Chapter 40: Shadows Beneath the Moon

Chapter 40: Shadows Beneath the Moon

Ella’s POV

I didn’t sleep, The noise outside went on for hours; guards shouting, hounds snarling, the sharp ring of steel against stone. Every sound made me flinch, every shadow on my wall felt like him. Darius.

By the time silence fell again, the moon had slipped behind the clouds, leaving everything cold and hollow.

I couldn’t stop seeing Alex’s blood on my hands. It had soaked into my skin, into the thin fabric of my dress, a crimson memory that refused to fade.

I told myself to stay. To wait. To do what he asked.
But I couldn’t.

Not when I didn’t know if he was still alive.
I wrapped a cloak around my shoulders and slipped out the door before dawn. The corridors were still, heavy with the scent of smoke and iron. No one stopped me. No one even looked up. The guards were gathered near the main gates, arguing in low, tense voices. I caught fragments as I passed.

“Darius’s mark.”
“The Alpha’s son barely made it.”
“Council wants silence until sunrise.”

My heart clenched. Barely made it.

I hurried faster, out through the eastern archway, across the frost-streaked courtyard. The first light of morning was creeping over the trees, pale and ghostly. Every breath burned cold.

And then I saw him.
Alex was where I left him, half-hidden by the wall near the training grounds, slumped against the stones like his body had given up. Someone had cleaned the worst of the blood, but his shirt was still torn, his knuckles split, his jaw bruised.

He looked… different.
Weaker, somehow. But still burning.

“Alex,” I whispered, falling to my knees beside him.

His eyes flickered open slowly, gold bleeding back to gray. “You shouldn’t be here.”

I swallowed hard. “You said that last night.”

“And you didn’t listen then, either.”

“I never do.”

Something faint, almost a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You should’ve run, Ella.”

“I did. Back to you.”

He breathed out, a low sound that could’ve been a laugh if it hadn’t ended in pain. “You don’t make things easy.”

“Neither do you.” I brushed damp hair from his forehead, my fingers trembling. “They said you barely made it.”

“I’ve had worse.”

“Don’t lie to me.”
He didn’t answer. His breathing was shallow, uneven. His wolf was still close, I could feel it under his skin, restless and snarling.

“What did he want?” I asked quietly.

“Darius?” His gaze hardened. “He wanted to remind me that he’s not done. That I’ll never be rid of him.”

A chill slid through me. “He’ll come back.”

He nodded slowly. “And when he does, I’ll be ready.”

“No, Alex.” My voice cracked. “You’re not ready. You’re bleeding and broken, and you can barely stand—”

“I’ve been worse,” he said again, cutting me off.

I bit back a curse. “You think this is strength? Getting yourself killed to prove something?”

He looked at me then, and I saw it; the grief, the rage, the weight of everything he carried. “He killed my parents, Ella. I’ve waited years for this fight. You don’t understand what that means.”

“I do,” I whispered. “Because he’s after me now too.”

That made him pause. His eyes softened just slightly. “He won’t get you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do,” he said, voice rough. “Because I’ll burn the whole damn academy before I let him touch you again.”

My breath caught. He meant it. Every word.

For a long moment, we just sat there in silence, the dawn creeping slowly over the stones, painting his skin in faint light. His wounds looked worse now, darker in the new sun.

I reached for him again, but he caught my wrist gently. “You should go before someone sees you here.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“You don’t have a choice,” he murmured. “If the council learns what happened, they’ll start asking why you were with me. They’ll remember whose daughter you’re supposed to be.”

I flinched. Lyra.

The name still felt like a curse.

“I hate this,” I whispered. “Living as someone I’m not.”

“I know.” His hand fell away. “But for now, it’s the only thing keeping you alive.”

My throat burned. “And what about you?”

He leaned back against the wall, eyes closing. “I’ll live. Somehow.”

A lie. But I didn’t argue.

Instead, I tore a strip from my cloak and pressed it against his side, ignoring his hiss of pain. “You’ll live because I’m not letting you die for me. Not again.”

He opened his eyes, meeting mine. For the first time in hours, they weren’t full of rage. Just exhaustion. And something else. Something fragile.

“You’re shaking,” he murmured.

“So are you.”

We stayed like that for a while, the world waking slowly around us; the guards’ voices rising, the sound of hooves in the distance, the sharp call of the morning bell.

When it rang, I knew what it meant.
The council was gathering.
Darius’s name would be whispered behind closed doors. And somewhere in those whispers, so would mine.

Alex reached for my hand weakly. “If anything happens… if they come for you, run to the forest. The river path.”

“Why?”

“There’s a clearing past the ridge,” he said, voice fading. “Old ruins. I’ll find you there.”

“You’re not in any condition to—”

“I’ll find you.” His grip tightened, just for a second. “Promise me, Ella.”

The look in his eyes left no room for argument.

I nodded slowly. “I promise.”

He let go then, his body slumping against the wall again, breath shallow. I wanted to stay, to fight whoever came but I could already hear boots echoing through the courtyard.

So I did the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
I left him.

As I slipped through the side gate, the sun broke fully over the horizon, spilling light across the blood-stained stones.

Somewhere behind me, Alex was still breathing.
And somewhere beyond the walls, Darius was waiting.

But for the first time, I wasn’t just afraid.
I was ready.