Page 178 of Moonlit Fate

Seren snapped her head around, her voice high when she spoke. “No, Atticus. There’s got to be another way. You can’t just?—”

“There isn’t, Seren. I have to do this. I’ll give him anything he wants as long as I can keep Aria safe.”

Ilaric’s put his hand on my shoulder, a solid presence trying to anchor me when I was already drifting.

“I’ll come with you. Together, we?—”

“No, Ilaric,” I said. “It has to be this way.” I pulled my shoulders back in a thin veneer of confidence that masked the gut-wrenching fear threatening to consume me. This was my path, and I would walk it, no matter the cost. “I’m not going to fight him. Not this time.”

Ilaric’s brow furrowed. “Atticus, you don’t have to face him alone,” he said, gently squeezing my shoulder, offering support. “We stand a better chance of winning if we work together.”

I wouldn’t let him sway me. “It’s not about power or victory. It’s about Aria. If walking into what might very well be my own death ensures her safety, then so be it. But if that happens, she’ll need all of you waiting here for her.”

We stood together, four warriors lost in a sea of hard choices. I could feel the concern in their stares. The strength we had discovered in our unconventional alliance, the rogue and thepack, now seemed feeble in the face of what could only be described as true evil.

Seren scanned the room, searching for answers we didn’t have. Eldan’s fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, his readiness to fight warring with the knowledge that it wouldn’t be enough. Ilaric’s hand was still on my shoulder, heavy and immovable, but he didn’t speak. No one did. There was nothing left to say.

“It’s time for me to go,” I said.

They didn’t argue. They knew as well as I did that this was the only way.

I turned away from them, slipping into a darkened corner. I channeled my focus and tapped into the power of the shadows I commanded. They answered readily, wrapping around me like a second skin. In a blink, I vanished, leaving their collective fears and concerns behind, and stepped into my bedroom.

I took the relic I’d dug up out of my pocket. It glowed like a beacon, igniting a flicker of hope for a future I wasn’t sure I could imagine. A set of shelves held some books and trinkets I’d gathered over the years. Behind it, cleverly concealed in the rocky wall, was a hidden alcove. I stored the relic there, hoping I’d know when the time was right to take it with me. Its light dimmed as if it knew it was being left behind.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. This was it. I had to face Caius, my father. I checked the array of weapons concealed beneath my clothes, their familiar weight a small comfort.

“Let’s do this,” I whispered to the empty room and walked out, ready for whatever came next.

Stepping into the shadows, I walked out onto the edge of Crimson Fang territory, every muscle tensed for what was to come.

My sudden appearance didn’t faze the shifters. They simply gave me a wary glance and gestured for me to make my wayon into the heart of their pack lands before returning to their business. The Crimson Fang’s alpha house, made of dark stone, exuded an air of authority. As I stepped through the open, imposing wooden door, a shifter immediately greeted me and guided me through the labyrinth of corridors into a grand hall.

Heavy tapestries lined the walls. Shifters lingered, waiting for orders or hoping to have an audience with the mighty alpha. The scent of fear filled my nostrils as I pushed my way into the building.

Caius perched on the dais in the center of the room, a preening, prideful peacock. His territory, his rules, his game.

He saw me approaching. “Atticus,” Caius said, his voice smooth as silk and twice as dangerous. He smiled at me, but it held no warmth. “It’s been too long.”

“Cut the shit.” The tension in the air was a live wire, humming with the promise of violence.

“Such hostility.” He tsked, spreading his hands in mock surrender. “Is that any way to speak to your father?”

“Father?” I scoffed. “I think we’ve established you stopped being that a long time ago.”

We sized each other up. Him on his throne of lies, me on the precipice of war. The air buzzed, charged with an energy that threatened to erupt at the slightest provocation.

The distance to the dais felt like miles, but I closed it with a few determined strides.

“I’m not here for pleasantries,” I said. My voice was steel, but inside I was terrified. “You know why I’m here.”

Caius’s smile never wavered, but it was as cold as the winds that howled outside our territory in the dead of winter. It didn’t reach his eyes, those ice-chip orbs calculating my every move.

“Ah, yes. The girl. Your... bonded, is that what you’re calling it?” His words were smooth, calculated to unnerve. “She is quitethe asset, you know. Unique in ways even she doesn’t fully understand.”

I clenched my fists, resisting the familiar urge to shift and let my wolf take over. This wasn’t the time for recklessness. If I lost control, I’d lose, and I was determined to win and take everything I wanted. But I knew I had to be as cunning as the man standing in front of me, if not more so.

“What do you want?” I growled.

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