Page 74 of Moonlit Fate

My wolf bristled, hackles raised, as we edged nearer, slipping through the underbrush with a predator’s grace. This was the hunt, and though my quarry was not prey, the outcome held the same weight.

There, cloaked in the false security of their seclusion, stood Larkin and his entourage, unaware that they were no longer the hunters but the hunted.

A hush fell over the forest as I nestled against the rough bark of a pine and watched the clandestine gathering unfolding before me. Larkin’s silhouette was unmistakable, even cloaked in the dim light filtering through the canopy. His cronies clustered around him, their faces obscured yet their voices distinct.

“You really have them fooled, don’t you?” The words slithered out from one of the men. My insides twisted. It was the sound of loyalty bought and sold, not earned—a sound I knew all too well from my time among rogues.

“Isn’t it risky, though? With that rogue, Atticus, lurking around?” Another asked with a cautious attitude that suggested he understood how precarious their plot was.

“I’ve nothing to fear from him,” Larkin spat. “He and Aria tried telling Ragnar, but the old fool doesn’t believe them.” His words sounded confident, but there was an underlying uncertainty to them.

A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth. The Crimson Fang saw me as a threat, a rogue, a label that came with its own set of assumptions and underestimations. But they didn’t know the intensity of my allegiance to Aria, nor the lengths I’d go toprotect her and our shared future. Their ignorance was a weapon I would wield as deftly as any blade.

The damp forest floor cradled my steps as I trailed Larkin and his ignorant entourage. My enhanced hearing caught fragments of their conversation through the thicket.

“Atticus is a pawn in a game he doesn’t even understand. Playing heroes,” Larkin said, and I could almost see the smirk that would be twisting his lips. “But they don’t see the whole board. By the time they do, it’ll be too late.”

His cronies snickered, egging him on with low, guttural affirmations as they orbited around Larkin.

“Have you seen how she looks at him, though?” one jeered, a note of lasciviousness in his tone that made my fists clench. “Like he hung the moon just for her.”

“Maybe I should remind her who she’s supposed to be looking at that way.” Larkin’s voice oozed arrogance, tainted with a desire that did not belong to him. “When I’m done, she won’t spare another glance at that mongrel.”

Anger flared, hotter than the midday sun, but I tamped it down. I was a shadow among shadows, unseen yet omnipresent. Aria had set something in motion inside me, an ability to ignore any hesitation to claim what was mine—our love, our fate intertwined.

Larkin and his band of fools continued on, unaware of the silent predator on their heels as they spoke of plans and plots.

I stepped lightly, a ghost moving through the undergrowth, my love for Aria a shield against the barbs of their mockery. Let them underestimate me. Let them scoff. With every sordid word they uttered about her, my will hardened.

18

ARIA

Seren’s wide eyes darted back and forth as if she could see things in the corners that I couldn’t. I reached out and grabbed her trembling hands, holding them tight to still them.

“Talk to me,” I implored.

She looked at me, unfocused, as if she were seeing through me to another world entirely. “They won’t leave me alone,” she said, her tone tugging at something in me—a need to protect, to comfort. “The spirits... they’re everywhere, whispering, warning...” She trailed off, a shudder racking her slender frame.

I pulled my friend into my arms, wishing I could protect her from this. Her fear was raw and contagious. The breeze that usually would have teased my skin was now filled with the echoes of her despair.

“Listen to me,” I said. “You are not alone in this. I’m here, and I’ll help you silence them.”

Seren leaned into me, seeking solace in my hug as she fought the unseen forces that hounded her. Ragged gasps left her, each one sending a ripple of urgency through me. There was awildness about her, a desperation that called to the deepest part of my being, stirring a fervor to fight off whatever haunted her.

“Focus on me. Let me be the anchor that keeps you here,” I said with a passion that went beyond mere friendship.

Seren’s body gradually relaxed against mine, her breathing slowing as I continued to murmur reassurances, stroking soothing circles on her back.

“Nothing will harm you. Not while I’m here.” I would move heaven and earth to keep her safe. The thought of her suffering like this enraged me. But right now, all that mattered was Seren’s well-being.

“Stay with me,” I said, the plea a reflection of my own need to ensure she was real, away from the phantoms that sought to drag her into madness.

After a while, she was strong enough to get up. She paced back and forth, shaking her hands every few minutes.

“I’m losing my mind!” Seren exclaimed. “Your absence… it’s been noticed, and whispers have turned into roars.” Her eyes were wild, hunted.

“Talk to me,” I said gently, trying to keep her in the present. “What’s happening out there?”

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