Chapter 74 Sorry To The Moonlight
Calix Pov
I stood in the shadows under Maddie's dorm window again. The night was cold and dark. Most students were inside their rooms sleeping or studying. Nobody noticed me standing here in the darkness.
This had become my routine over the past few weeks. Coming here late at night. Watching her window. Making sure she was safe even though I couldn't be near her.
Her light was on. I could see her silhouette moving behind the curtain. She was pacing. Back and forth. Restless. Agitated. Something was wrong.
My wolf stirred uneasily in my head. "She's upset. She's scared. We should go to her."
"We can't," I said quietly. "You know we can't."
"We're already here," my wolf argued. "We're already breaking our own rules by watching her. What difference does it make if we go a little closer?"
"All the difference," I said. "There's a difference between watching from a distance and being close enough to trigger the bond. Close enough to trigger the curse."
I pulled my phone out and checked for updates from Marcus. He had been following Jace all evening. Documenting everything. Reporting back regularly.
The last message said Jace had met with someone behind the Beta house. A girl. They talked for twenty minutes then separated. Marcus was trying to identify who the girl was.
I texted back. "Any luck on the ID?"
"Working on it," Marcus replied. "But I got a partial recording of their conversation. Sending it now."
A few seconds later an audio file came through. I put in my earbuds and pressed play. The quality was poor but I could make out most of the words.
Jace's voice came through first. "Everything is set for tomorrow night. The course is rigged. She'll have no choice but to reveal what she is."
Then a female voice I didn't recognize. "And you're sure this will work? Sure she can't avoid it?"
"Positive," Jace said. "My partner has it all planned out. The ropes will snap. The beams will collapse. She'll have to use her wolf strength or die trying to hide it."
"Perfect," the female voice said. "By this time tomorrow Maddie Vale will be finished."
The recording ended. I stood there in shock. They were planning something for tomorrow night. Something involving the obstacle course. Something designed to force Maddie to reveal her true nature.
My blood ran cold. I texted Marcus immediately. "Find out who that girl is. I need a name. Now."
"On it," Marcus replied.
I looked back up at Maddie's window. She had stopped pacing. She was standing still now. Looking out at the night. Looking directly at where I was standing even though she couldn't possibly see me in the shadows.
Could she sense me? Could she feel the bond pulling even from this distance? Did she know I was here watching over her?
"We need to warn her," my wolf said urgently. "We need to tell her about the plan. About what they're going to do tomorrow."
"How?" I asked. "I can't text her. She blocked my number. I can't go to her dorm. I can't get close enough to talk to her."
"Then find another way," my wolf insisted. "But we have to warn her. We have to protect her."
He was right. I couldn't just let this happen. I couldn't stand by while Jace and his mystery partner tried to expose Maddie. I couldn't watch from a distance while they destroyed her life.
But how could I warn her without revealing that I had been watching her? Without admitting that I cared more than I pretended to? Without breaking all the rules I had set for myself?
My phone buzzed with another message from Marcus. "Got the ID. The girl is Simone Hendrix. Beta's daughter. Your supposed future mate."
I stared at the message in disbelief. Simone. Sweet innocent Simone who I had been pushing away for months. She was working with Jace. She was planning to expose Maddie.
Everything clicked into place. Simone's constant attempts to get close to me. Her jealousy whenever I looked at Maddie. Her desperation to be acknowledged as my mate.
She saw Maddie as a threat. As competition. As someone who needed to be eliminated.
"That's why she's been so persistent," my wolf said. "She knows about the bond. She knows we're drawn to Maddie. She's trying to remove her rival."
"By destroying her," I said. Rage filled my chest. "By exposing her secret. By putting her in danger."
I looked up at Maddie's window one more time. She had moved away from the glass. Her silhouette was sitting on the bed now. Probably getting ready to sleep.
Tomorrow night she would walk into a trap. Tomorrow night she would face an obstacle course designed to force her to reveal what she was. Tomorrow night everything would fall apart.
Unless I stopped it. Unless I warned her. Unless I did something other than stand here in the shadows like a coward.
"I'm sorry," I whispered to the cold air. The words were meant for Maddie even though she couldn't hear me. "I'm so damn sorry for everything. For pushing you away. For not protecting you. For being too afraid to fight for us."
My wolf was quiet. He knew there was nothing to say. Apologies meant nothing without action. Words meant nothing without follow through.
I needed to make a choice. Stay away and let the curse dictate my life. Or step in and protect my mate even if it meant risking everything.
The answer should have been obvious. The answer should have been easy. But fear made everything complicated. Fear made the impossible choice even harder.
I pulled out my phone and typed out a message. Not to Maddie. I couldn't contact her directly. But to someone who could pass along a warning.
"Elara. This is Calix. Don't ask how I got your number. Just listen. Tomorrow night's obstacle course is rigged. Someone is trying to blackmail Maddie.”
I stared at the message for a long moment. Then I deleted it. Elara would ask questions. She would want to know how I knew. She would want explanations I couldn't give.
I needed a different approach. A better plan. Something that would protect Maddie without revealing how much I cared. Without breaking the distance I had worked so hard to maintain.
But what? What could I do from the shadows that would actually make a difference?