Chapter 20 The Dew and the Prophecy
Lulu
Dinner with Alpha Caspian was never supposed to feel like sitting in a trial—yet that was exactly how it felt tonight.
The dining hall of Sapphire Water Pack glowed with pale blue lanterns hanging from beams carved with ancient runes. The long table was filled with high-rank wolves—Beta, Gammas, Elders,—werewolves who had lived their whole lives with formality etched into their bones. Metal cutlery gleamed. The dishes smelled warm and spiced. But all of it felt like background noise to the tension that rested quietly on my shoulders.
I sat on Alpha Caspian’s right, the seat he personally pulled out for me. That alone already made the room fall into a silence two seconds too long.
“Let the feast’s begin,” Alpha Caspian said, voice firm yet calm. He didn’t look at me, but the closeness of his presence—steady, protective—wrapped around my body like a coat I didn’t ask for but somehow needed.
Beta Rohan cleared his throat. “Alpha, as you already know, we’ve received the formal summon from Crystal Ice Pack.”
Crystal Ice Pack. A northern territory nestled beneath the Celibres Mountains, known for its half-mythical winter wolves and their ice-born rituals. I had only heard stories—and most of them were terrifying.
“Their Alpha heir is finally accepting his mantle,” Elder Angus added, stroking his white beard. “A rare event. Their coronation ceremonies only happen once every few generations.”
“They expect all major packs to attend,” the Beta said.
Alpha Caspian nodded. “We will honor their request.”
I tried to focus on my plate, cutting my roasted chicken into tiny pieces even though my appetite was nowhere to be found.
Then Elder Miriam, with her thick grey braid and sharp eyes, set down her fork decisively.
“I won’t be going.”
Every wolf at the table turned to her—Alpha Caspian included.
“My daughter’s evaluation at Trithon Academy is in three days.” Elder Miriam lifted her chin with a stubborn grace that I secretly admired. “She’s working toward her enchantress certification. I will not miss that.”
“That’s understandable,” Alpha Caspian said. “Your presence at Trithon is more important.”
“But that leaves our female representation empty,” another Elder remarked. “Crystal Ice values balance. They expect at least one she-wolf from the Sapphire Water leadership to attend.”
“And so I propose,” Elder Miriam said casually, as if she were suggesting something as simple as pouring more tea, “that Miss McCarthy go in my place.”
My fork nearly slipped from my fingers.
Alpha Caspian’s hand moved subtly toward me—almost like he was ready to steady me if I wobbled. But I held myself rigid.
“E-excuse me?” I said, likely sounding more breathless than dignified.
“You are the only high rank she-wolf,” Elder Miriam said matter-of-factly. “Your presence will command respect, especially from a pack whose traditions revolve around elemental balance.”
I shook my head immediately. “I’m not… qualified. I don’t even have a rank. I’m just…”
“Lulu.” Miriam cut in, her gaze kind but unyielding. “You carry a legacy most wolves can only dream of. Whether you fully understand your importance or not… the world already does.”
Heat stirred uncomfortably in my chest. I hated when people spoke like that—like they knew what I was supposed to be, when I still didn’t know who I was becoming.
“It’s too much responsibility for someone like me,” I whispered.
“No.” Alpha Caspian finally spoke, voice low and gentle enough that I felt it in my bones. “It’s not.”
I looked up—and his eyes were on me, steady, so sincere it hurt.
“I’d like you to come with me,” he said. “As my companion from Sapphire Water. As someone I trust.”
The room went silent again…but it was a different kind of silence now.
It was warm. Heavy. Full of breath that wasn’t mine.
My throat tightened. “Alpha, I—”
“Please, Lulu.” And there it was. A soft request not a command. Just him, asking. The way a man asks someone he genuinely wants beside him.
I hated how quickly my resistance melted.
“…All right,” I murmured.
The faintest sigh of relief escaped him.
“We leave in three days,” Alpha Caspian announced to the room, shifting smoothly back into Alpha mode. “Prepare everything accordingly, Beta Rohan.”
“Yes, Alpha.” Beta Rohan nodded obediently.
Minutes later, he excused himself, saying he had work to finish in his office. When he left, the room felt noticeably emptier—as if the air loosened around my ribs.
I excused myself too. I needed air.
The night garden welcomed me with quiet dew and soft lamplight. The moon hung low, softened by a faint mist that would’ve gone unnoticed by anyone else.
But not me.
Niobe’s words echoed in my mind.
If there’s dew thickening unnaturally… he’s near.
I walked across the stone path, letting the coolness settle on my skin, letting my heart beated fast the way it wanted—too hopeful, too reckless.
And then… I saw it.
Drops of dew shimmering like tiny crystals on the leaves near the open lawn. Not scattered or random. Almost like they were placed intentionally, forming a faint trail.
My breath caught.
“Morpheus,” I whispered into the night, even though I didn’t expect an answer.
I followed the dew. Past the gazebo and moonlit shrubs. Until I reached Ivy Garden—an old, forgotten corner behind the pack house. The lamps were partly covered by thick ivy vines climbing up the poles. The small pond there… was clearer than I’d ever seen it. As if someone had purified the water minutes ago.
I kneeled at the edge, dipping my toes into the cool surface. A shiver raced up my spine. Not unpleasant. Just… awakening.
I didn’t know how long I sat there. Long enough for the mist to thicken, drifting like soft fingers brushing over my arms.
Then the wind shifted and the air… breathed.
A ripple formed on the pond.
My pulse leaped. Another ripple.
A swirl of mist rose behind the pond—gentle at first, then swirling like a veil. The silhouette formed slowly. Broad shoulders. Tall frame. That familiar aura of water—cool, ancient, untamed.
He stepped closer, letting the mist fall away from his face.
“Morpheus…”
His blue eyes—glowing like the deep sea—locked onto mine.
My chest tightened painfully. I didn’t expect to feel this… happy. But I was. Pathetically, overwhelmingly happy.
“You came,” I whispered.
“You called,” he replied. His voice was low, smooth, carrying a sadness I didn’t fully understand. “I always come when you call.”
I swallowed, nerves twisting with something warmer, deeper. “Morpheus… why? Why do you always save me?”
His gaze softened—beautiful and heavy with unspoken things. “Because I want to be bound to you, Lulu. The prophecy is not a chain—it’s a promise. One I have long accepted.”
My breath stuttered. “Then why do you keep running from me?”
His jaw clenched. Mist curled around his fingers like agitated water. “Because my presence puts you in danger. You’ve already lost your heart once—because dark sorcerers learned of your existence. If they learn you’re tied to me… they will come with twice the hunger.”
“And you think staying away will protect me?” My voice shook. “Morpheus, I’m already a target. Heartless or not.”
He stepped closer, “And I’m hunted too. Because of my power. Because of the Moonbound Casket. Because dark sorcerers want it for their purpose.”
I didn’t even know it but I wouldn’t to deny.
“You think separating ourselves will make us safer,” I said softly, “but that’s not how it works. We share the same enemy.”
His throat worked. “I fear losing you.”
“And I fear losing myself,” I whispered, “if I keep living without the truth.”
The mist around us thickened—shivering, reacting to every emotion between us.
“I have one year left before my heart dies,” I said, voice barely above breath. “One year to take it back. One year to live. I don’t want to spend that year walking alone.”
His eyes widened in raw, unguarded horror. “Lulu—”
“We can fight them,” I pressed. “Together. You with your water. Me with my fire. The prophecy didn’t say we’d bring destruction—it said we’d create a bond strong enough to face darkness.”
Morpheus stared at me like I had just shifted the entire world beneath his feet.
“Lulu…” His voice cracked, barely audible. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Oh, I do.” I stepped closer, so close I could feel the cold aura radiating from him mixing with the warmth in my chest. “I’m asking you to stop choosing fear over us.”
He inhaled sharply. The mist pulsed.
And then—
He bent slightly, forehead lowering until it nearly touched mine. The air between us sparkled with dew. Every breath felt like a prayer.
“This bond,” Morpheus whispered, “will change everything.”
“Good,” I breathed. “Let it.”
For the first time, he didn’t retreat. He didn’t vanish into mist. He didn’t warn me away.
He simply looked at me like he had been waiting centuries for this moment.
I lifted my hand, touching his jaw gently.
“Morpheus,” I said, voice trembling with something brave and foolish, “if you want me… prove it.”
He froze.
I leaned in, lips brushing the faintest edge of his.
“Start,” I whispered, “with this.”
His restraint shattered.
Morpheus pulled me in—not forcefully, but with a desperate, reverent certainty—and his lips crashed onto mine in a kiss that tasted like cold water and burning fire meeting for the first time.
The mist around us whirled violently.
The pond rippled.
And my heart—my missing, stolen heart—throbbed somewhere far away, answering him like it recognized the one who was always meant to find it.