Chapter 55: A Plea from the Past

Claire’s POV

The message arrived at dawn.

I was barely awake, my muscles sore from the relentless training sessions with Redwater’s warriors. Sleep had been restless, my mind a battlefield of its own, torn between thoughts of Derek and the looming war with Midnight Moon.

Exhaustion, however, disappeared the instant the scout arrived in my quarters with a small, rolled-up piece of parchment that bore Jared's seal.

My stomach turned to knots as I gazed at the message in his hands.

"Who delivered it?" My fingers clenched at my sides, but my voice remained steady.

"A rogue near the border," mentioned the scout, who was a young wolf named Finn. "He claimed that it was just for you. Nobody else.

I reached for it after hesitating. The parchment was a little crumpled, as though it had been quite a journey, but the wax seal was visible. Jared's emblem—the crest of the Midnight Moon.

"Did he say anything else?" Still not opening it, I asked.

Finn paused. "He said… Jared is desperate."

That made my spine tingle.

Despite his many traits—controlling, manipulative, and stubborn—Jared was never in a desperate situation. Always calculating, he was sure that things would work out for him.

Something had changed if this was the message he was sending.

Before I could respond further, Derek came into the room, his piercing eyes darting to the parchment in my hands.

He assumed it was "Jared?"

I gave a nod.

For a moment, there was only silence. Then Derek exhaled, folding his arms. "Read it."

I carefully unrolled the parchment while glancing at the words in Jared's distinctive handwriting.

**Claire,**

**You might not believe me, but this is not a trap. I am not writing to manipulate you, nor to deceive you.**

**I am writing because I have no other choice.**

**Midnight Moon is not what it once was. Lila has taken control, turning my people against me. They believe her lies, her promises of power, of dominance. She has convinced them that Redwater must be destroyed, that you are the key to that destruction.**

**I tried to stop her. She’s too far gone.**

**And now, I am running out of time.**

**Please, Claire. Come back. I can’t do this without you.**

**If there is even a part of you that still cares—if there is any part of you that still remembers what we once were—help me stop her. Before it’s too late.**

**Jared.**

I stared at the letter, my breath catching.

This wasn't an order. Jared wasn't attempting to take back what he believed to be his.

It was an appeal.

And I was more afraid of that than anything else.

Derek's voice broke the stillness. "No."

I tightened my fingers around the parchment as I looked up. "You don’t even know what I’m thinking."

"I don’t have to." His eyes were unreadable and dark. "If you’re even considering going back to him—"

"I’m not," I spoke more quickly than I could have imagined.

I wasn't.

However, it didn't stop me from feeling shaken.

Because I had never seen Jared weak, despite all of his cruelty and the suffering he had caused me. I had never witnessed him pleading.

And he was now.

"Claire," Derek's voice grew a little softer. "This could be a trick."

"I know."

"Then forget about it."

"I can’t."

With a sharp exhale, he combed through his hair. "Of course, you can’t."

With a dry throat, I swallowed. Jared is telling the truth. Not about this.

"You don’t know that."

"Yes, I do." I displayed the letter. "It's not only about me. Now Lila is in charge. She's planning something bigger than we anticipated, if what he says is accurate."

Derek's jaw tensed, but he remained silent. He was aware of my correctness.

It had been too long since Midnight Moon had spoken. Even though we had prepared for war, we were still unsure of its exact timing and method. We might be closer to an attack than we thought if Lila was inciting Jared's pack to turn against him.

"What are you thinking?" After a long pause, Derek asked.

I was hesitant to respond. We must take action pbeforeLila. She will act quickly if she is using Jared to mobilize the rest of Midnight Moon. We must be prepared.

"We are ready."

"No." I gave a headshake. "We have been getting ready to fight Midnight Moon. What if we're mistaken, though? What if Lila herself is the true adversary rather than the pack?

Derek's face grew serious.

"If that’s the case, then we need to know exactly what she’s planning."

My heart thumping, I looked into his eyes. "We need a spy inside Midnight Moon."

There was a thick silence in the room.

Derek was not fond of it. I could see it in his eyes, in the flicker of resistance, in the tension in his shoulders.

He was aware that it was the only option, though.

Finally, "Absolutely not," he said.

I scowled. "Derek—"

"Claire, you're not going back there. What Jared wrote doesn't matter to me. No matter how desperate he is, I don't care. I won't allow you to enter that deadly trap."

"Then we send someone else."

He let out a sigh, clearly frustrated. "No one else knows Midnight Moon like you do."

I firmly stated, "Then we find another way," However, we cannot overlook this. Prior to it being too late, we must ascertain whether Lila is planning anything.

Derek looked at me for a long time, then nodded. "We’ll discuss it with the others."

I returned the nod, but the apprehension in my stomach persisted.

Because one thing was obvious regardless of what we did.

Lila was on her way.

And she would not give up until she achieved her goals.

But before I could think about it any longer, there was a loud knock.

Both Derek and I turned, our bodies tensing at once.

Nolan, one of the fighters, stood in the doorway, his face white.

When he said, "You need to come outside," "Now."

I got a shiver from something in his voice.

I looked at Derek, and then we moved.

The chilly morning air slapped me as soon as we were outside. Already, warriors were congregating close to the main gates, muttering incoherently.

Then I noticed it.

My throat tightened with breath.

Like a warning, strung up and hanging from the gate—

Was the outlaw who had brought Jared's message to him.

He had a ripped throat and a limp body.

And carved so deeply into his chest that the blood had dried long ago—

"You were warned."

I took a deep breath, my heart thumping.

Derek grounded me with a sudden hand at my back. His voice, however, was tight with barely contained rage.

"Looks like Lila got our message first."

With my nails digging into my palms, I took a deep swallow.

It wasn't merely a warning.

It was a pledge.

A pledge that time was already running out.

But the real question was—

Had we ever stood a chance at stopping her?