made my chest tighten. His eyes burned not with Alpha authority, but with pain. His veins were visible along his neck, his fists trembling from the effort to stay calm.
“I’ve been blind long enough,” he said. “While they touched my Luna. While they fed you poison and smiled in my presence.”

His words cracked something inside me. I wanted to tell him I was fine, that I was stronger now, but the truth stuck in my throat.
Instead, I whispered, “Then let me stand beside you this time.”
As if he had at me as if he didn’t believe it, as if the idea of me fighting again was something sacred and dangerous. His voice softened, almost breaking. “You’ve already suffered enough.”
“So have you,” I replied. “But we’re not broken, Matt. Not anymore.”
Our eyes locked, and for the first time in what felt like forever, the air between us changed. The silence wasn’t painful anymore; it was magnetic. His anger melted into something raw, unspoken, familiar.

He took a step closer. I felt the warmth radiating from his body, the quiet tremor of restraint in every breath. My wolf purred inside me, sensing his.
He reached up, his fingers brushing a loose strand of hair from my face. “I thought I’d lost you,” he murmured.
“You almost did,” I whispered. “But now, they’ll lose us both before I let them take you.”
The tension between us was a heartbeat away from snapping when a sharp, echoing howl shattered the moment.
We both froze.

Paul burst through the doors, his face pale. “It’s Laura,” he gasped. “She’s gone and the healer too.”
Matt’s expression shifted instantly, fury replacing softness. “Gone?”
“They escaped through the eastern corridor,” Paul said breathlessly. “Guards found blood near the potion chamber. One of the apprentices is missing, too.”

I felt my stomach twist. They were covering tracks and running toward something.
But before we could react, the floor beneath us trembled, and the crack of glass followed a deep, resounding boom.
Matt turned sharply toward the window, and we all saw the smoke rising from the western border. The training ground. The place where our youngest wolves lived.

Matt’s hand tightened into a fist, his voice low, dangerous. “She didn’t run.”
I looked at him, my pulse pounding. “What do you mean?”
He turned, eyes blazing. “She started the war.”