Chapter 71 The Memorial
POV: Luna
The next morning, I wake before dawn.
I couldn't sleep anyway. Every time I close my eyes, I see Miguel's face. Hear his last words.
I slip out of bed quietly, trying not to wake Nova.
But she's already awake.
"Where are you going?" she whispers.
"Moon Circle. I need to... I don't know. Say goodbye properly."
"I'll come with you."
"You don't have to."
"I know."
We dress in silence and head out into the pre-dawn darkness.
When we reach the Moon Circle, I'm surprised to find we're not alone.
Other students are already there. Maybe a dozen of them. All sitting quietly around the memorial stone from last night's ceremony.
They look up when we arrive, and I recognize the expression on their faces.
Grief.
Not just for Miguel. For others.
A girl I recognize from combat class stands when she sees me.
"Luna. We wanted to do something. Something more personal than the official ceremony." She gestures to the stone. "For all the humans we've lost."
I hadn't realized there were others.
But of course there are.
The rogue attacks haven't just affected me.
"May I?" I ask, holding up Miguel's charm bracelet.
"Please."
I walk to the memorial stone and place the bracelet carefully on top. The small moon charm catches the first rays of dawn.
"Miguel," I say quietly. "I'm sorry. For everything. For not being strong enough. For loving you when loving me was dangerous." My voice breaks. "I'll miss you. Always."
I step back, and the girl from combat class moves forward.
"My sister," she says, her voice shaking. "She didn't know about our world. Didn't know what I was. She was attacked last month walking home from work. Wrong place, wrong time."
She places a photo on the stone. A smiling young woman who looks just like her.
"I never got to tell her the truth," the girl continues. "Never got to say goodbye."
Another student steps forward. A boy from the year above me.
"My best friend from elementary school. We grew up together. Human kid who never knew monsters were real." He sets down a worn baseball. "The rogues got him three weeks ago. They said it was an animal attack."
One by one, students come forward.
Each with a story. A name. A memory.
A brother. A cousin. A childhood friend. A neighbor.
All human. All dead. All casualties of a war they never knew existed.
I'm not alone in my grief.
We're all carrying this weight.
Nova squeezes my hand as the stories continue.
Even students I don't know well are here. United by loss. By guilt. By the burden of keeping our world secret even as it destroys the people we love.
When the last person has spoken, we stand in silence.
The sun is fully up now, casting golden light across the Moon Circle.
"I won't let his death be meaningless," I finally say. "Miguel didn't know about any of this. He was innocent. And he died because I loved him." I look at the others. "But he's not the only innocent who's died. And if we don't stop whoever's doing this, there will be more."
"The rogues are being controlled," a voice says from the back.
I turn and am shocked to see Darius standing there.
I didn't notice him arrive.
"We all know it," he continues, stepping into the circle. "Someone is creating these attacks. Targeting specific people. Using humans as collateral damage."
"So what do we do?" someone asks.
"We find out who," I say. "And we stop them."
"That's dangerous," the girl who lost her sister says. "Going against whoever has this kind of power."
"More dangerous than doing nothing? Than waiting for the next attack? The next death?" I shake my head. "I can't just sit here and let this keep happening."
Silence.
Then, one by one, students step forward.
"I'm with you," Nova says first.
"Me too," says the boy who lost his best friend.
"And me," adds the combat class girl.
More voices join. Not everyone. But enough.
Even Darius steps forward, though his expression is unreadable.
"For the fallen," he says simply.
I'm shocked. Darius has been my rival. My antagonist. But here he is, standing with me.
Maybe grief changes people.
Or maybe the threat is big enough that old rivalries don't matter anymore.
"Thank you," I say to all of them. "I don't know what we're up against. Don't know if we'll succeed. But I have to try."
"We have to try," Nova corrects. "You're not doing this alone."
The group nods in agreement.
For the first time since Miguel died, I feel something other than grief.
Purpose.
We start to disperse as other students begin arriving for morning classes.
I'm the last to leave, standing before the memorial stone one final time.
Miguel's charm bracelet gleams in the sunlight.
"I promise," I whisper to it. "I'll make this right."
I turn to go, and that's when I feel it.
Someone watching.
I scan the tree line, my wolf senses on high alert.
There.
A figure in the shadows. Tall. Male. Watching us with an intensity that makes my skin crawl.
I've never seen him before.
He's not a student. Not faculty that I recognize.
He smiles when he realizes I've spotted him.
Not a friendly smile. Cold. Calculating.
Like he's pleased about something.
"Luna?" Nova calls. "You coming?"
I blink, and when I look back, the figure is gone.
Vanished like he was never there.
But I felt him. I know he was real.
"Yeah," I call back, still staring at the spot where he stood. "I'm coming."
But as I walk away, I can't shake the feeling.
Whoever that was, he was watching us specifically.
Watching me.
And something about his smile made my blood run cold.