Chapter 26
I sat alone in the darkness, the world around me blurred by the tears that slipped through my fingers. They soaked into my sleeves, hot and endless, as if my body was pouring out every drop of grief I held inside. The emptiness felt like a dull, throbbing ache lodged in my chest, a hollow void that nothing–not words, not
time–could fill.
How could he be gone? My father, the Alpha, the one whose laughter shook the walls, whose strength felt as eternal as the moon itself. In one brutal night, he was ripped from us, taken by the Rogue King’s merciless hand. I kept replaying that horrible image in my mind–his body, still and cold on the ground. I would never hear his voice again, never feel the warmth of his embrace, the comfort of his presence. Gone… just like that.
Beside me, my mother, Isabel, sat near the
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packhouse steps, staring off into some distant, unreachable point. Her gaze was hollow, her body slumped as if it couldn’t bear the weight of her sorrow. The vibrant, fierce light that once blazed in her eyes was dimmed to nothing, extinguished by grief so vast it seemed to drain the life from her.
“Mom…” My voice came out in a raspy whisper as I reached out, placing a trembling hand on her shoulder. “Please… just say something.”
Slowly, Mom turned to look at me, and for a fleeting moment, her eyes held a trace of recognition. But then her gaze drifted away, lost again. When she finally spoke, her voice was so quiet, it felt like a ghost of the strong woman I knew. “I see him everywhere, Malinda,” she murmured, her voice breaking, barely more than a whisper. “I close my eyes, and I hear him. I hear his voice… telling me that everything will be alright. But it’s not. Nothing is alright.”
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My heart shattered at her words, feeling her pain as if it were my own. I had never seen her like this—so broken, so empty. I wanted to reach into the darkness and pull her out, to offer some word or gesture that would heal this raw, open wound in both of us. But what could I say? How could I
comfort her when my own grief was as vast and endless as the night?
Just as the weight of it all threatened to pull me under, I felt a familiar warmth approach from behind. Strong, steady arms wrapped around my shoulders, grounding me in the way only one person could. Damon. He held me close, his warmth a balm against the cold ache in my chest, his silent presence reassuring me that I was not alone in this.
“Malinda.” His voice was a low murmur, a soft comfort that I clung to like a lifeline.
“I’ve started the plan.”
I turned in his arms, blinking through the haze of my tears. “What… what plan?”
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His gaze met mine, his expression resolute, his eyes filled with a determination so fierce it made my heart beat faster.
“We’re going to end this, Malinda,” he said, his voice edged with steel. “The Rogue King will pay for what he’s done. To your father, to our pack, to everyone he’s ever hurt. I’ve set a trap, and soon he’ll walk right into it.”
A flicker of hope sparked in my chest, piercing through the darkness of my grief. I could see the fire in Damon’s eyes, the iron will of a leader who would go to any lengths to protect his people. “How…?” I whispered, clutching his arm, desperate to
know.
Damon’s hands tightened on my shoulders, his voice steady, unwavering as he explained. “I’ve had my warriors. spread rumors about the upcoming Moon Goddess Ceremony,” he said. “It‘ s known across the land now. We‘ ve made it clear that it will be held at the top of the northern mountain and that only the
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weakest pack members will remain behind.”
A jolt of realization hit me. The Moon Goddess Ceremony? Was he really risking this sacred event for revenge?
“But… the ceremony,” I stammered, my voice barely a whisper. “Are we truly going to hold it there?”
A dark, almost satisfied smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “There is no ceremony, Malinda. That’s the trap. We’ve made it look as though we’re vulnerable, as if we‘ ve sent away our strongest warriors. But in reality, every pack under my rule will have their fiercest fighters lying in wait.”
I felt a shiver run through me, a mix of awe and anticipation filling me as his words sank in. I could almost see it–the Rogue King, smug and overconfident, walking right into the ambush. The memory of his face, his cruel smile as he taunted my father’s dying form, flashed in my mind,
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reigniting a rage I hadn’t let myself feel.
“When they come…” I could barely contain the tremor in my voice, my fists clenched as the anger inside me swelled.
“What happens then?”
Damon’s gaze remained unyielding, his voice a promise, dark and certain.
“They’ll be surrounded by the strongest warriors from every corner of the land. We’ll close in on them, give them no way to escape. This time, there will be no mercy, Malinda. We will finish them all.”
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