Chapter 19 Rowan

Chapter 19 Rowan


Chapter Nineteen

Maxie’s POV

The name hit me so hard I forgot how to breathe. Rowan. The sound of it echoed around the Moon Record chamber and settled in my chest like a stone.

Rowan.

My advisor.

My second mentor.

A man I trusted with battle plans, guard rotations, and the lives of every warrior in my pack.

A man I believed loyal down to his bones.

I stared at Tiara as she trembled beside the obsidian basin, her fingers clutching the edge to steady herself. The mark over her heart glowed with a fierce white light, bright enough to cast long shadows across the wall.

She swallowed hard.

“It was Rowan,” she whispered. “I saw him in the vision. He grabbed me. He pulled me through the snow. I remember his voice.”

I took a step toward her.

“Are you certain?”

Her eyes lifted to mine, wide and full of fear.

“Yes. I remember the way he said forgive me before Marcus reached me.”

A cold rage slowly bloomed inside me.

The shock was sharp, but the anger came slow and heavy, settling under my ribs until I felt it in my bones. Rowan had been at my side after she died. He carried her body back to the pack with me. He stood beside me during her funeral and whispered that we would find the traitor.

All the while knowing it was him.

I clenched my fists.

“He opened the southern entrance,” I said quietly. “He knew the guard rotations. He knew when you were alone.”

Tiara’s voice shook.

“He told Marcus when you left for the scouting mission. He told him I would be vulnerable that night.”

My teeth ground together hard enough to hurt. “And we all suspected Cyrus because his jealousy showed. Rowan hid his intentions behind loyalty.”

Tiara pressed a shaking hand to her heart. “I told Cyrus I felt the mark waking, but Rowan must have been listening. He must have followed me. He must have heard everything.”

I lifted her chin gently, forcing her eyes up to mine.

“You did nothing wrong,” I said. “You trusted someone who pretended to be loyal. The fault is his.”

The corridor behind us shook violently. Dust rained from the stone ceiling. A blast of golden light tore through the barrier and Cameron’s aura rushed toward us like a tide of fire.

Tiara flinched and grabbed my arm.

“Maxie, he is almost here.”

“I know.”

Her breath came fast and uneven. “We have to leave. Rowan is still alive. He knows where we go. He knows who we trust. He knows everything about us.”

“And he will answer for what he has done,” I promised.

She reached for me weakly. “Please. Do not let him take me.”

I pulled her into my arms without hesitation. “I will not.”

The roar of crumbling stone echoed behind us. Cameron was tearing through the final barrier. We had seconds left.

Tiara tugged at my shirt as I lifted her. Her voice trembled.

“Maxie… I remembered something else.”

I stopped immediately.

“What is it?”

Her eyes darkened with fear.

“Rowan was not working alone.”

My grip tightened around her.

“Who else?” I asked.

“I did not see a face,” she whispered. “But I heard a voice. A woman. She told Rowan the Moon Mark was not meant to stay in your pack. She said if I awakened fully, I would destroy the balance.”

My blood ran cold.

“A woman,” I repeated. “Someone from inside my ranks?”

“I do not know,” she said, shaking. “But she told Rowan that killing me was mercy.”

My breath stilled.

“Mercy,” I muttered. “A word used by cowards.”

Before Tiara could speak again, the barrier shattered behind us with a violent crack. Cameron’s aura, hot and sharp, rushed down the tunnel.

His voice followed, booming with authority.

“Alpha Maxie. Bring her to me.”

Tiara buried her face in my neck.

“Do not let him touch me.”

“I will die first,” I whispered, and I meant it.

I ran, holding her tightly, through the narrow passage. The walls flashed silver from the light of her mark. The tunnel opened into a cavern split by a glowing river. A jagged stone bridge cut across it.

I ran onto it, but halfway over, Tiara stiffened suddenly. Her fingers dug into my shoulder.

“Maxie,” she whispered. “I feel someone else.”

“Cameron?”

“No.”

She trembled violently.

“Rowan.”

Cold slid through me.

“Here?” I asked.

“He is close,” she whispered. “Closer than the King. He is hunting us.”

We raced across the bridge. The opposite tunnel came into view, lit by the same soft blue glow as the river below.

I reached the far side just as a figure stepped out of the shadows, tall and familiar, blocking the only exit.

Tiara’s breath caught.

Her nails dug harder into my shirt.

“Maxie,” she whispered, voice breaking. “He found us.”

Rowan stepped forward slowly, the light from the glowing river painting his face in cold blue.

He smiled.

A smile I had never seen on him before.

A smile of a man who had never been loyal.

A smile of a man who had always known how this would end.

“Hello, Alpha,” Rowan said.

His eyes slid past me to Tiara.

“And hello, Tiara.”