Chapter 29: Shadows Within
“That’s him,” I repeated, my voice stronger this time despite the trembling in my legs. “I know it. He’s the one who knocked me out.”
Every eye turned toward me. The weight of their stares pressed against my skin, but I couldn’t look away from the kneeling man. His face was burned into my memory now, pulling at something deep in my mind that had been locked away for almost a year.
Dad’s grip on the man’s neck tightened until he made a choking sound. When Dad spoke, his voice carried an edge I’d rarely heard before.
“Is what my daughter says true?”
The man’s lips pressed together in stubborn silence.
The glow in Dad’s eyes flared brilliant blue again, the Moonheart Crystal’s power surging through him. His Alpha presence filled the air so thick I could almost taste it, a physical weight that made even the surrounding warriors take an involuntary step back.
“Answer me.” The command in his voice wasn’t just words. It was compulsion given form, backed by both his natural Alpha authority and the Crystal’s ancient power.
The man’s body went rigid. I watched him fight against the order, every muscle straining with effort to resist. But the combined force of Alpha command and Moonheart enhancement was too much.
His body shook violently, fighting the command with everything he had. Sweat poured down his face as he struggled.
“Your name,” Dad said, going for an easier question while the blue glow intensified. “Tell me your name.”
“G-Garrett,” he finally gasped out, the name torn from his throat against his will.
Lucian’s sharp intake of breath drew my attention. He stared at Dad with something like wonder written across his gentle features, completely fascinated by the display of power he was witnessing.
When I looked at Marcus, expecting to see the same amazement, I found him staring at the ground instead. His jaw was clenched tight, refusing to meet my eyes despite knowing I was looking at him.
Confusion twisted in my gut. Why was he avoiding me? What was wrong now?
More warriors had gathered around us now, forming a tight circle that kept the curious at bay while giving Dad space to work. Thomas stood at Dad’s right shoulder, his face grim as he watched the interrogation unfold.
“Do you recognize this woman?” Dad gestured toward me with his free hand, his Alpha power still pressing down on Garrett like a physical weight.
I saw Garrett struggle again, his face contorting with the effort of fighting the compulsion. But the command was too strong, the Crystal’s enhancement making resistance impossible.
“Yes.” The word came out strangled.
Gasps rippled through the surrounding warriors. Finally, after almost a year of dead ends and unanswered questions, we had confirmation. Proof that my attack hadn’t been random, that someone had deliberately targeted me.
“Why?” Dad’s voice dropped to something dangerous and quiet. “Why did you attack my daughter?”
Garrett’s face twisted further. Blood vessels burst in his eyes from the strain of fighting Dad’s command. When he finally spoke, the words seemed pulled from the depths of his soul.
“Because he ordered it.”
“Who ordered it?” Dad leaned closer, his Alpha power pressing harder. “Give me a name.”
But something changed in Garrett’s expression. His eyes shifted, tracking movement somewhere behind us. I turned to follow his gaze, trying to see what had caught his attention.
All I saw was Mom standing with Fiona in the protective cluster of Shadow Pack warriors.
What was he looking at?
When I looked back at Garrett, his face had gone blank. The fear that had been there moments before was replaced by something else entirely. Resignation mixed with grim satisfaction.
“I won’t answer any more questions,” he said flatly, no longer fighting against Dad’s compulsion. Just refusing to do so. “You don’t know the horror of the one who sent me. You have no idea how far his influence spreads here.”
A cold smile curved his lips. “He’s already here. Already among you.”
Dad’s fist connected with Garrett’s temple before anyone could react. The sharp crack echoed across the clearing, and Garrett’s body went limp in Dad’s grip.
“Bastard,” Dad spat, breathing hard. The blue glow in his eyes flickered and faded, first returning to the gold of his Alpha wolf, then back to normal hazel. The Moonheart’s enhancement had run its course, leaving him looking exhausted but still furious.
Thomas caught Garrett’s unconscious form before he could hit the ground. “What do you want us to do with him?”
“Lock him up. Post guards.” Dad ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “We’ll try again when he wakes up.”
But I couldn’t stop thinking about Garrett’s final words. Already among you. Already here. The conspiracy had infiltrated deeper than any of us had realized.
And that look he’d given toward Mom and Fiona’s direction… what did it mean? Was he looking at someone specific? Or just trying to throw us off?
I pushed the questions aside and moved through the crowd of warriors. Each step sent fire up my leg from my injured ankle, but I gritted my teeth and kept moving.
That’s when I saw her.
Roslyn sat on the ground near where Mom and Fiona stood, cradling her arm against her chest. Even from a distance, I could see blood seeping between her fingers.
Guilt hit me like a fist to the stomach. How had I not noticed Roslyn was hurt? How had I completely forgotten about her in the chaos of searching for my family?
I hobbled toward where my family stood, my ankle protesting with every step.
“Roslyn!” I dropped to my knees beside her, ignoring the protests from my ankle. “Let me see.”
She tried to wave me off with her good hand. “Miss Chloe, I’m fine. Just some scratches.”
“That’s not just scratches.” I gently pulled her hand away, revealing four deep claw marks running down her forearm. Blood welled up fresh from the wounds. “When did this happen?”
“During the attack. One of those mad wolves cornered me.” Roslyn’s voice was steady despite the obvious pain. “I tried to run, but it caught my arm.”
The guilt twisted deeper. While I’d been safe in the protective circle of warriors, Roslyn had been fighting for her life.
I tore a strip from the bottom of my already ruined festival dress, the blue fabric coming away easily. My hands shook as I wrapped the makeshift bandage around Roslyn’s arm, trying to be gentle despite knowing it must hurt.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. “I should have checked on you sooner.”
“Don’t be silly.” Roslyn managed a small smile despite her injury. “You were looking for your family. That’s normal.”
“It’s deep,” Fiona said, kneeling beside us. Her eyes were wide with concern as she examined the wound. “She needs proper medical attention. Those claw marks could get infected.”
“I’ll get Meredith,” I started to stand, but Roslyn caught my hand.
“Later. The healers have worse injuries to deal with right now.” Her voice was firm despite the pain lines around her eyes. “This can wait.”
I wanted to argue, but she was right. I’d seen the bodies on the festival grounds. People with injuries far worse than claw marks. The healers would be overwhelmed for hours.
Warriors moved through the clearing now, following Dad’s orders. Some spread out searching for any remaining threats or clues. Others began the grim work of sorting through the fallen, separating our pack members from the feral wolves.
The bodies of the feral attackers were dragged into a pile at the far edge of the grounds. Someone had already started building a pyre, the smell of oil and kindling mixing with blood in the night air.
I watched them work, my chest tight with grief for the pack members we’d lost. How many had died tonight? How many families were about to discover their loved ones weren’t coming home?
Dad stood nearby, giving orders in a voice that brooked no argument. His formal clothes were torn and bloodstained, his face lined with exhaustion that went beyond physical tiredness.
“Count the dead,” he was saying to Thomas. “Both ours and theirs. I want numbers before dawn.”
“And the prisoner?” Thomas asked.
“Maximum security. Triple the usual guard rotation.” Dad’s jaw was tight. “If anyone comes near that cell who isn’t authorized, I want to know immediately.”
I pushed myself to my feet, wincing at the pain in my ankle. Marcus stood a short distance away, surrounded by his Shadow Pack warriors. They were checking each other for injuries, tending to minor wounds with the efficiency of people who’d done this many times before.
When I approached, the warriors stepped aside to let me through. Marcus looked up at the sound of my uneven footsteps, and something flickered across his face before he could hide it.
Guilt.
“What’s your problem?” The words came out harsher than I’d meant them to.
Marcus’s grey eyes finally met mine, and the pain I saw there made my chest ache. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For putting your life in danger with that stupid stunt of mine.” His voice was rough, like each word cost him something. “That love confession in the middle of a crisis, making you a target when you should have been somewhere safe. I was being selfish and reckless, and you almost died because of it.”
“I survived,” I started, but something made me add, “Thanks to Lucian.”
Marcus’s entire body went rigid. His face tightened, jaw clenching so hard I heard his teeth grind. For a moment, I thought he might say something, but he swallowed whatever response had been building.
“I’m glad he was there,” Marcus said instead, the words clearly costing him. “I need to check on my people. Make sure everyone’s accounted for.”
He turned away before I could respond, leaving me standing there confused and frustrated. What had just happened? Why did mentioning Lucian’s rescue make him react like that?
“Chloe?”
I turned to find Fiona approaching, her festival dress as ruined as mine. But something about the way she looked at me made me pause.
That expression on her face. I’d seen it before.
It was the same look she’d given me when she was jealous about Lucian. That mixture of hurt and longing and something else I couldn’t quite name.
But that made no sense. What did Fiona have to be jealous about now? Lucian had saved my life, nothing more.
“Are you okay?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“I’m fine. Just confused about everything.”
“That makes two of us.” She linked her arm through mine, supporting some of my weight. “Come on. Let’s get you inside. You need to rest that ankle.”
\----
My bedroom felt too quiet after the chaos of the festival grounds. Someone had lit candles while I was gone, casting flickering shadows across familiar walls. Everything looked exactly as I’d left it before the festival, but somehow different. Like the world had shifted slightly and nothing would ever fit quite right again.
I sank onto my bed still wearing my torn and bloodstained dress. The blue fabric that had seemed so pretty hours ago now looked like evidence from a crime scene.
Three pack members dead. I’d overheard Thomas giving Dad the count as we’d passed. Three of our people who’d been laughing and dancing and celebrating life just hours ago. Now they were gone, their bodies being prepared for funeral rites.
How many more would die before we stopped whoever was behind these attacks?
Garrett’s words kept echoing in my mind. “He’s already here. Already among you.”
What did that mean exactly?
I also thought about Marcus’s face when I’d mentioned Lucian saving me flashed through my thoughts. That pain in his grey eyes, the way he’d shut down completely. He’d made that grand declaration of love right before the attack, putting his feelings out there with typical Marcus boldness.
And then he’d been unable to protect me. His wounds had slowed him down, and Lucian had been the one to kill the feral wolf threatening me.
How much must that have hurt his pride? His sense of himself as a protector?
At least his reaction makes sense now.
The candles flickered, casting dancing shadows across my walls. My body ached from the fighting and running and fear. My ankle throbbed with each heartbeat. Exhaustion pulled at me like weights tied to my limbs.
But sleep felt impossible with all these questions spinning through my mind especially as we still didn’t know what these attacks were ultimately trying to accomplish. Were they just meant to destabilize us? Weaken our defenses? Or was there some larger plan we weren’t seeing yet?
Garrett knew. The captured man in our cells right now knew exactly what whoever sent him was planning. He knew who was helping from inside our pack. He knew everything we desperately needed to understand.
And he’d refused to tell us.
Tomorrow, Dad would try again. He’d use every method at his disposal to get answers from Garrett. The Moonheart Crystal’s compulsion, his Alpha authority, whatever it took to break through the man’s resistance.
We had to make him talk. We had to find out who else was involved before more people died.
I didn’t remember lying down, but suddenly I was horizontal on my bed, still wearing my ruined dress. The candles had burned lower, their flames smaller and dimmer. My eyes felt heavy, weighted down by everything that had happened.
Just for a moment, I told myself. I’d just close my eyes for a moment to rest them.
The darkness pulled me under almost instantly.
\-----
Someone was shouting.
The sound dragged me up from dreams I couldn’t remember, my heart already racing before I was fully conscious. Sunlight streamed through my window, bright and harsh after the darkness of sleep.
More shouting, then running footsteps in the corridor outside my room. Something was wrong.
I rolled out of bed, my ankle screaming protest as I put weight on it. The festival dress tangled around my legs, and I nearly fell before catching myself on the bedpost.
The door burst open and Roslyn stumbled in, her arm still wrapped in my makeshift bandage. Her face was pale, eyes wide with shock.
“Miss Chloe,” she gasped before i even questioned her. “The prisoner. Someone killed him during the night.”