The Eyes In The Dark

Chapter 8

I did not sleep.

Even after the battle, even after my body screamed for rest, my eyes would not close. Nyx would not let me.

Wake up. He is still there.

I sat up in my old bed. The room was dark, cold, and smelled of dust. The same room I had cried in for three years before I ran away. Nothing had changed. Except me.

I walked to the window.

And I saw them.

Two red eyes. Far away, between the black trees at the edge of the forest. They were not blinking. They were not moving. They were just watching me.

My heart started to beat fast.

"Nyx, what is that?" I whispered.

_Not a rogue,_ Nyx answered, her voice low and careful. _Rogues smell like rot and blood. This one smells like... power. Old power. Like us._

A shiver ran down my spine.

I grabbed Kaden's jacket from the chair and slipped outside. The pack house was quiet. Warriors were sleeping by the fire. Healers were sleeping beside the injured. No one saw me leave.

The night air was cold against my skin. The moon was still full, still bright, lighting the path to the forest.

"Show yourself!" I called out, my voice shaking a little. "I know you're watching me!"

Silence.

Then the red eyes blinked. And disappeared.

I ran.

I don't know why I ran. I should have gone back and woken Kaden. I should have screamed for help. But Nyx was pulling me forward, like something was calling her.

Faster, Zara! Don't let him get away!

I ran past the burned trees, past the broken fence, past the bodies we had buried only hours ago. My bare feet cut on stones, but I did not stop.

Then I stopped dead.

He was standing in a small clearing.

A man. Tall. Taller than Kaden. His black hair was long and tied back. His skin was pale like he had not seen the sun in years. And his eyes... his eyes were still red, glowing like fire.

He was not a rogue. His clothes were clean. Expensive. A long black coat with a silver wolf pin on it.

He smiled when he saw me. Not a kind smile. The kind of smile a hunter gives his prey.

"So it's true," he said, his voice deep and smooth. "The Moon Wolf has returned."

"Who are you?" I demanded. "What do you want?"

He took a slow step toward me. Nyx growled inside me, ready to shift.

"My name is Darius," he said. "Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack. And I have been waiting for you for a very long time, Zara."

My blood went cold. Blood Moon Pack. Everyone in the werewolf world knew that name. They were the pack that did not follow the Moon Goddess. They were the pack that hunted Moon Wolves and drank their blood to become stronger.

"You sent Ragnar," I said. "You sent the rogues to kill me."

He shook his head, pretending to be innocent. "I sent Ragnar to _test_ you. I needed to know if the legends were true. And you... you did not disappoint me."

He looked at me like I was a treasure. Like I was something to own.

"You killed my best fighter," he continued. "But I forgive you. Because you are worth more than a hundred Ragnars."

"Stay away from me," I warned him. My hands were shaking, but my wolf was rising. "And stay away from Silver Moon."

Darius laughed softly. "Silver Moon? Oh, Zara. Silver Moon is nothing. Kaden is nothing. He rejected you. He threw you away like trash. But I... I would never reject you. I would make you my Queen. My Luna. The mother of the strongest wolves this world has ever seen."

My stomach turned. "I would rather die."

His smile disappeared. His eyes turned darker, blood-red.

"That can be arranged too," he said coldly. "You see, Moon Wolf blood is powerful, but it is most powerful when it is taken willingly. If you come with me, I will spare your pack. If you refuse..."

He looked back toward the pack house, where everyone was sleeping.

"I will come back with a thousand warriors. Not fifty rogues. A thousand. And I will burn Silver Moon to the ground until there is nothing left but ash. And I will still take you."

I felt Nyx roar inside me. Don't be afraid. Show him what we are.

I shifted.

It hurt less this time. Faster. My white fur exploded out, my body growing larger, my eyes glowing silver-blue. I was bigger than Kaden. Bigger than Ragnar. I was the Moon Wolf.

Darius did not look scared. He looked... excited.

"Beautiful," he whispered. "Absolutely beautiful."

He shifted too. But his wolf was not black. It was dark red. Blood-red. With black eyes and teeth as long as knives. It was the biggest wolf I had ever seen, even bigger than me.

He lunged.

I dodged, barely. His claws cut my shoulder, and pain shot through me. But I did not fall. I bit his leg, hard, and he howled.

We fought in the clearing, rolling, biting, snarling. Trees broke. Ground shook. I was strong, but he was stronger. Older. He had fought a hundred battles. I had fought one.

He pinned me down, his huge paw on my chest, his teeth at my throat.

"Yield," he growled. "Yield to me, and I will let your pack live."

I looked up at the moon. The same moon that had watched me get rejected. The same moon that had watched me run away.

And I heard Nyx's voice, clear as crystal:

We do not yield. We never yield.

I pushed with all my power. A wave of silver light exploded out of my body, throwing Darius ten feet back into a tree. He shifted back to human, coughing, bleeding from his mouth, but still smiling.

"You are even stronger than I thought," he said, wiping blood from his lips. "Good. I like a fight."

He stood up, his red eyes burning into mine.

"Three days, Zara. I give you three days. Come to me willingly at the Blood Moon border, or I will bring war to Silver Moon. And this time, Kaden will not be able to save you."

Then he disappeared into the dark forest, like a shadow.

I shifted back, shaking, bleeding, alone in the clearing.

Three days.

I had three days to decide between my freedom and my pack.

I ran back to the pack house, my heart pounding. I had to tell Kaden. I had to tell everyone.

But as I reached my room, I saw someone standing in the hallway.

Mia.

She had been watching me. And she had heard everything.