Chapter 87 Fractures
Luna’s POV
I started noticing the cracks three days after the confrontation, but not in the sky and not in the ground. It was in people, in moments, and in the quiet spaces where things used to feel simple.
It began small. So small I almost ignored it. A missed text and a delayed reply.
Kai showing up late to meet me after class, was something he never did.
“You okay?” I asked that afternoon, watching him jog up to me near the bleachers.
“Yeah,” he said, a little too quickly. “Just got held up.”
“By what?” I asked.
He hesitated. “Coach.”
That didn’t feel right. Kai didn’t have sports, because he didn’t care about them. But I let it go at first. Because everything had been… fragile lately.
And I didn’t want to be the one to break it. But the cracks didn’t stop there.
They spread quietly and subtly. Like something working below the surface.
The next day, it was different. We were in the library….supposedly studying….but mostly just sitting close enough that neither of us felt alone.
Kai was flipping through a book he clearly wasn’t reading. I was trying to focus on my notes. Trying and failing.
“You’ve been quiet,” I said.
“So have you.” He replied.
“Yeah, but I asked first.” I hesitated.
He let out a faint smirk. “Fair.”
There was silence again and then. “You trust me, right?” he asked.
The question caught me off guard. I looked up immediately. “Of course I do.”
He held my gaze for a second longer than usual. Then nodded. “Good.”
“That was random.” I said.
“Just making sure.” He replied.
Something about that didn’t sit right. But before I could press…His phone buzzed and he glanced at it. And for a split second…His expression changed.
Sharp and tense. Gone just as quickly. “What?” I asked.
“Nothing.” He replied.
That was a lie.
“Kai.” I called him.
“It’s nothing, Luna,” he said.
I leaned back slightly, studying him. “You’re doing that thing again.”
“What thing?” he asked.
“Shutting me out,” I said.
His jaw tightened. “I’m not.”
“You are.” I said.
“It’s just pack stuff,” he said finally.
“Pack stuff?” I asked curious.
“Yeah.” He replied.
That word again. Pack. It was something he rarely talked about. Something he always avoided explaining.
“Since when does that involve you sneaking around?” I asked.
“I’m not sneaking around.” He said.
“Then why won’t you tell me?” I asked.
Then he looked at me. Really looked. And for a moment.. I saw it.
That wall. The one he kept hidden. The one I pretended wasn’t there.
“It’s complicated,” he said quietly.
My chest tightened. “That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one I’ve got right now.” he,said.
Silence fell between us, it felt heavy and different. And I hated how familiar it felt. Like something was shifting.
Pulling us apart….Just slightly and just enough. Before I could say anything else…. A voice cut through the tension. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
I froze and slowly…i turned.
It was Ethan. Of course. He stood at the end of the table, hands in his pockets, and his expression calm. Too calm.
“Go away,” Kai said immediately.
No hesitation, and no patience. Ethan smiled faintly. “Still protective, I see.”
“Still annoying, I see,” Kai shot back.
I stepped in before it escalated. “What do you want, Ethan?”
His eyes shifted to me and softened. Just slightly. “I wanted to talk.”
“About what?” I asked.
“You.” He said.
My stomach tightened. “No.”
I said simple, clear, and final. Something flickered in his expression. But not anger, it was something colder. “You’re really going to shut me out like that?” he asked quietly.
“You did that yourself,” I replied.
Silence fell and then he said… “I said I was sorry.”
I frowned. No, he didn’t. Not really. Not in any way that mattered.
“That wasn’t an apology,” I said.
“It was the best you were going to get,” Kai muttered.
Ethan ignored him. His gaze stayed locked on me. “I meant what I said,” he added.
“That you didn’t hurt me?” I asked flatly.
“That I’m trying to understand what’s happening.” He said.
“With you?” I asked.
“With all of us.” He said.
Kai let out a quiet, humorless laugh. “Yeah, sure.”
“Not everything is about you,” Ethan said calmly.
“Funny. Could’ve fooled me.” Kai shot back.
“Enough,” I snapped. Both of them went quiet. Because I couldn’t do this again. Not like before. “Say what you came to say,” I told Ethan.
He studied me for a moment and then….“You should be careful.” He said.
My stomach dropped. “With what?” I asked.
His gaze flicked briefly to Kai. Then back to me. “With whom do you trust?”
The air shifted instantly, and Kai straightened slightly. “Say it clearly,” he said.
Ethan smiled faintly. “I just did.”
“That’s not enough,” Kai said.
“It is for her.” Ethan shot back.
My chest tightened. “Stop,” I said sharply. But it was too late.
The tension was already building and already cracking.
“He’s not telling you everything,” Ethan said, his voice softer now. “You know that, right?”
I didn’t respond. Because…That part wasn’t entirely wrong. Kai’s silence from earlier. The “pack stuff.” The look on his face when his phone buzzed.
I pushed it down hard. “That doesn’t mean I trust you more,” I said.
“I’m not asking you to,” Ethan said.
“Then what are you doing?” I asked.
“Giving you a choice.” He said.
My pulse spiked. “What choice?”
Ethan’s expression shifted. Serious now.
“No more half-truths,” he said. “Not from him. Not from me.”
Kai stepped forward. “Don’t…”
“No,” I cut in. “Let him talk.”
Kai’s jaw tightened. But he stopped. Barely. “What are you saying?” I asked Ethan.
“I’m saying you deserve to know everything,” he replied. “Not just the parts he decides to share.”
“That goes both ways,” I said.
“It does.” He replied.
“Then start talking,” I said.
“You’re changing faster than you think,” he said.
My chest tightened. “I know that.”
“No,” he said quietly. “You don’t.”
Kai shifted again, he looked tense. “Stop talking like you know something we don’t,” he snapped.
Ethan’s eyes flicked to him. “I know enough.”
“Then say it!” Kai shot back.
“You’re not stable yet,” Ethan said.
The words hit hard, sharp, and unwanted. My fingers tightened around the edge of the table. “I’m fine.”
“No,” Ethan said calmly. “You’re not.”
“That’s not your call,” I said.
“It is when it affects everything.” He said.
“What does that mean?” I demanded.
He hesitated. Just for a second and then…. “It means if you lose control again…”
“I won’t,” I said.
“You already have.” He said.
The room felt smaller and tighter. “I handled it,” I said. “Barely.”
“Kai was there,” I snapped.
“And what happens when he’s not?” Ethan shot back.
That question landed harder than anything else. Because I didn’t have an answer. Ethan saw it. Of course he did. “That’s the problem,” he said quietly. “You’re relying on him.”
“I trust him.” I said.
“You depend on him,” Ethan said.
“There’s a difference,” I replied.
“Not to something like you.” He added.
The words felt wrong and cold. My chest tightened. “What is that supposed to mean?”
But he didn’t answer. Instead….He stepped back. Like he’d said enough and like he’d planted something. And now he was waiting for it to grow.
“I’m not your enemy, Luna,” he said quietly.
“You made that decision yourself,” Kai muttered.
Ethan ignored him and his eyes stayed on me. “Just… think about it.”
Then he turned and walked away. Again, he is always leaving and always dropping something behind. I exhaled slowly with my head spinning. “That was manipulative,” Kai said immediately.
“I know,” I said.
“Do you?” he asked.
I looked at him. “Yes.”
“Because it sounded like you were listening.” He said.
“I was.” I replied.
His jaw tightened. “That’s exactly what he wants.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But that doesn’t make everything he said wrong.”
Silence filled the hair sharp and dangerous. “So now you’re taking his side?” Kai asked.
“No,” I said simply.
“Then what are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m thinking,” I said.
“That’s not helping.” He said.
“It is if something’s off,” I replied.
His eyes narrowed slightly. “With him, yeah.”
“With everything,” I said.
“You don’t trust me,” he said quietly.
My chest tightened instantly. “That’s not what I said.”
“It’s what you meant.” He said.
“No,” I said firmly. “I trust you. I just… don’t understand everything yet.”
“That doesn’t mean there’s something wrong.” He said.
“It means something is missing,” I added.
The silence that followed next was heavy, long, and felt cold, and then,
“Fine,” he said.
The word felt like a wall slamming into place. “You want answers? I’ll give you answers.” He added.
My heart skipped. “Kai….”
“Not here,” he cut in. “Not like this.”
“When?” I asked.
“Tonight.” He said. “Forest.” Of course. Everything led back there.
“Okay,” I said quietly.
He nodded once and then stepped back, but not far. But far enough. That space again and that gap. And this time…It didn’t feel small. It felt like something growing and something real. Something dangerous.
And since this week….I wasn’t sure if we were moving closer…
Or slowly pulling apart.