Chapter 6: Not Enough

Moana’s POV

The guard’s grip bruised my right shoulder as he shoved me through the heavy oak doors. Pain shot up my arm as I stumbled into the room.

Think, Moana. Think.

Don’t look back.

Behind me, my father’s letter still lay somewhere near the doorway.

“I caught her lurking behind the door, Alpha,” the guard reported, pushing me closer to the massive desk. “She was pressed against the wall eavesdropping like a spy when I found her.”

I swallowed very hard. Eldrick’s gaze snapped to mine, and for a fraction of a second, the terrifying Alpha disappeared. His shoulders looked tight, his face paler than usual. He looked even worse than he had in the library earlier.

The bond between us tugged unexpectedly. A wave of exhaustion washed over me. I could feel it inside of me, as though it were my own exhaustion.

Then his jaw clenched, and the moment shattered. His ruthless mask slammed back into place. “Release her,” he commanded, his voice low and deadly.

The guard’s hand disappeared from my shoulder immediately.

I pulled my arms tightly against my body and rubbed the sore spot, keeping my eyes fixed on the stone floor.

Elder Marek stepped into my field of vision, the steady tap of his cane echoing off the floor. The oil lamp on the heavy wooden desk cast flickering light across his face, turning his gray hair into a cold crown of frost. His sharp eyes fixed on me with open judgment.

“She is a viper, Eldrick,” Marek said, his cane striking the floor once. “Caught outside your door eavesdropping, on a night the entire pack is on high alert? Please tell me that doesn’t concern you.”

His eyes narrowed on me.

“It seems her father’s treachery runs deeper than we thought. Every day she remains here is a risk this pack cannot afford.”

“Send her away, Eldrick,” Marek continued, his voice dripping with false worry. “She will curse us all with her evil bloodline… the same way she’s now causing you pain.”

My heart dropped to my stomach. If they threw me out now, the broken bond would finish what the rejection started. I fear that if I went too far from Eldrick, the pain might actually kill me.

Even if I pulled out the letter right now, who would believe me? It would be my word against Marek’s… he is the oldest and the most respected Elder in the pack. A single blood-stained letter from a man everyone already called a traitor won’t prove anything. They would laugh in my face. They would say I forged it. They would even call me desperate. Not even Eldrick would listen.

The letter is not enough. Not yet.

In that moment my fingers tightened around the old map tucked beneath my arm, the worn parchment crackling softly.

Use the map. Buy yourself time. The words echoed in my head.

“I wasn’t eavesdropping,” I said, forcing the words past my dry throat.

I stepped forward and pulled out the map, unfolding it with trembling fingers and holding it between myself and the two powerful men in front of me like a shield.

“I came here to find you, Alpha,” I said, keeping my voice as steady as I can. “While I was cleaning, I discovered that the North Border maps we use are wrong. These are my father’s maps. He was documenting something… and I think he might have found something dangerous in these walls.”

A long silence stretched across the room. Then Eldrick pushed away from his desk and started walking toward me, his steps slow and measured.

“I thought I told you to stay inside the library,” he said, his voice low and dangerous, “or I would throw you into the dungeons.”

The ground felt like it was about to crack open beneath me. I had run here so recklessly, desperate to warn him, that I had forgotten his warning.

“I… I—”

“A drudge like you, digging through restricted pack archives?” Eldrick cut me off. “You expect me to believe you were only doing chores, Moana?”

“There are hidden paths through the mountains,” I pressed on, my voice gaining strength. I dragged the map closer to the desk and pointed at the faded ink lines. “Here, Eldrick. Look at these dotted trails behind the mountain ridges. Someone who knows the terrain could move an entire army through those passes, and your border patrols would never know they crossed. My father was investigating this. Please… go out there and see for yourself. Or send someone to check the ridges. Do it for your pack, Alpha.”

I noticed Marek’s fingers tighten around the silver handle of his cane until his knuckles turned white. It lasted only a fraction of a second, but I saw it.

“Ridiculous,” Marek snapped, his voice sharp with irritation. “The girl is spilling nonsense to make herself look useful and escape the consequences of her disobedience, Alpha. Do not indulge a traitor’s daughter.”

Eldrick didn’t even glance at him.

Instead, he stopped directly in front of me, his gaze fixed on the map. The space between us vanished, and the deep pain that had been in my bones all day began to disappear. A strange warmth spread through my chest, quieting the worst of the pain.

I hated how much I needed that warmth. I hated that my body still reached for him.

The scent of pine and woodsmoke clung to him, familiar and impossible to ignore. Without meaning to, I found myself leaning slightly toward it.

My wolf stirred inside me, no longer curled in misery.

And for one weak, foolish moment, I wanted to stay exactly where I was.

“Leave us,” Eldrick said, his voice dropping to a gravelly whisper.

Marek’s chest puffed up in protest.

“Eldrick, she is a security threat…”

“Out. Both of you.”

The sudden weight of his Alpha command rolled through the room like a heavy wave, pressing down on my chest and making it hard to breathe.

The guard bowed immediately and retreated. Marek gave me one last dark glare, full of warning, before he swept out of the room.

The moment the heavy oak doors clicked shut, silence fell between us.

Eldrick loomed over me, his chest rising and falling in rapid, uneven breaths. With an impatient movement, he snatched the map from my hands.

Our fingers brushed. A sharp spark shot up my arm and straight into my chest.

We both flinched. And a low groan escaped Eldrick’s throat as he squeezed his eyes shut.

“You disobey me at every turn,” he rasped, his voice rough and laced with anger that seemed directed more at himself than at me. “Why can’t you just stay where you are put?”

“Because the pack is in danger,” I whispered, looking up at him. “And so are you.”

He stepped closer. Then closer again.

Before I realized it, the edge of his desk pressed against the small of my back. He had boxed me in without even touching me.

I should have felt trapped. Instead, the sickness that had been eating me up all day began to fade away even more. And for the first time since morning, I could fully breathe well, without feeling dizzy.

His gaze dropped to my lips for a second. Then he looked away so quickly it seemed violent, his expression twisting with restraint.

“You think these old scribbles prove anything?” he asked, his voice unsteady.

“Check the borders yourself,” I interrupted. I pointed again at the dots on the map, my voice stronger now. “Here, Eldrick. The walls can be breached from there. You can go out there and see for yourself. Or send Kaelen. Please… this is for the safety of the pack.”

The words left me so fast I couldn’t stop them.

He closed his eyes again and clenched his fists at his sides, as though he was fighting something I couldn't see.

“Fine. I will check the northern borders myself,” he finally said, his voice tightly controlled. “I leave tonight. Kaelen will be in charge of the pack and the castle while I’m gone.”

My heart lurched. Two days. The journey to the North Border would take at least two days. I had suggested he go himself but I didn’t mean it.

“No, Eldrick… please send your Beta instead,” I whispered, fear cracking my voice. “If you go that far… the pain might kill me. I’m not strong enough to survive it. I don’t even fully understand what this bond sickness is doing to me. Please, Eldrick, don't go.”

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he caught a strand of my hair, lifted it to his nose, and sniffed my skin slowly from my neck all the way down to my breast. His hot breath brushed my bare chest… a slow, intoxicating heat that sparked a possessive ache between us. It felt so incredibly good, a dangerous contrast to the agonizing weight of the rejection. Then he pulled away sharply and turned his back on me.

“I leave tonight, and that’s final,” he said, his golden eyes flaring. “But until I return, you will stay in the library during the day. You work, and you do not wander the castle at night. If I find you outside your designated areas again…”

“Yes, Alpha.”

He didn’t need to finish the threat.

“Now get out of my sight, drudge.”

I turned quickly to flee the study.

“Wait,” Eldrick said.

I froze, my mind racing back to the letter still lying on the floor just outside. Please, Moon Goddess, don’t let anyone find it. Please let it still be there.

His terrifying golden eyes moved slowly over me from head to toe, as though he was searching for something hidden on my body.

“Leave the map on the floor and you can go.” 

I turned and fled the study, my pulse racing.

When I stepped into the hallway, I glanced toward the dark corner. Relief hit me hard… the letter was still there, untouched.

The dim hallway was empty, torches flickering low against the stone pillars. I dropped to my knees near the corner, pretending to fumble with the broken strap of my worn boot. My fingers swept frantically across the cold floorboards until they closed around the thin, crisp parchment.

Relief flooded me, but it was short-lived.