Chapter 18 Weird

Chapter 18 Weird


Chapter Eighteen

Tiara’s POV

The moment the memory settled fully into my mind, I felt the air inside the cavern shift. The warm glow from the luminescent moss dimmed as though the sanctuary itself recognized the danger the truth brought with it.

Maxie froze in front of me, his hand still halfway extended toward the narrow passage leading out of the cavern. His fingers twitched once, as if he wanted to reach for me, then curled into a fist at his side.

“What did you say?” he asked, though he had heard me perfectly.

I swallowed, my mouth dry, my pulse loud in my ears. “I told Cyrus,” I whispered, “that something inside me was changing. That my mark was waking. That I felt stronger.”

The weight of silence that followed should have crushed me. But Maxie did not explode or lash out. He simply stood there, rigid and unmoving, his breath caught between fury and heartbreak.

Leo would have filled the silence with a curse or a warning or a sharp observation. But Leo was not here. And that realization cut into my chest again, forcing a fresh wave of guilt to rise inside me.

“Maxie,” I said quietly, but he remained still, his eyes locked on mine with an intensity that made my stomach twist.

Finally, he spoke. His voice was low and steady, but beneath the calm I felt a storm building.

“You trusted him,” he said.

“Yes,” I whispered.

“You told him something sacred,” he continued. “Something only meant for your mate.”

His words struck deeper than any blade.

“I did not think it was dangerous,” I said. “I just needed someone to talk to. You were gone that night. You had left with a scouting party.”

“I was protecting the borders,” Maxie said, but his voice softened. “I should have been here. With you.”

“You could not have known,” I whispered.

“I should have known everything,” he said softly. “That was my failing, not yours.”

He finally moved, closing the distance between us with slow deliberate steps, his face shadowed by the warm glow of the cavern. When he reached me, he lifted a hand to my cheek and traced his thumb along my skin.

“You did nothing wrong,” he said gently. “You trusted someone who appeared loyal. It is not your fault he was a coward.”

I leaned into his touch, needing the warmth and steadiness. “But I told him. I told Cyrus I felt something inside me waking. I told him I was scared. I told him I needed guidance. I thought he cared. I thought he wanted to help me.”

Maxie’s hand tightened slightly. “He cared. Just not in the way he should have. And that is why everything went wrong.”

My eyes burned. “Maxie, I am afraid. If I told him I was changing, if he knew what was happening to me, then maybe he told Marcus. Maybe he gave Marcus a reason to hunt me. Maybe I caused what happened.”

I felt the panic rising, the guilt building in waves that threatened to break me. But Maxie pressed his forehead against mine gently, grounding me once more.

“Listen to me,” he said. “Marcus was already obsessed. This was not because of what you told Cyrus. This was because Marcus wanted power. He wanted control. He wanted the Moon Mark. And he wanted to hurt me.”

His voice dropped lower, steady and sure.

“The choices of monsters are never caused by the kindness of their victims.”

I closed my eyes and let his forehead stay pressed against mine. His breath warmed my cheeks. His thumb stroked my skin as if trying to erase every trace of guilt from my bones.

For a moment, the cavern felt safe again. Like time had slowed. Like nothing in the world could reach us as long as his hands anchored me.

But safety was an illusion.

Another tremor shook the ground beneath us, stronger than before. The glowing moss flickered. A faint echo traveled down the tunnel we entered from.

A howl.

Not a wolf’s howl.

A lycan’s.

Cameron.

Maxie’s eyes snapped open. He turned to face the echo with sharp attention, his muscles coiled, his wolf pushing close to the surface.

“He is coming,” Maxie said. “He found the second barrier. Leo must have been forced to retreat.”

My chest tightened painfully. “Do you think he is alive?”

“I do not know,” Maxie whispered. “But Leo is strong. Stronger than most. If anyone can survive a confrontation with Cameron, it is him.”

The fear still clawed at me. “We cannot leave him.”

Maxie turned back to me and cupped my cheeks gently. “We cannot help him if Cameron catches you. Our survival keeps his sacrifice from being in vain.”

I nodded even though every part of me rebelled against leaving Leo behind. But Maxie was right. If Cameron captured me, everything Leo had done would crumble to dust. We had to keep moving.

“Come,” Maxie said, taking my hand once more. “The path ahead splits. One leads toward a hidden stream that runs through abandoned caverns. The other leads toward an ancient exit the King does not know exists. We go toward the exit.”

We followed the stone path along the cavern’s edge, the sound of glowing water echoing faintly behind us. The air grew colder, the runes along the walls glowing brighter as the passage forced us to descend deeper into the mountain.

Halfway down the slope, I stopped suddenly, my grip tightening around Maxie’s hand. He turned quickly, brows furrowing.

“What is it?”

“I feel something,” I whispered. “A pull.”

Maxie’s expression shifted. “A pull from what?”

“I do not know,” I said. “But it feels like the mark is reacting to something nearby.”

The corridor expanded into a larger stone hall with two paths branching in opposite directions. One sloped upward, a faint breeze drifting from its mouth. The other tunneled downward into darkness, but the darkness shimmered faintly with silver light.

And my mark pulsed in answer.

“Maxie,” I said softly, lifting a hand to the glowing mark. “It wants me to go right.”

He turned his gaze toward the silver path, eyes narrowing.

“That tunnel leads deeper,” he said slowly. “Toward the oldest part of the sanctuary. The Moon Record vault.”

“What is that?” I asked.

“A place of memory,” Maxie said. “A place only marked wolves can enter. I was never allowed inside. Only Lunas or heirs with the Mark had permission.”

My breath caught. “Do you think my memories are there?”

“Possibly,” Maxie said. “Or something that can unlock them.”

Leo’s voice echoed in my mind suddenly, though he was nowhere near us.

She is not just marked.

She is chosen.

Maxie looked into my eyes, conflicted.

“We cannot stay long,” he said. “Cameron will reach this hall soon. If we take the deeper path, we risk losing our lead.”

“But if my memories are there,” I said, “then we may find out who the traitor is. We may find out why I died.”

“And Cameron may trap us inside,” Maxie countered.

The pull from the silver-lit tunnel grew stronger. My mark glowed fiercely, lighting the stone beneath my palm.

“He will reach us either way,” I whispered. “If we keep running without answers, we will never be able to fight him.”

Maxie closed his eyes, weighing everything.

Then he exhaled. “Very well. But stay close. The Moon Record vault reacts to emotion. If you panic, it can trap you.”

I tightened my grip on his hand. “I will not let go.”

We descended the silver-lit tunnel. The air grew colder, sharper, filled with a faint fragrance of moonflower and snow. The corridor narrowed, forcing us to walk shoulder to shoulder. My fingers brushed his, and he intertwined them immediately, holding me steady.

The stone walls around us brightened as we walked, reflecting the glow from my mark. After several minutes, the corridor opened into a round chamber carved entirely from pale stone, the walls etched with swirling symbols and lines that pulsed with silver light.

At the center stood a circular bowl carved from obsidian, filled with still, shimmering water.

Maxie inhaled sharply. “This is it. The Moon Record.”

My breath stilled.

“It holds the memories of every marked wolf,” Maxie said. “Even those who died.”

I stepped toward it slowly. “Including mine?”

Maxie nodded. “If you touch the water, it may show you the truth.”

“And if Cameron breaks through the barrier…”

“We move the moment the vision ends,” Maxie said. “We will not lose time.”

My heart pounded. I lifted my hand above the water. The surface rippled before I even touched it, reacting to the mark pulsing across my chest.

Maxie stepped closer, voice soft. “I am right here.”

I lowered my fingers into the water.

The world went silent.

The chamber vanished.

And memories exploded around me.

Snow.

Screams.

A hand dragging me across icy ground.

A silver ring with a black stone.

Cyrus shouting.

Marcus laughing.

Me pleading.

A dark cloak.

A knife.

A voice whispering in my ear.

“Forgive me.”

My breath shattered.

My vision snapped back into the chamber.

Maxie caught me before I fell.

“Tiara,” he said urgently. “What did you see?”

Tears streamed down my cheeks.

“Maxie… it was not Cyrus.”

He froze. “What?”

“It was not Cyrus who grabbed me.”

My voice trembled.

“It was someone else entirely.”

Maxie’s eyes widened with shock.

“Who?” he demanded.

My throat tightened painfully.

“It was someone from your council,” I whispered. “Someone who stood at your side for years.”

Maxie’s heartbeat thundered against me.

“Tiara,” he said, voice shaking, “tell me. Who betrayed us?”

I choked on the name, but forced it out.

“It was Rowan.”