Chapter 133QUINN'S POVIt had worked. I could feel it in my bones.They thought I was dead.Good. Let them think that.I leaned up against a tree, panting for breath. Every part of me ached. My head spun. But my mind, at least, was not.Gianna. Theodore. They were behind it.And Perrin—A new wave of pain cut through me, and I winced, more intense than any physical hurt.Had he already mourned me? Had he already moved on?I closed my eyes tight and pushed the questions out of my mind. I couldn’t afford to break. Not yet.I had to get back.I had to finish this.If Gianna believed she’d won, she was as dumb as I ever gave her credit for being.The trees stirred about me, and I saw a movement—a black form slipping among the trees.My heart stuttered painfully.Someone was following me.Panic flooded, but I held myself still, forced myself to breathe through the panic.The figure drew nearer, becoming more distinct in the hazy pre-dawn light.A man.Familiar.Terrifying.Dorian.I nearl
QUINNHe closed the space between us in two strides, gripping me by the shoulders.“You’re alive,” he murmured frantically. "You're real."The corners of my vision went moist, but I nodded. "I’m real."He pulled me into himself, holding on with all his might, his arms strong and fierce, his grip desperate, as if he could keep me with him in this life through sheer force of will.I allowed him to hold me for a moment.Let myself breathe him in.Remind myself why I had worked so hard to make it back.And then I eased back.I looked at Gianna who, like the rest of us, was utterly immobile, her expression one of sheer horror ingrained on every perfect line of her face.“You lied,” I said, the words slicing through the heavy air.She tried to speak, but no words would come.“You showed him that blouse,” I said. “You let him think I was dead.Gianna balled her hands into fists. "You were dead," she spat before she caught herself.The words hung between us, weighted and damning.Perrin looke
QUINNThat plan fell into place more quickly than I had anticipated.Theodore had been training himself already, setting traps I wasn’t even aware were there, and I didn’t even realize.Whispers in the council.Rumors sowed like seeds, waiting to sprout and poison.Documents.Decrees.Secrets that Perrin had believed laid to rest long ago.Theodore had been patient.Now it was time to enjoy the fruits of their labor.And at the hub of this all — me.---That night, as the estate hummed with the intelligence of my "banishment," I lolled.Dorian, the ever faithful dog, was with Quinn—practicing, watching, doing nothing.Perrin's been holed up in the solar, full of grief and anger and too far gone to see anything but his own unhappiness.Perfect.I strode, in the dark of the night, into the Council Chamber where I was cloaked in black.The big table was bare, the wide window behind it open to the night air.On the table, I spread the documents Theodore had handed me—sealed orders that bl
QUINNAlora's jaw tightened."And the witnesses listed?" she demanded.I smiled thinly."Nonexistent. Fabricated names. Cross-ref the council's register of residents."Another aide scrambled out of the room to do just that.They were in front of me now, the terrible beat of my heart resounding in my ears.“You were played,” I said softly. "Somebody in this council--or near to it at least--wanted to get Perrin killed.I held for a minute, allowing my words to hang."And they almost succeeded."---Gianna’s POVI pressed close to the arch on the far balcony, hidden in the shadows of a stained wood pillar.My nails clawed into the hard stone railing.No.This is not how it was supposed to be.She should’ve been weeping.He should’ve been destroyed.Instead—Instead she’d flipped it all on its head with just a few pieces of paper and that maddening, unbreakable fire in her voice.I wanted to scream.I wanted to tear the whole god-damned building down with my bare hands.But I kept myself
QUINN“You should not need to be prepared for this,” he said, his voice low. “You should not have to battle monsters to be with me.”“I’m not scared,” I whispered.And I wasn’t.Not anymore.Perrin bent and lay his forehead against mine. For a moment, the rest of the world fell away. There remained only his heat, his strength.But it didn't last.A knock shattered the moment.“Alpha,” Dorian spoke from behind the door. "We have a situation."Perrin sat up again, already rolling from the bed toward the door. I went after him, heart throbbing faster.Dorian's face was dark as we entered the hall. His sleeve had been ripped, and dried blood was smeared down his forearm."What happened?" Perrin demanded."West patrol attack," Dorian replied. "Three guards down. The import was unmistakable.” No deaths, but … The message was clear.He offered a sheet of parchment.Perrin jerked it up, read quickly the large, scrawled letters:"You cannot protect her. She will bleed. You will watch."No sign
Perrin's POVThe fires were still burning when the sun rose.I stood outside the estate, boots planted in bloodstained grass, and watched as my warriors dragged the last of the bodies away. Smoke climbed slow and heavy into the pale morning sky. It felt like the air itself had gone heavy, like the world was weighed down.Gianna was dead.Theodore was dead.It should have felt like peace.Instead, it felt like waiting.Quinn stood at my side, wrapped in my jacket. Her small hand clutched my arm tightly. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. I could feel her fear, her anger, her strength.We had survived.But something told me it wasn’t over."Alpha," Dorian said as he came up, his voice low. "We've checked the grounds. No more enemies. No more threats."I nodded but didn’t move. My gut twisted. I knew better than to trust a quiet morning."Double the guards," I said. "I want two at every entrance. Rotate them every three hours. No one gets tired."Dorian gave a quick nod and jog
Perrin's POVThe next morning came with rain.It fell hard and cold against the roof, soaking the grounds and washing away the blood stains on the stones. The sky stayed dark and heavy, matching the mood of the pack.I sat at the long dining table with Quinn beside me. Food sat untouched in front of us. Neither of us felt like eating.Dorian came in, dripping wet, holding a soaked piece of cloth in his hand. His face was pale, his jaw tight."What is it?" I asked, standing up.He dropped the cloth on the table. I stepped closer and saw what it was.A piece of one of our patrol uniforms. Torn. Bloodied."Found it by the north woods," Dorian said. His voice was low, careful. "No sign of the patrol itself. All three are missing."Quinn stiffened beside me. Her hand found my arm, squeezing it tight.Missing.Three of our trained fighters, gone without a sound."We need to go," I said.I grabbed my jacket and headed out with Dorian and four others. Quinn wanted to come, but I made her stay
Perrin's POVThe days after the ambush passed slowly.Even though we had killed two of the attackers, the pack stayed tense.People barely spoke.Kids were kept indoors.Mothers clutched their babies close, looking around like something would jump out of the shadows any second.I didn’t blame them.We had fought back, yes.But the enemy hadn’t stopped.If anything, it felt like we had made them angrier.More patrols went missing.Animals were found dead near the borders — torn apart, left to rot.A warning.The air itself felt heavy.Like the forest was holding its breath, waiting for something worse to come.One morning, Dorian came running into my office, a wild look in his eyes."You need to see this," he said.I followed him outside,It was near the training fields. Someone had carved another message into the earth, deep and wide enough that you could see it from the estate windows.Only this time, it wasn’t words.It was a symbol. A circle, broken down the middle, with sharp arrow
Two years later…The sky was a soft blue, clear and calm, with only a few white clouds drifting above. The sun was warm, not too hot, just perfect for a day outside. The wind carried the scent of flowers and fresh grass. Everything felt peaceful. Safe. Alive.I sat on the front steps of our cottage, watching our son play in the garden. His laughter was like music. Every time he giggled, it filled my chest with warmth I never knew I could feel.He had my eyes but Quinn’s smile. That wide, bright smile that could light up an entire room. His hair was the same soft brown as mine, but his spirit? That was all Quinn. Brave. Curious. Kind.“Mama! Look!” he shouted, holding up a small yellow flower in his tiny hand. “I found a sun!”Quinn walked out of the house just in time to hear him. She smiled, her face glowing, and bent down to kiss the top of his head.“That’s a dandelion, baby,” she said gently.He looked up at her, puzzled. “It looks like the sun.”Quinn laughed, her eyes meeting mi
PERRIN.The sun had barely risen when Quinn and I arrived at the clearing. The air felt heavy, thick with the weight of what was coming. It was impossible to ignore the tension that hung between us, but there was no turning back now. The battle had been set in motion long before we even stepped foot in the Hollow.Theodore was waiting for us. I could feel it in the way the trees seemed to hold their breath, in the way the wind had gone still. The world around us felt like it was frozen in time, as if holding onto the last moments before everything changed.“We’re here,” Quinn said, her voice steady but low. She was ready, even though I could see the fear in her eyes. We both were. Ready, yet afraid. Afraid of what we might lose. Afraid of the unknown.I nodded, tightening my grip on her hand. “Let’s end this.”We moved forward, our footsteps soft on the ground. It felt like every step took us deeper into a world that no longer made sense—one where shadows crept around us, and danger w
PERRINThe Hollow had changed her. I saw it in the way she moved, in the way she looked at the world. The old Quinn was still there, but she had become something else. Something stronger. Something that made my heart both swell with pride and tighten with fear. The Hollow had given her power, but at a cost. A price only she truly understood.We walked side by side, the silence between us comfortable, yet heavy. I could tell Quinn was still processing everything. She didn’t talk much, and neither did I. But I knew her well enough to read the subtle signs. Her hands were clenched, the muscles in her jaw tight. She was holding something back—maybe it was the weight of the trials she’d just endured. Maybe it was the burden of the promise she had made to the First Luna.But I wasn’t going to ask her about it. Not yet. Not unless she was ready.As we stepped farther from the Hollow, the air felt different. Less oppressive, more open. The trees around us were taller now, more like the famili
PERRINThe night felt colder than usual. The stars were hidden behind thick clouds, and the wind was biting as it swept through the trees. I stood at the edge of the Hollow, waiting for Quinn. The quiet was unsettling. There were no sounds of animals, no rustle of leaves in the wind, just silence. I felt it, the weight of the moment pressing down on me. What had she seen in there? What had she done?I ran my fingers through my hair, pacing back and forth. The last few days had been a blur—days of planning, of wondering if we were ready. But now, everything felt different. The air had changed. And Quinn... she had changed. I could feel it in the way she moved, in the way she looked at me. She was carrying something now. Something heavier than the world itself.The veil rippled, and then I saw her. She stepped through slowly, like the world had shifted beneath her feet. Her eyes were different—clearer, more focused—but there was something else in them too. Something deeper.“Quinn,” I s
QUINNThe forest felt different now. After what the Keeper told me, I could feel it. The air was tighter. The silence heavier. Every step I took through the Hollow felt watched, even though I saw no eyes. I kept my hand on my belly, grounding myself with every breath. He was still. Quiet. Listening, maybe. Or sleeping. I couldn’t tell anymore. But I could feel him there, wrapped inside me like the last light in a dark world.I kept walking.There was a place the Keeper told me to go next. She didn’t explain much, only that it was deep in the Hollow. She called it the Pool of Remembering. Said it would show me what I needed, not what I wanted. That didn’t comfort me. But I didn’t come here for comfort. I came to understand what was coming and how to stop it.The trees grew closer together as I walked, their roots twisting like claws over the ground. I had to step carefully. A wrong move could trap my foot or break my balance. Still, I moved forward. The shadows grew thicker, but the de
QUINNThe days in the Hollow passed like a dream. I couldn’t tell how much time had gone by. The sun and moon moved above me, but the way they shifted in the sky didn’t feel normal. Time here was strange. It stretched and folded in on itself. Sometimes I would wake and think it was the same day, only to realize the trees had moved, or the air had changed.I stayed inside the stone circle most of the time. It was the safest place. The Keeper said the stones still held the oldest magic, and while they couldn’t stop everything, they could slow things down. Especially the thing that was looking for me.The baby had grown stronger. I could feel him more now. Not just his kicks or movements, but his presence. Sometimes when I sat still, I felt his energy wrapping around mine, like he was holding me back. Like he was trying to comfort me.And sometimes, he would send me feelings. Flashes of fear, curiosity, or warmth. I didn’t know how, but we were connected in ways I didn’t understand. Mayb
QuinnThe moment we returned to the camp near the Hollow, everything felt different.Perrin didn’t speak at first. His eyes kept scanning the trees like he expected something to jump out. I sat on a flat rock near the fire, watching the smoke rise into the dark sky. The stars looked sharper tonight. Like they were watching.“Do you feel it too?” I asked.He didn’t answer. Instead, he took a slow step toward me, his eyes full of questions he didn’t know how to ask. Finally, he knelt in front of me and reached for my hands.“You crossed the veil,” he said.“I know.”“You shouldn’t have been able to.”“I know that too.”He looked away, his jaw tightening. “Something happened to you in the Hollow. Something more than a vision.”“I saw myself. A darker version of me. And I saw him… our son. Older. Strong. Dangerous.”Perrin’s head jerked back slightly. “Dangerous?”“He had power I can’t explain. He didn’t use it to hurt—not yet—but it was there, waiting.”He sat beside me, elbows on his kn
QUINNThe Hollow was quiet again.But it wasn’t the kind of quiet that calms you. It was the type that made your skin crawl. Like the world was holding its breath, waiting for something to break.I walked deeper into the woods, away from the circle, away from Perrin’s distant eyes. My feet moved on their own. The air was cooler, heavier. The trees whispered. I couldn’t understand the words, but I knew they were speaking to me.They were warning me.I stopped in front of a stream, its waters still and dark like a mirror. I crouched and dipped my fingers into it. It was ice-cold, but it sent warmth up my arm—a strange, pulsing energy that made my stomach twist.He kicked again. Harder this time.“I feel you,” I whispered. “I know you’re watching too.”A shape moved behind me. I stood quickly, heart pounding, but there was nothing there. Just the trees. Just the wind.No.Something was there. I felt it before I saw it. A pull, strong and steady, dragging my attention east.I followed it.
QUINNThe night air was cold as I stood outside the castle walls. The wind was sharper than usual, brushing against my skin like a warning. My bag was light, but my heart felt heavy. I didn’t look back. If I did, I wasn’t sure I could walk away.Perrin stood just a few feet behind me. His arms were crossed, but his face gave him away. He looked like he was trying to be strong, but inside he was falling apart.“I have to go,” I whispered.He didn’t speak at first. The silence between us stretched so far it felt like another world. Then finally, he stepped forward and took my hands in his.“I should be with you,” he said. “You’re carrying our child.”“I know.” I squeezed his fingers. “But this place… The Hollow… only I can get through. The old blood recognizes Luna. You’re strong, but you’re not Luna-born.”His jaw tensed. “Then let me wait at the edge. Let me be close.”I nodded. “You can come that far. But after that, I go alone.”His arms wrapped around me so tightly I almost broke.