Chapter 208: Safe
Lazarus’s POV
I didn’t sleep much.
Not because Nova had kept me awake.
She’d fallen asleep against my chest sometime after midnight, exhausted from finally telling me the truth. Her breathing had eventually evened out, her fingers loosening where they had been curled into my shirt.
I had stayed awake.
Staring into the darkness.
Listening to her breathe.
Thinking about every word she’d said.
The Blood Moon.
The markings.
Her power.
The rejection.
Magnus ordering her out.
And the part that bothered me most—
Nobody had come after her.
Not one person.
Not her parents.
Not Seth.
Not anyone.
I couldn’t understand it.
And the more I thought about it, the less I liked it.
By sunrise, I had made a decision.
I wasn’t going to confront Magnus.
Not yet.
I wasn’t going to accuse Seth.
Not yet.
I was going to find someone who had been there that night.
Someone old enough to remember exactly what happened.
Someone who had nothing to gain from protecting Magnus.
I carefully slipped out of bed.
Nova stirred.
“Where are you going?”
Her voice was thick with sleep.
I looked down at her.
“I’m going to get breakfast.”
She opened one eye.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to cook?”
“I can cook.”
She gave me a sleepy smile.
“That’s concerning.”
I leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“Go back to sleep.”
“Bring me something.”
“I was planning to.”
“Something sweet.”
“I know.”
Her eyes closed again.
I smiled.
For a few seconds, I simply watched her.
Then I left.
Agatha was sitting beneath the old oak when I found her.
She was one of the oldest members of the pack, though she hated being reminded of it.
Her silver hair was braided over one shoulder, and she had a basket of herbs resting beside her. She was sorting through them with the patience of someone who had spent a lifetime doing the same thing.
She didn’t look up when I approached.
“I wondered when you’d come.”
I stopped.
“You knew?”
“I knew you would eventually start asking questions.”
I sat opposite her.
The morning sun filtered through the branches above us, throwing patches of gold across the grass.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I said,
“I want to know what happened the night Nova was banished.”
Agatha’s hands stopped moving.
Her expression changed.
Not dramatically.
But enough.
“You’ve spoken to her.”
“Yes.”
She looked down at the herbs again.
“Then you already know more than most.”
“I know what happened to her.”
I leaned forward.
“But I don’t know why.”
Agatha’s fingers tightened around a small bundle of lavender.
“Those aren’t always the same thing.”
“What does that mean?”
She sighed.
“Your father told his version.”
“My father has never told me anything.”
“Exactly.”
I frowned.
Agatha finally looked at me.
“Lazarus, there are things about that night that your father didn’t want remembered.”
My wolf stirred.
“What things?”
She hesitated.
Then said quietly,
“Your father wasn’t the one who first called for Nova to be banished.”
I froze.
“What?”
Agatha immediately looked away.
I stared at her.
“You just said my father didn’t call for her banishment.”
“I said he wasn’t the first.”
“Who was?”
She shook her head.
“That is not something I should—”
“Agatha.”
My voice sharpened.
She looked at me.
I kept mine controlled.
“I am not asking as your Alpha.”
Her expression softened slightly.
“I’m asking because she’s my mate.”
Agatha stared at me for a long moment.
Then she sighed.
“Some things are better left buried.”
“Not when they concern her.”
She looked toward the forest.
“The night Nova’s power appeared, everyone was frightened.”
“I know.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You don’t.”
She leaned closer.
“Her power didn’t simply appear because she lost control.”
My brow furrowed.
“What are you saying?”
“I am saying she was terrified.”
I stared at her.
“She was being surrounded. Accused. People were shouting at her.”
Agatha’s voice lowered.
“Her wolf was reacting.”
I felt something cold settle in my stomach.
“Then why did they call her evil?”
“Fear makes people cruel.”
She looked down.
“Especially when they don’t understand what they’re seeing.”
I sat back.
“Who told them she was evil?”
Agatha’s eyes flickered toward me.
She didn’t answer.
“Agatha.”
She closed her eyes.
“Ask someone else.”
“Why?”
“Because I have already said too much.”
She began gathering her herbs.
I wasn’t finished.
“One more question.”
She paused.
“Did Seth reject Nova immediately?”
Her hands froze.
There.
That reaction.
I saw it.
“No.”
My heart sank.
“What?”
Agatha looked at me.
“He didn’t.”
I stared at her.
“How long?”
“I don’t remember.”
“You do.”
She looked away.
“Long enough.”
My jaw clenched.
“Long enough for what?”
Agatha’s voice became barely audible.
“For something to happen.”
“What?”
She stood.
“I’ve said enough.”
“Agatha.”
She picked up her basket.
“Ask Rowan.”
Then she walked away.
I remained beneath the tree.
My mind was racing.
Seth hadn’t rejected Nova immediately.
My father hadn’t been the first person to call for her banishment.
And Agatha had been afraid to tell me why.
None of it made sense.
Rowan was easier to find.
He was repairing a section of fencing near the western fields when I approached.
The old warrior glanced at me.
“You spoke to Agatha.”
It wasn’t a question.
“She told me to speak to you.”
Rowan sighed.
“Of course she did.”
I leaned against the fence.
“What happened that night?”
He kept working.
“Nova lost control.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
His hands stopped.
I continued.
“Did she attack anyone?”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
I straightened.
“What?”
Rowan looked at me.
“She didn’t attack anyone.”
“Then why was she banished?”
He looked toward the fields.
“Because people were afraid she might.”
My stomach tightened.
“That’s it?”
“Fear is rarely just one thing.”
I studied him.
“What did Seth do?”
Rowan’s expression changed.
“He loved her.”
I wasn’t expecting that.
“What?”
“He loved her.”
Rowan lowered his voice.
“That was why the rejection was so strange.”
My chest tightened.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were there.”
“I was.”
“Then tell me.”
He shook his head.
“I wasn’t close enough.”
“Agatha said something happened.”
Rowan’s eyes met mine.
“Agatha talks too much.”
“What happened?”
He looked away.
“I don’t know.”
I didn’t believe him.
But before I could press further, he added,
“Ask Seth.”
My jaw tightened.
“I will.”
Rowan looked at me.
“Just be careful.”
“Of what?”
His expression was grim.
“Of assuming you know who the villain is.”
By the time I returned to the cabin, the sun was already high.
Nova was sitting outside with Kilani.
They were laughing.
Actually laughing.
I stopped a few feet away.
Nova looked lighter.
Not completely healed.
Not magically fine.
But lighter.
Kilani said something I couldn’t hear.
Nova burst into laughter.
I found myself smiling.
Then she noticed me.
Her expression softened.
“Lazarus.”
I walked toward her.
She stood.
“Did you eat?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
She studied my face.
Her smile slowly disappeared.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Liar.”
Kilani stood.
“I’ll leave you two.”
She gave me a knowing look before walking toward the garden.
Nova waited until she was gone.
Then looked at me.
“You found something.”
I hesitated.
She noticed.
“What did you find?”
I reached for her hand.
Her fingers slipped into mine.
“I spoke to two elders.”
Her expression became serious.
“And?”
I took a breath.
“They remember the night you were banished differently.”
Nova went completely still.
“What do you mean?”
“Agatha says your power wasn’t an attack.”
Her lips parted.
“She said you were terrified.”
I squeezed her hand.
“Rowan confirmed you didn’t hurt anyone.”
Nova stared at me.
“Then why…”
“I don’t know.”
She swallowed.
I continued.
“But there’s more.”
Her eyes searched mine.
“Seth didn’t reject you immediately.”
Her face changed.
“What?”
“He waited.”
“How long?”
“They wouldn’t say.”
Nova looked away.
Her breathing had become shallow.
I moved closer.
“Nova.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Look at me.”
She did.
“There is something about that night that nobody is telling us.”
Her eyes filled with uncertainty.
“Why?”
“I don’t know yet.”
I brushed my thumb over her knuckles.
“But I’m going to find out.”
She was silent for a long moment.
Then she whispered,
“Lazarus…”
“I know.”
“What if I don’t want to know?”
I pulled her into my arms.
“Then we stop.”
She rested her forehead against my chest.
“But if you do want answers…”
I kissed the top of her head.
“I’ll find them with you.”
She nodded against me.
Neither of us spoke.
For the first time, I wasn’t looking at Nova’s past as something that needed to be forgotten.
I was looking at it as something that had been deliberately buried.
And someone had gone to great lengths to keep it there.
I just didn’t know who.
Yet.