Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Alpha’s Moonbreather : Kabanata 161 - Kabanata 170

The council chamber was quiet in that heavy, suffocating way that meant something terrible was about to be decided. Torches flickered along marble walls, casting long, skeletal shadows. A storm simmered outside Archview, silver lightning stretching across the sky like claws.Kion stood at the head of the table, hands clasped behind his back, eyes sharp enough to slice stone.“Reports have multiplied,” he said, voice smooth but carrying an edge meant to cut. “A woman walking upon the sea, glowing like the Moon itself. A phantom.” He paused, allowing the room to absorb the weight of the rumors. “The people whisper of her. Some even call her”—his lip curled—“The Sea’s Daughter.”Murmurs rose immediately. Fear. Excitement. Confusion.Becky Everglade rose from her seat almost eagerly, golden braid bouncing against her shoulder as she stepped closer to the table.“Councilor Kion,” she said with a delicate bow, “such heresy must be extinguished. The citizenry should not be fed fantasies.” Sh

Becky Everglade was not a patient woman. She never had been, and everyone in Archview knew it. But tonight, as she stood at the highest balcony of the Council’s tower, watching the storm clouds coil above the dark horizon, she felt a kind of restlessness that clawed beneath her ribs and tightened around her lungs.Kai had vanished again.It was the fourth time in two weeks.And that—for Becky—was unacceptable.She gripped the railing hard enough that her knuckles turned white. “Where is he?” she muttered, though no one stood beside her. “Where does he keep disappearing to?”Behind her, a soft voice cleared its throat. “Lady Everglade?”Becky turned sharply.One of her personal spies—thin, pale, always sweating—bowed nervously. “We tracked him again. He left before dawn, same as before. Rode north.”“And?” Becky demanded.The spy swallowed. “We followed the route he always uses… but once he reaches the coast…” His voice faded.“He disappears,” Becky finished coldly.“Yes,” the spy whis

The first omen came before sunrise.Archview’s fishermen had returned to shore with empty nets and haunted eyes, their hands shaking as they tried to explain what they had seen—waves rising in the dark, spiraling upward like coils of a beast made of water. One man swore he’d seen the Moon’s reflection twist unnaturally, stretching thin like a blade.By midmorning, no one was laughing anymore.The second omen struck the market square. Saltwater bubbled up through the cracks in the cobblestones, soaking crates of fruit and herbs. At first the vendors demanded compensation from the city guards, assuming a pipe had burst—but the water kept coming. Clear, cold, tasting unmistakably of the northern sea.Children cried. Mothers dragged them away. Old priests, at first reluctant, pressed trembling fingers to the wet ground and looked to the sky.The third omen arrived at noon.A chorus of howls—wolf howls—echoed through Archview’s polished stone streets even though there were no forests for m

The fisherman had been arguing with himself for nearly an hour before Kai arrived.He stood at the edge of the marsh with his boots sinking slightly into wet sand, staring at the spot where it had happened, replaying it over and over in his mind, wondering if exhaustion had finally pushed him into seeing things that weren’t there. He had fished these waters since he was a boy. He knew moonlight. He knew fog. He knew reflections and tricks of the eye.This had been none of those.He heard the horse before he saw it. Hooves cut through shallow water, followed by the soft clink of armor beneath a cloak. The fisherman turned, heart stuttering when he saw the sigil stitched faintly into the rider’s shoulder.Whitemoon.The man dismounted without ceremony. He was tall, broad, his presence pressing down on the marsh like weight. His face was hard in a way that spoke of too many nights without rest. His eyes scanned the shoreline, sharp and restless, like he was already looking for something

Elise woke before the sun rose.Not because of noise, not because of pain, but because something inside her would not let her stay asleep. It felt like pressure behind her ribs, subtle but persistent, as if someone were knocking gently from the inside of her chest.She sat up on the narrow bed and pressed a hand there, breathing slowly.The room was quiet. The fishing village was still asleep, lanterns dimmed, boats tied loosely at the shore beyond the wooden walls. For weeks now, this place had been her refuge. Quiet. Anonymous. Safe.Too safe.She swung her legs off the bed and stood, steady despite the strange pull humming through her bones. She didn’t bother waking the others. Salla would scold her later for wandering alone so early, but Elise already knew she wouldn’t be able to explain this feeling even if she tried.She wrapped a shawl around her shoulders and stepped outside.The air was cold, sharp with salt. The sky was still dark, but the horizon had begun to pale. Elise wa