Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

|| Author's POV ||

A lone figure, wrapped in a dark, hooded cloak, moved through its belly, their steps quick and unsteady.

They stumbled over a gnarled root, a sharp gasp swallowed by the thick night air. With a shaky hand, they righted themselves, pressing on with a desperate urgency that seemed to fight against the clinging undergrowth.

Finally, they broke into a small clearing, a patch of weak moonlight filtering through the canopy. The figure... Eirlys... stood panting, her head whipping from side to side, searching the oppressive darkness.

“You’re getting clumsy, Eirlys.”

The voice, low and smooth, came from the trees directly behind her. She jumped, a hand flying to her chest as she spun around.

Thyron stepped out of the shadows, his expression one of mild amusement. Eirlys let out a long, shuddering sigh, the tension draining from her shoulders for just a second.

“Gods, you scared the life out of me,” she breathed.

“Then perhaps we should meet somewhere less… dramatic,” Thyron said, his tone dry. “A tavern, perhaps. Somewhere with light and ale.”

“Do you have a death wish?” Eirlys hissed, her fear quickly replaced by exasperation. “You want to be killed or something? The walls have ears in this pack. What I have to tell you… it’s not just dangerous. It’s explosive. You need to listen, and you need to listen carefully.”

Thyron crossed his arms, his amusement fading into a look of genuine curiosity.

“Alright, alright. I’m listening. What’s got you so spooked?”

Eirlys took a step closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.

“A few days ago, the Luna… she told me something. In confidence. She said that before she was mated, she… well, she was with someone. A stranger. At the Blackfen Inn.”

Thyron shrugged.

“So? A youthful indiscretion. What of it?”

“That’s what I thought!” Eirlys said, her eyes wide. “But then, earlier today, I saw her. In the rose garden. I went back for my shawl and I saw them.”

“Saw who?”

“Her and him,” Eirlys insisted, her words tumbling out faster now. “Marcello. The Alpha’s own brother! He had her wrist, they were standing so close… the way she looked at him… it wasn’t innocent, Thyron. It was full of guilt and panic and… heat. I saw it all.”

Thyron’s eyebrows knitted together.

“I’m not following. What’s she getting at here?”

“Can’t you see the picture?” Eirlys said, her voice rising with frustration before she remembered to keep it down. “The Alpha’s Lycan brother and the man the Luna told me about… they’re the same person. The Luna is fucking her own brother-in-law!”

The implication finally landed. A slow, wicked smile spread across Thyron’s face.

“Oh. Oh, I see now. That is… deliciously damaging.” He chuckled, a low, unpleasant sound. “If that got out… the scandal alone would shatter the Alpha’s authority. His own Luna, betraying him with his greatest rival.”

“Exactly,” Eirlys said, a fierce light in her eyes.

Thyron tilted his head.

“But why are you telling me this? Why are you helping me? What’s in it for you?”

Eirlys’s smile was sweet, but her eyes were cold and sharp as ice.

“Because that simpering, whoring idiot doesn’t deserve him. She doesn’t deserve the title, his protection, or his love. When she’s out of the way… when David sees her for the traitor she is… he’ll finally look up. He’ll finally see who’s been loyal to him all along. He’ll see me.”

She leaned in, her voice a venomous promise.

“And I’m going to make sure of that.”

---

Ashina Lockwood's POV

I shot upright in bed, a scream trapped in my throat. My heart hammered against my ribs like a frantic bird, and a cold sweat soaked through my nightgown, making me shiver.

“What is it?”

The voice from the other side of the massive bed was a low growl, rough with sleep and irritation. David was propped on an elbow, watching me through the gloom, a familiar scowl etched on his face.

I dragged in a ragged breath, trying to calm the frantic pounding in my chest.

“The dream again,” I whispered, my voice hoarse.

He sighed, the sound heavy with annoyance.

“Again? Ashina, it’s just a dream. Your mind playing tricks on you. Whims and nonsense.” He lay back down, turning his broad back to me. “Go back to sleep.”

But the images were burned onto the backs of my eyelids. Fire, consuming everything. The coppery smell of blood so thick I could taste it. And the screams… gods, the screams that sounded suspiciously like my own. They weren’t whims. They felt like a premonition.

Sleep was impossible. The air in the room felt thick and heavy, pressing down on me. I needed air. Maybe some cool night breeze would wash the lingering horror from my skin.

Silently, I slipped out of the bed, my bare feet padding across the cold stone floor toward the balcony doors. The moon was high, casting a silver glow over the peaceful gardens below. It was a picture of tranquility, a stark contrast to the warzone in my mind.

I gripped the cold stone railing, taking a deep, steadying breath of the night air.

And then the world tilted.

A wave of dizzying nausea slammed into me so violently my knees buckled. The peaceful garden swirled into a vortex of black and silver. The last thing I heard was the distant, panicked shout of a guard before the darkness rushed up to swallow me whole…

The world swam back into focus one blurry, dizzying piece at a time. The first thing I noticed was the smell... sharp herbs and clean linen. Not my bedroom. I was lying on a firm cot, a thin blanket pulled up to my waist. The stone ceiling above was familiar. The med bay.