EavesDropping

I gasped.

My chest tightened, each breath shallow and painful.

The tears had dried on my cheeks, but the ache in my heart had only grown worse.

My hands clawed at the sheets as I tried to steady myself, but the heaviness of my memories made it impossible.

I couldn’t breathe.

I clawed at my chest but it was impossible.

Panic surged through me, sharp and unrelenting, as though invisible hands were squeezing the air from my lungs.

I stumbled off the bed, my legs trembling beneath me.

The room felt too small, the walls pressing in on me, it felt as if they were squeezing me in.

I staggered to the door, wrenching it open, and rushed into the hallway.

My bare feet padded against the cold stone floor as I searched desperately for an escape, any place where I could breathe again.

My vision blurred with fresh tears, but I kept moving, driven by the overwhelming need for air.

A balcony.

The double doors stood at the end of the corridor, the moonlight spilling through the glass panes.

I shoved them open and stepped outside, the cool night air hitting my skin like a slap.

I collapsed against the railing, gripping it tightly as I dragged in lungfuls of air.

My breaths came in uneven gasps, my chest heaving as the tightness began to ease.

The wind whipped around me, chilling the sweat on my skin.

Above, the moon hung high in the sky, its silvery glow bathing the landscape below in an ethereal light.

The palace gardens stretched out beneath me, their beauty wasted on my broken heart.

And then, it all came crashing down.

The sobs tore through me again, violent and cruel, like waves crashing against the chore.

I buried my face in my hands, my shoulders shaking as I cried.

“Why?” I choked out, my voice raw and filled with anguish. “Why did you do this to me?”

My gaze lifted to the moon, its light mocking me with its serenity.

“Why did you make me this way?” I shouted, my voice echoing into the empty night. I didn't care if everyone heard me, all I wanted was the moon goddess to hear my pleas. My pain. “Why did you curse me to suffer? To lose everything?”

I gripped the railing tighter, my nails digging into the cold metal. “Is this what you wanted, Moon Goddess? To watch me break? To take everyone I care about and leave me with nothing?”

The wind carried my words away, offering no answer.

“You took Olivia,” I sobbed, my voice trembling. “You let her die for nothing. You gave me a mate who rejected me, a sister who wants me dead, and a life that’s nothing but pain.”

The tears came harder now, blurring the world around me. “Why?” I whispered, my voice cracking. “What did I do to deserve this?”

For a moment, I thought the goddess might answer, that the moon would shift or the stars would align in some celestial apology.

But there was nothing, only silence.

I let out a bitter laugh, wiping my tears with the back of my hand. “Fine,” I hissed, my voice low and venomous. “You want me to suffer? You want me to be weak? You’ll be disappointed.”

I straightened, my grip on the railing firm as I stared out at the dark horizon. The pain in my chest hadn’t lessened, but something else burned beneath it now, a fire I hadn’t felt in years.

The fire that I had quenched so I can be my sister stepping ground.

“I’ll show you,” I said, my voice steady now, though it shook with anger. “I’ll show all of them. Amira, Max, every single one of them who ever thought I was nothing.”

I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms. “I’ll destroy them. I’ll make them pay for every scar, every tear, every loss. They’ll regret underestimating me.”

The words felt foreign on my tongue, but they filled me with a strange sense of purpose. I didn’t know how I would do it, how I would rise above the chains that had bound me my entire life, but I knew I would.

No one would break me again.

The wind howled around me as I stood there, the moonlight casting long shadows across the balcony. My tears had stopped, though the wetness on my cheeks remained.

And then, just as the silence began to settle, I heard it.

Whispers.

They were faint, almost not heard, like the rustling of leaves in the wind. My head snapped up, my eyes scanning the darkness around me.

“Who’s there?” I called out, my voice trembling despite my newfound resolve.

The whispers grew louder, though I couldn’t make out the words. They seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once, surrounding me in a ghostly echo.

I stepped back from the railing, my heart pounding in my chest. The cold air felt heavier now, tinged with an unease I couldn’t explain.

The whispers didn’t stop.

“Who’s there?” I asked, my voice trembling despite the edge of anger I tried to infuse into it.

The only reply was the wind, carrying fragments of sound that felt too deliberate to be natural. Words seemed to swirl just out of reach, dissolving the moment I tried to focus on them. I turned sharply, scanning the dark corners of the balcony and the hall beyond, but there was nothing.

I backed into the doorway, my steps faltering. That’s when I heard it—low voices coming from deeper inside the castle.

I paused, straining to catch the words.

“…doesn’t matter what she said. We can’t trust her.”

The voice was sharp, clipped. I recognized it instantly, it was Knox.

“She’s here under my orders.” Alaric’s voice followed, low and firm, but there was an edge to it, something unsettling. “She’s a pawn, nothing more. For now.”

A sinking feeling settled in my stomach, but I crept closer to the source of the voices, careful not to let my footsteps echo against the stone floor.

“You don’t think she’ll try to prove herself?” Knox asked, his tone almost amused.

“Perhaps,” Alaric replied, his voice quieter now. “But it won’t matter. She’ll break before long. They always do. The bold ones who thing they can handle everything. They are the quickest to break.”

The words hit me like a slap. So this is what he thought of me, a weak, disposable tool to be used and discarded.

I pressed myself against the wall, heart hammering in my chest.

Knox chuckled. “You sound almost certain of that.”

“I don’t have the luxury of uncertainty,” Alaric said sharply. “If she can’t serve her purpose, then she’s expendable.”

A lump formed in my throat, but I bit it back.

Expendable.

That’s all I was to him

Well it was expected though.

He uses me, I use him for my revenge.

The conversation paused, and I thought they had moved away until I heard a sudden, harsh cough echo down the hallway.

It was monstrous in a wayl, wet, and it startled me so much I nearly stumbled.

“Your Majesty?” Knox’s voice carried a hint of concern.

Another cough, this one louder and more strained.

“I’m fine,” Alaric said, though his voice was raspier now, deeper, as though something was clawing at his throat.

“You don’t sound fine.”

“Leave it.” Alaric’s tone left no room for argument.

There was a pause, followed by the sound of quick, shuffling steps. When I peeked around the corner, the hallway was empty.

I frowned, my pulse racing. What had just happened? His voice—it had changed, deepened in a way that didn’t seem natural. And those footsteps, they weren’t Knox’s or Alaric’s. It had sounded like something much faster, something I couldn’t explain.

How Lycan? Did he need his Lycan to run inside his own home?

Pushing the unease aside, I turned and made my way back toward my room, my footsteps quiet but hurried. The corridors felt darker now, the flickering candlelight casting long, jagged shadows that seemed to shift as I passed.

---

When I finally reached my quarters, I closed the door behind me, leaning against it as I exhaled shakily. The air in the room was cold, but I welcomed it, needing the stillness to calm my nerves.

My eyes darted to the grand bed, then to the bookshelf, searching for something to distract myself. But then something caught my attention—a faint glimmer on the wooden frame of the door.

I stepped closer, squinting at the red paint etched into the wood.

The letters were jagged, uneven, as if someone had scratched them in hastily. My fingers traced the words, the message chilling me to the bone:

“Beware the monster at night.”

I stumbled back, my breath catching in my throat.

“What…?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

The words stared back at me, stark and ominous. My mind raced with questions.

Who had carved this?

When?

And what did it mean?

My pulse quickened as I glanced around the room, half-expecting someone, or something, to appear from the shadows. But the room was empty, silent except for the faint rustling of the curtains in the night breeze.

“Beware the monster at night,” I repeated under my breath, the words heavy with an unspoken threat.

I pressed my back against the door, my hands trembling as I tried to piece it together.

What was happening in this palace?

And more importantly… I hope I haven't jumped from firewood to fire.