8: eyes of the wolf

Then I heard him drop from the bed.

“How dare you say that to me? I’m not cheating on my wife,” he choked out, voice splintering. A wet, broken sound slipped between his teeth—Alpha Kyo was crying.

Guilt slammed through me. I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off.

“Shut up… shut up.”

Glass shattered behind the command. Something—maybe a lamp—hit the wall and exploded into shards.

“Shut up,” he sobbed again, each repetition more ragged than the last.

“Please, I’m sorry. I didn’t mea—”

“I said you should shut up!” The roar was feral, laced with grief. “If you talk again, I will end your life. You don’t know my story. If you did, you’d never have said that.”

The door creaked open. A servant’s timid voice: “Hope all is—”

A slap cracked through the room. “Leave this place.”

The door slammed. Silence stretched for two heartbeats. Then Kyo’s voice broke again: “Shut up… shut up,” drenched in tears. Footsteps pounded away. The door slammed a second time, harder—shaking the hinges.

And suddenly, I was alone—sightless, shattered.

My life was crumbling. Everyone I trusted turned their back the moment I needed them most. My father vanished under the guise of business. Glory betrayed me. Kael rejected me. And now Alpha Kyo—my protector—couldn’t even stand the sound of my voice.

What is left of me?

I’ll just accept Kael’s rejection. There’s nothing left. I’m blind. I’m already dead.

Hours crawled by in black silence. I felt the weight of them like a drowning wolf feels water pressing into her lungs—slow, crushing, inescapable. When sleep finally took me, it felt like surrender.

I woke to cold sheets and aching eyes. From the heaviness in the air, I knew dawn had long since passed. Somewhere outside these walls, wolves lived—laughed, sparred, trained. And I lay here, blind and broken.

My hand searched the bedside table. No food.

“Alpha Kyo… Alpha…” I whispered into the void. “I didn’t mean to…” But no reply came. Maybe he wasn’t in the room. Maybe he hadn’t even returned last night.

I waited.

But I was starving—and done waiting.

Eventually, I fumbled my way to the bathroom alone. Patience wore thin. Desperation sharpened. If I stayed here, a caged blind pup, I would rot.

So I dressed myself—trembling hands fumbling knots—and stepped into the hallway. My bare feet memorized the rugs, counting each stride to the walls. Voices drifted: muted gossip, giggling, the clink of swords in training.

I followed the scent of pine and sweat until the morning chill kissed my face. The training yard.

Somewhere in the ring of bodies, I felt Kael’s presence.

“Alpha Kael!” I called.

Murmurs rippled. Boots scuffed the ground. I could feel their stares like knives.

“What business brings you here?” Kael’s voice cut through the air—smooth, cold, cruel.

“I, Nyx James, accept your rejection,” I said, loud enough for every ear to hear. The words were ash on my tongue. “Sever the bond fully. Let the Moon-Goddess witness.”

A sharp pain ripped through my chest—the same agony as before.

Silence.

Then Kael’s breath gusted near.

“So be it,” he said. “Moon above, I, Alpha Kael Blackmoon, sever the bond that never should have been.”

Something snapped in me—sharp and brutal. Pain flashed through me like a blade, then drained away, leaving behind an empty ache so wide I nearly fell.

Nyra, my wolf, vanished into that void.

For the first time since she awakened, I couldn’t feel her. Couldn't hear her.

The yard erupted in whispers: gasps, murmurs, judgments.

“Get her out of here,” Kael ordered.

Rough hands grabbed my arms, but I shook them off. “I can walk.”

I counted my steps, ignoring the sneers that followed.

“Blind witch.”

“Poor girl.”

“Murderer.”

“Moon-forsaken.”

I held my chin high, even though I couldn’t see the sky.

When I reached my room, I prayed I’d find Alpha Kyo—or food. But there was nothing. Just silence and stale air.

I sat on the bed and wept.

Time passed in crawling silence. The hunger was unbearable.The pain in my stomach battled the pain in my chest, but neither won.

Then, finally, the door opened. Soft steps.

“Nyx,” Kyo murmured. His voice was low, hollow—scrubbed clean of tears but stiff, distant. “Food.” A plate clinked onto the table.

I swallowed hard. “About last night—”

“It won’t happen again,” he said flatly. “Eat.”

I reached out by touch. Toast. Fruit. Faint warmth of eggs. He stood there, quiet, listening as I ate. But not like before. No closeness. No comfort.

When I finished, he took the tray without a word.

“Alpha Kyo,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean to—”

“Rest. The healer will bring your tonic.”

His footsteps faded. The door clicked shut.

I sat there in silence, locked in a dark room that felt more like a prison than a haven.

It must have been night. Everything outside had gone still.

Then the door creaked open again.

I thought it was Alpha Kyo—until I heard her voice.

“So you’re still alive?”

“Then come and kill me, Glory,” I said bitterly. “If you’re that tired of me.”

“Exactly why I’m here,” she hissed.

Her hand suddenly closed around my neck.

I gasped.

She pressed harder. “I should’ve finished you the first time.”

My hands clawed at hers, but I was weak and blind. I couldn’t breathe. My chest burned. My throat tightened.

Coughs ripped from me—until—

Then, suddenly,

my bones began to burn—as if something inside me had been set on fire.

Pain shot through every inch of my body. My heart pounded so hard I thought it would shatter my chest. I couldn’t breathe. It was the same thing that had happened before—the same thing that made me kill Kale.

I did everything I could to control myself.

Then I stopped trying.

My body arched off the bed—and I snapped.

A low, guttural growl ripped from my throat.

My spine cracked. My teeth sharpened.

And I lost control.

I fully turned into my wolf, and now I see clearly. I see Glory.

I lunged, positioning my claws at Glory’s neck.