74. Beneath the Moon of Secrets

We don’t go straight back to the cabin. Shadow insists on taking a long, winding path through the forest, making sure Klaus isn’t following us—though I’m pretty sure that if that man wanted to find us, he already would’ve. The tension between us is thick enough to choke on. He walks ahead of me, broad back and stiff shoulders, like he’s carrying the weight of the world.

I, on the other hand, am battling the thousand questions spinning in my head. Who is Klaus, really? What kind of “mistake from the past” could stir up that level of hatred? And more importantly: what role do I play in all of this?

The silence stretches until I can’t take it anymore.

“You can’t keep leaving everything up in the air, Shadow.”

My voice comes out sharper than I intended, almost like a challenge.

He stops so abruptly I nearly crash into his back. He turns to me, his dark eyes gleaming with a mixture of frustration—and something else I can’t quite name.

“What do you want me to say, Lyra?” he asks, his voice laced with weariness. “That Klaus is a psychopath who enjoys destroying lives? That I made mistakes that are now coming back to haunt me? What do you want from me?”

His words hit me like a slap, but I don’t back down. Instead, I step closer, closing the space between us.

“I want the truth, Shadow,” I say, my voice trembling slightly, but I stand my ground. “If I’m in danger just by being with you, I deserve to know.”

He exhales, dragging a hand through his hair in frustration. For a moment, he seems to wrestle with himself, weighing how much to tell me. Finally, he nods, his expression softening just a little.

“Klaus and I… we have history,” he begins, voice low but clear. “We were like brothers once, a long time ago. We were part of the same pack. We grew up together, fought together. But things went wrong.”

“What happened?” I whisper, almost afraid of the answer.

He meets my eyes, and I see the pain reflected in them.

“I betrayed him,” he admits, voice barely above a murmur. “And in this world, Lyra, betrayals aren’t easily forgiven.”

His confession leaves me speechless. There’s something in his tone, in the way he avoids my gaze, that tells me there’s much more to the story. But before I can press further, a howl slices through the night, making me jump.

“We need to keep moving,” Shadow says, tension returning to his body. “It’s not safe here.”

He takes my hand and leads me through the forest, his fingers warm and steady around mine. Despite the fear twisting in my chest, there’s something in his touch that makes me feel strangely safe.

At last, we reach the cabin. Shadow ushers me inside, slams the door shut, and bolts it with a heavy iron latch. The air is thick, heavy with all the words we haven’t said.

“What do we do now?” I ask as I sit on the edge of the couch, feeling small and misplaced in the middle of all this.

Shadow stays silent for a moment, eyes fixed on the window like he expects Klaus to burst through it at any second.

“Now we prepare for the worst,” he finally says, his voice low but steady.

I hate that answer, but I don’t have time to argue because he steps toward me and kneels in front of me, taking my hands in his.

“Lyra, I know this is a lot. I know you’re scared, and I’m sorry—more than I can say. But I need you to trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you, alright?”

His intensity steals my breath, and for a moment, everything else fades. The world narrows down to this moment, to his eyes locked on mine, to the warmth of his hands wrapped around mine.

“I trust you,” I finally whisper.

A flicker of relief crosses his face, but there’s still a darkness in his gaze that doesn’t go away. Before I can say anything else, he leans forward and, to my surprise, kisses me.

It’s a desperate kiss, full of everything he can’t say out loud. His mouth moves against mine with a need that makes my heart race, as if he’s trying to carve this moment into memory. And I… I let myself be swept away, because right now, there is nothing else but us.

When we finally pull apart, we’re both breathless. Shadow looks at me with a mix of longing and regret, like he’s fighting himself.

“This changes nothing,” he says, his voice rough. “We’re still in danger.”

“I know,” I reply, though inside, I’m not so sure what I do know anymore.

The only thing I’m certain of is that, whatever happens, I’m not willing to let them tear us apart. Because whatever this is between us—no matter how complicated, no matter how dangerous—it’s worth fighting for.