His Forsaken Luna-Chapter 148: Another Attempt

The air in the dining hall had barely settled when a sharp, chilling instinct rippled through me—a warning from my wolf.

A heartbeat later, Eryx moved.

It happened too fast. Too fast to think, too fast to react properly. One moment, we were discussing Deyanira and the next, I saw a flash of steel glinting under the candlelight.

Someone lunged at me.

I twisted on instinct, my chair scraping against the floor as I moved. A blade, sleek and sharp, cut through the space where my neck had been only seconds before.

Eryx snarled.

A body crashed into me, sending me toppling backwards. The world spun, the scent of iron thick in the air. My wolf surged forward, a snarl ripping from my throat as I braced myself to fight.

But Eryx was faster.

The attacker barely had time to react before Eryx grabbed him and slammed him against the stone wall, the sheer force of impact cracking the plaster. The noble—a man I recognised vaguely from court, though his name eluded me—gasped, choked, his eyes wide with rage and desperation.

"Who sent you?" Eryx growled, his voice dangerously low.

I pulled myself to my feet, my breath heaving as I looked down. A dagger lay at my feet, its silver blade still gleaming. It had missed me by inches.

Alaric stood as well, his expression thunderous, his power crackling in the air around us. The guards outside the room rushed in, weapons drawn, but they faltered as they saw the scene before them—Eryx pinning a noble to the wall like a mere insect.

The man—Lord Gavriel—struggled, his teeth gritted, his body shaking violently. It wasn’t just fear. It was something else. Something wrong.

"Who sent you?" Eryx repeated, his claws digging into the noble’s throat.

Lord Gavriel’s eyes twitched, his pupils dilating strangely as if he were fighting something.

Then he whispered, hoarse and broken, "She told me to. She is everything. She is everything."

A chill raced down my spine.

Alaric narrowed his eyes and stepped forward. "Deyanira."

Gavriel trembled violently, his body convulsing, his mouth open like he wanted to scream—but no sound came out. His eyes went wide, his veins darkening beneath his skin.

I knew what was happening before it even finished.

He was dying.

"Something’s killing him," I said sharply, moving forward. "He’s being controlled."

Eryx’s grip tightened, his fangs bared, but even as he held Gavriel steady, the noble’s body went rigid. His mouth opened wider as if an unseen force was ripping something from his very soul—

Then, he collapsed.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Eryx slowly let go, letting the noble’s lifeless body crumpled to the ground.

I stared at him, at his blank eyes, his face frozen in that last moment of anguish.

The only sound in the room was the flickering of the torches.

Alaric exhaled slowly, his expression grave.

"How did he get past the guards?" Eryx demanded, glaring in their direction, storming towards them like he might attack them next, an angered Alpha Prince who witnessed his mate almost stabbed.

My fingers curled into fists, my nails biting into my palm.

"Eryx," I say quietly, and he stops his pursuit of the retreating guards. My mate looks back at me, his anger extinguishing as he sees me and takes me in his arms immediately.

Deyanira had gotten to him. She had twisted his mind, just like she had twisted the kingdom for years, just like she had done to our father.

And she had sent him for me. His lips are on mine as he holds my face in his hands. Then, our foreheads press together as we breathe each other in.

"I will interrogate them and punish them if need be," Alaric says quietly, clearing his throat as he looks away from us. The attack clearly shook my brother as well as he observed me subtly, fear entering his gaze over my life almost being taken.

𓆩:*¨༺✧ ♛ ✧༻¨*:𓆪

The body was swiftly removed by the guards. Eryx, Alaric, and I remained in the dining hall, the weight of what had just happened settling over us like a storm cloud.

Alaric pinched the bridge of his nose. "This means she’s already infiltrated our court. This was not an assassin’s attempt—this was a message."

I exhaled, trying to steady my breathing. "A message that she still has control over some of our people."

Eryx clenched his jaw. "It means she’s watching. She’s close enough to manipulate nobles."

Alaric nodded grimly. "She’s already moving her pieces."

The thought made my stomach churn. I had no doubt that Gavriel had not acted willingly—he had been under her influence. He had been forced to attack me, his mind twisted into obedience, just as our father’s had been.

And the worst part?

We had no idea how many others were under her spell.

"We need to find her," I said, my voice firmer now.

Eryx looked at me, his green eyes dark. "And we will. But we also need to find out how deep this goes. If one noble was under her command, there could be dozens more."

Alaric nodded. "We have to assume she has infiltrated our ranks further than we realise. That means we cannot trust anyone outside of this room."

The words settled heavily between us.

"And Cohnal and Kharis..." I add quietly. Eryx nodded, and I could hear his mind link to them to come immediately to us.

I met my brother’s gaze. "What do we do?"

Alaric exhaled. "We start by questioning those closest to Gavriel. If she reached him, she may have reached others in his household."

Eryx leaned forward. "And we need to ward ourselves. If she got into his mind, she may try to do the same to us."

The thought sent another wave of unease through me.

Would I even know if my thoughts weren’t my own?

Would any of us?

Alaric’s face hardened. "We must strike first. If she thinks we will sit back and wait, she is mistaken."

Eryx smirked, though there was no humour in it. "Then let’s start hunting."

𓆩:*¨༺✧ ♛ ✧༻¨*:𓆪

Within the hour, we had Gavriel’s closest confidants brought to the lower chambers of the palace.

The scent of damp stone and burning torches filled the dungeon halls as we entered. The men and women detained—servants, advisors, and close friends—looked around nervously, unsure of what was happening.

They didn’t know their lord was dead.

Alaric stepped forward, his voice commanding. "Your Lord attempted to assassinate your Alpha Princess this evening. He was acting under the influence of dark magick. We need to know if any of you have spoken to Deyanira. If any of you have had dreams, visions, unnatural compulsions."

The captives murmured amongst themselves, their fear thick in the air.

A woman—Gavriel’s steward—stepped forward, her hands trembling. "H-he had been... strange these past weeks," she admitted. "Speaking of a woman that spoke to him in his sleep. That she whispered things to him."

Alaric and I exchanged glances.

Eryx folded his arms. "She was already in his mind."

The steward nodded quickly. "He... he wouldn’t let us speak against it. He said she was our salvation. That she would bring a new order."

My hands tightened at my sides. I don’t believe that. None of what Deyanira has done seems to benefit the kingdom and only appears to be some sick and twisted game.

Eryx leaned closer. "Did she say where she was?"

The woman hesitated—then nodded. "H-he spoke of a place. In the mountains. An abandoned temple."

Alaric’s face darkened. "The ruins of Cahl’Morren."

I sucked in a breath.

Cahl’Morren. A place of old magick, a place long thought to be cursed.

Eryx met my gaze. "Then that’s where we go."

"We will need to be careful. She has those creatures, her powers.. There’s the High Fae to think of as well.." I start listing everything that could go wrong tomorrow.

Alaric nodded. "We ride at dawn."