His Forsaken Luna-Chapter 135: Cover of Day

The forest stretched endlessly before us, its dense canopy filtering the sunlight into soft, dappled patterns across the snow-covered ground. My paws crunched silently against the frost, each step deliberate as I followed Alaric’s lead. The group moved in a tight formation, staying close enough to react if anything emerged from the shadows. Cohnal still carried Soren in his wolf jaws, his massive form cutting an imposing silhouette against the backdrop of towering trees.

We avoided the roads. The creatures that hunted us had proven their tenacity, and we weren’t foolish enough to offer ourselves as easy targets. The forest offered cover, but it also brought its own dangers. Every rustling branch, every distant call of an animal, set my nerves on edge. The adrenaline from the fight still lingered, making my thoughts sharp and restless.

’Idalia,’ Alaric’s voice came through the mind link, his tone a low rumble of caution. ’We need to talk.’

I flicked my ears back toward him without breaking stride. ’What about?’ If I stopped now, I would struggle to get up again. Our little rest earlier made me more overly aware of my injuries. Alaric had to physically force me to my paws.

’The attacks. The creatures. This... doesn’t feel random.’

He was right. The thought had been gnawing at me ever since the first ambush. These weren’t isolated incidents; they were calculated and purposeful. My hackles rose involuntarily as I replied, ’You think someone sent them?’

Alaric didn’t answer immediately. His hesitation slowed my pace, glancing back at him. His dark wolf eyes met mine, their intensity unmistakable.

"The High Fae," he said finally. "The ones you escaped from. We don’t know what other creatures have been hiding in plain sight. But they’ve all now been suddenly coming out. If this Cazimir is so powerful like you claimed, then he can command such creatures. And they have a history with the royal line."

I growled softly, my teeth baring at the accusation, though it wasn’t directed at me. ’They wanted me to work with them, Alaric. They wouldn’t go through so much effort just to kill me.’

’Wouldn’t they?’ he pressed. ’Maybe they don’t need you alive anymore. Maybe whatever they hoped to gain from you is no longer worth the risk.’

I shook my head, frustration rippling through me. ’It doesn’t add up. I learned nothing from Cazimir or the others that would help the Northern Weres. Nothing that would give them an edge against them."

’Then what do they want?’ Alaric demanded.

’They want control over the kingdom again,’ I answer, my voice quieter now. ’But I don’t think it’s the High Fae. They’re calculating, yes, but this feels different. Too... chaotic.’

Alaric didn’t respond, but I could feel his mind working through the link, turning over the possibilities. The silence between us stretched as we continued forward, the forest swallowing the sound of our movement.

The journey felt endless, the tension in the air growing heavier with each passing hour. My thoughts drifted to the palace, to the safety it was supposed to offer. Would it really provide comfort and safety? Now that I’ve fought one of those creatures, it made the palace feel so small, like a cage to the world full of possibilities and beings we know nothing about.

We stopped to drink from a stream while Arne hunted a few hares. I stared at the dead animal dropped by my paws, my ears back. What was I meant to do with this? I must have looked like a proper Princess because I heard Arne and Birgir laughing before ripping into their meals.

Soren was awake now as well in his wolf form. ’Your body can take it raw,’ he told me gently, though there was some amusement in his voice as well.

My focus sharpened again when Alaric’s voice cut through the mind link, urgency lacing his tone. Arne and Birgir’s heads snapped to attention, their meals forgotten about.

’Report just came through,’ he said, his growl audible even through the mental connection. ’There was another attack.’

My heart skipped a beat. ’At the palace?’

’Yes,’ he confirmed, pacing ahead of me now. His movements were restless, agitated. It made me hop to my paws, eyes scanning our surroundings like the threat was among us. ’Servants... They fed on people.’

I stopped in my tracks, the world narrowing to the weight of his words. ’They... turned into blood wraiths?’ My voice trembled, disbelief warring with the fear curling in my stomach. How did they get past the walls?

Alaric turned to face me, his dark form towering over the snow. His growl deepened, his frustration evident. ’That’s what it looks like. And there’s more.’

More?

My mind raced, piecing together the fragments of information. Blood wraiths weren’t born—they were created, corrupted—or so we knew. ’The children? Did they survive?’

Alaric hesitated, his ears flattening slightly. ’Some survived,’ he said finally. ’But... others were taken.’ 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

A chill ran down my spine, colder than the frost beneath my paws. The attack involved servants feeding on others yet the children had been taken. This was days after I discussed the children with Ciro, a Blood Wraith. He had been fascinated by those children, by their ability to walk in the light. The possibility of him being involved...

"Who took them?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. The pieces were falling into place, a picture I didn’t want to see.

’We don’t know yet,’ Alaric admitted, his frustration palpable.

’The servants that attacked?’ I asked quietly.

’Put down,’ Alaric answered with a growl.

’How?’ I asked. I wasn’t sure why that piece of information was important.

’Decapitation.’

It was dire news but in a twisted way I was glad they’d been decapitated. The Blood Wraiths didn’t seem like they were easy to kill.

We resumed our journey, the urgency driving us forward. The forest seemed darker now, the shadows stretching longer, the air colder.

The hours passed in tense silence, broken only by the occasional crack of a branch or rustle of leaves. We moved like ghosts through the forest, our wolf forms blending seamlessly with the surroundings. The sun climbed higher, its light offering little comfort against the weight of our thoughts.

As we neared the edge of the forest, the palace’s distant spires came into view, their once-pristine elegance marred by smoke rising faintly from within. My heart clenched at the sight.

’We’re close," Alaric mind linked us, his tone sharp. ’Stay alert.’

I didn’t need the warning. My senses were already on high alert, every nerve in my body taut as a bowstring. The pain was a distant thrumb. My neck had almost healed, it was my sides that were still sharp from all the running and fighting. If it wasn’t for Soren’s training, forcinng me to run I was sure I would have fainted by now, or my legs given way.

My wolf hmphed. Well, she also played a role in this. I was in awe with my own quick healing and abilities. The heightened senses were amazing, I couldn’t believe I’d missed out on this for so long.

We shifted back to human form as we approached, the change necessary for what lay ahead. My muscles protested the transformation, the exhaustion from the night’s events catching up with me. But there was no time to rest. Not yet.

Soren handed me the cape he managed to save before shifting into his wolf form earlier. I wrapped it around me, still a little self-conscious of my naked body on display.

The courtyard was eerily quiet, the air thick with the metallic tang of blood. Bodies lay scattered across the ground, their faces twisted in expressions of terror and pain. I forced myself to look, to take it all in. Ignoring it would do nothing to honour the dead.

Alaric knelt beside one of the bodies, his hand brushing over the deep gashes across the servant’s neck. "This wasn’t just hunger," he said, his voice low. "This was rage."

"Blood wraiths," I murmured, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. "But why servants? They were loyal. What could have driven them to this? Were they crazed?"

"There’s no signs of an attack from the outside," Cohnal said, his voice heavy as he joined us. "This was all an inside job or a Blood Wraith that can blend in..."

Ciro... But Ciro doesn’t blend in. He was too handsome and those red eyes were so vivid.

I glanced at Alaric, his expression as dark and unreadable as the forest we’d left behind. "The children," I said softly. "If some survived, they’ll know what happened. We need to find them."

"And the ones who didn’t," Cohnal added, his tone colder now. "We need to find them too."

"We don’t have the resources or the time to find them," Alaric stated, appearing cruel. "Our people need us right now, those here and out there. Those creatures came from somewhere and must have been feeding from innocents like the Blood Wraiths have been."

Before I could say anything, our Beta ran up to Alaric, alarmed, looking at us all.

The Alpha King strode away with Beta Hakon after telling the last of our group to seek the healers and rest.