Chapter 57**Evangeline's POV**I couldn't stay in the apartment after what I'd seen through the window. The shadows dancing on the glass. The feeling of eyes watching my every move. Someone had been out there while I discovered the truth about my bloodline, and now they knew exactly what I was.So I ran.The forest behind Blackclaw Academy had always been my refuge when the world became too much. Tonight, with my blood still pulsing silver and black beneath my skin, I needed the darkness and silence more than ever.My feet carried me deeper into the woods than I'd ever gone before. Past the familiar walking trails, beyond the clearings where students sometimes came to skip class. Here, the trees grew thick and ancient, their branches blocking out the moon and stars.I should have been afraid. Should have remembered the hollow wolves that had attacked me before. But my mind was spinning with everything I'd learned, and fear felt like a luxury I couldn't afford.I was the Bridge. The o
Chapter 56**Evangeline's POV**That night, my dreams pulled me into another world.I stood in a place where silver light fell like rain from an endless sky. The ground beneath my feet sparkled like crushed diamonds, and the air hummed with power so ancient it made my bones ache. Everything here felt familiar, like a half-remembered song from childhood.In the distance, a figure walked toward me. She was tall and graceful, with flowing hair that shifted between silver and black like liquid moonlight. Her skin glowed with the same ethereal light that surrounded us, and when she looked at me, her eyes held the wisdom of centuries.I knew who she was before she spoke."Child of my blood," the Moon Goddess said, her voice echoing through the dreamscape like music. "You have finally awakened."My throat felt tight with emotion. "I don't understand what's happening to me.""You understand more than you know." She moved closer, and I could see her face clearly now. Beautiful beyond words, bu
Chapter 55**Ronan's POV**The headaches started on Tuesday.Sharp, stabbing pains that felt like someone was driving nails through my skull. I'd wake up clutching my head, my sheets soaked with sweat, my wolf howling inside my mind like he was being tortured.Because he was.Every day since I'd rejected Evangeline again, my wolf had been fighting me. Clawing at my control. Demanding I fix what I'd broken. But I couldn't. Wouldn't. I had duty. Obligations. A future that didn't include her.So I suffered.Wednesday brought fever. I sat through classes with my skin burning, my vision blurry, pretending everything was fine. Teachers asked if I needed to go to the nurse. Classmates whispered about how pale I looked. But I forced myself to stay upright, to keep functioning.A future Alpha didn't show weakness. Not ever.Thursday, my hands started shaking.I tried to hide it during lunch, keeping my hands under the table while Celeste talked about wedding venues. But when I reached for my w
Chapter 54**Evangeline's POV**Monday arrived like a storm cloud. I'd barely slept after finding the black rose on my windowsill, and my nerves felt raw and exposed. Every shadow in my apartment had looked like a threat. Every creak of the old building had made my heart race.The silver pendant Maeve had given me hung heavy around my neck, hidden beneath my shirt. It had grown warm during the night, pulsing with an energy that felt protective. Whatever was hunting me, the charm was working overtime to keep me safe.I grabbed my bag and headed for school, my feet dragging with exhaustion. The hallways of Blackclaw Academy buzzed with the usual Monday morning chaos. Students rushed to lockers, teachers called out reminders about assignments, and somewhere in this maze of normalcy, someone wanted me dead.The thought made my stomach twist with fear.Lunch period couldn't come fast enough. By the time the bell rang, I was shaking with hunger and anxiety. I hadn't eaten breakfast, too ner
Chapter 53**Ronan's POV**The restaurant was everything Celeste loved - expensive, exclusive, and full of people who mattered. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting rainbow patterns on white tablecloths. Soft classical music played in the background, barely audible over the quiet conversations of the wealthy elite.I sat across from her at our corner table, watching her perfect smile as she talked about something I wasn't really hearing. My mind kept drifting to last night. To standing in the rain outside Evangeline's apartment like some kind of stalker."Ronan?" Celeste's voice cut through my thoughts. "You're not listening to me."I blinked and focused on her face. Beautiful, composed, everything a future Luna should be. Everything I was supposed to want."Sorry," I said. "Just tired."She reached across the table and placed her hand over mine. Her skin was warm and soft, manicured nails painted the perfect shade of pink. But her grip was firm, possessive, like she was
Chapter 52**Evangeline's POV**My tiny apartment felt like a prison cell. The walls pressed in on me from all sides, making it hard to breathe. I'd been pacing the same three steps back and forth for hours, my bare feet wearing a path in the old carpet.The council meeting felt like it happened years ago instead of just this morning. Everything had changed so fast. One moment I thought I was going to be expelled, thrown out with nothing. The next, Ronan was standing up for me like some kind of hero.Then he'd crushed me all over again."Don't read anything into it."The words played on repeat in my head, each time cutting deeper than the last. I pressed my hands against my ears, trying to make them stop, but they were burned into my memory now."I would have done the same for any pack member."I sank onto my bed, pulling my knees to my chest. The springs creaked under my weight, the sound lonely in the quiet room. Outside, rain started to fall against my window, soft at first, then h