All Chapters of Bitter MOON :No More Chances.: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

They came for her before dawn.Not guards. Not servants. Wolves Nell didn't recognize three of them, silent, their eyes gold in the dark. They didn't knock. They unlocked the door from outside and stepped into her room like they had done this a thousand times before.Nell was already awake. She hadn't slept. She couldn't."Nell of Haven House," one said. His voice was flat, empty, like he was reading from a script. "You're wanted.""For what?"No answer. They grabbed her arms. Their grips were firm but not rough professional, efficient, the kind of hold that said we've done this before and we'll do it again. She didn't fight. Not yet.They took her through the winding hallways of the Council Hall, past doors that led to rooms she couldn't see, past windows that showed a sky still dark with the last traces of night. The building was alive around her footsteps echoing, voices murmuring, the scrape of chairs against stone floors.The Council was already at work.They stopped at a door at

The lower chambers were colder than the cells upstairs.Stone walls. Stone floor. Stone ceiling. No windows. No light except a single torch burning in a bracket by the door. The flame flickered constantly, as if something in the room was breathing on it. The air smelled of old blood and older fear the kind of smell that had soaked into the stones over centuries and would never wash out, no matter how many times they scrubbed.The guards pushed Nell inside and closed the door.The lock clicked.She was alone.She pressed her back against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor. The stone was cold beneath her, cold enough to seep through her clothes and settle into her bones. The torch flickered, casting shadows that moved like living things along the walls.She pressed her palm against her chest.The scar was warm.They're going to cut me out of you.Lena's voice. Clearer than before. Not a whisper just a voice, sitting inside Nell's head like she had always been ther

They walked through the rest of the night.The forest was dark, the trees pressing close on either side, their branches woven together like clasped hands. The moon was high not full, not hungry, just watching. Nell led the way. She didn't know how she knew the direction. She just did.Behind her, the pack followed.Rue walked with her arm around Caleb, who was limping. His ribs were bruised maybe cracked. He didn't complain. Marta carried the letters pressed against her chest like they were made of glass. Elias walked with his shoulders back, his eyes scanning the trees. Silas brought up the rear, his knife in his hand, his gray eyes never still.Knox leaned on his cane, moving slower than the others but refusing help.Vera walked with one hand on her belly, her face pale, her lips moving silently counting, maybe. Or praying.No one spoke.The Council Hall was miles behind them now. The fire had spread. The sky in the distance glowed orange, then red, then faded to nothing.Haven Hous

The first day was the hardest.They walked from dawn until the sun sank behind the trees. No roads. No paths. Just forest and frost and the gray sky pressing down. Nell led the way. She didn't know how she knew the direction. She just did.Behind her, the pack followed.Rue walked with Caleb, who was still favoring his ribs. Marta carried her letters in a leather satchel now, pressed against her chest like a shield. Elias walked with his shoulders back, his eyes scanning the trees. Silas brought up the rear, his knife in his hand, his gray eyes never still.Vera walked slowly, one hand on her belly, her face pale. Finn stayed close to her, holding her other hand.No one spoke.The Council's hunters were somewhere behind them. Nell couldn't see them. Couldn't hear them. But she felt them — a weight at the edge of her awareness, like a thread being pulled.They're following, Lena said."I know."They're not attacking."I know."They're waiting.Nell didn't answer.---They stopped at su

The snow fell through the night.By dawn, it had buried the fire and covered the tracks. The world was white and silent and cold. The pack stirred slowly, their bodies stiff, their faces pale. Vera coughed — a deep, rattling sound that made Caleb's jaw tighten. Finn stayed close to Nell, his small hand cold in hers.Marta sat apart.Her satchel was open in her lap. Her letters were scattered around her like fallen leaves — years of evidence, years of weight, years of grief. She hadn't slept. She hadn't eaten. She hadn't spoken since she broke down the day before.Nell watched her for a long moment. Then she walked to her."Marta."No answer."Marta. Look at me."Marta looked up. Her green eyes were red. Her face was hollow. Her hands were shaking."It's me," Marta said. Her voice was flat. Empty. Like she had finally run out of words. "I'm the one leaving the trail. I'm the one who's been leading them to us."The pack went still.Rue's hand went to her knife. Caleb's jaw tightened. Ve