Moonbound: The Rogue's Second Chance-Chapter 58 - FIFTY EIGHT - LETTER FROM DAWBREAK

Darius pulled away from Livia and walked over to the window, staring into the sky like some answer would appear to him, or a miracle would come and fix everything.

His voice broke the silence, soft and strange on his own tongue. "Would it be foolish... if I’d like her to hold my hand?"

Livia heard him. He knew she did by the way her gaze dropped, her eyes fixed on a worn spot on the floor like it suddenly had all the answers. She pressed a hand down her skirt, smoothing invisible wrinkles, and let out a breath.

She joined him, standing quietly at his side. "You know the answer to that," she said, her voice distant, almost wistful.

Darius clenched his fists. It wasn’t fair- gods, it just wasn’t fair. He knew that, had accepted it a thousand times over, but now it felt personal. Like the world had turned its hand to slap him and dared him to cry about it.

Maybe this was what madness looked like. Maybe the curse of his bloodline was already eating its way through him.

"I do not," he said flatly.

Livia turned to him, and he looked her square in the eye, silently demanding an answer to his question.

"Is it foolish that that is what I desire?" he asked again, quieter this time.

She hesitated. "Darius..." She sighed. "It is."

He almost whispered why, he knew better than that. He was like a pup throwing a tantrum when things didn’t go his way. Darius ran his hand over his face. This was such a precarious position.

"Livia, I’m sorry," he muttered, wiping at a smudge on the window just to keep his hands busy. "I understand how you feel about rogues, but Serena... she isn’t like them."

"What?" Her tone dropped low.

He turned to her. "We are indebted to her. For three lives."

Livia folded her arms, lost in thought while she processed his words. "Emmett, Annamarie, and Jack."

"Yes."

Livia sighed. "She still is a rogue."

Darius left it at that. It would be hard to convince someone like Livia to try to know Serena. The image of Livia, bloodied and silent, was still on his mind. The day she lost her parents.

His father still lived then; he had barely reacted and treated it like it was some animal that had just gotten killed, his own brother and sister-in-law.

"I understand," Darius said.

Just then, the doors burst open, nearly taking them off their hinges. There stood Ryker, his normally slicked-back black hair was disheveled and sticking up at every angle. He held the door and panted hard, trying to catch his breath.

Both Livia and Darius turned with scrunched-up brows and confused expressions. They exchanged glances and then looked at Ryker.

How many surprise visits today?

"Alpha," Ryker wheezed.

Darius walked over to him and tilted his chin. Something was afoot. "Ryker."

The man straightened, regaining some of his usual composure. He held up a slightly crumpled letter, its seal already split. "As per your instructions, I was sorting through your correspondence... and this one arrived."

Darius arched a brow. A letter made him nearly rip the door off its hinges? His lip twitched. It had to be more than another petition or complaint. Was it about Serena?

"Well?" Darius prompted, impatience seeping into his voice. "We don’t have all night."

"Dawnbreak. A letter from Dawnbreak," Ryker said. "I do believe you need to read it yourself."

Livia stalked closer and stopped a few paces behind Darius, watching the two men curiously.

Darius took the letter from Ryker’s hands. The top had already been cut through. He pulled out the neatly folded paper and read over it.

Dear Darius Hawthorne,

Shield of the West and Keeper of the Old Stone,

Dawnbreak watches and remembers, as we always have, and it is with both respect and hope that I write to you. freёnovelkiss.com

In these shifting times, your pack remains proud and self-sufficient, as it always has. But I believe there is strength yet to be gained through bridges. We of Dawnbreak propose the opening of a modest trade route between our packs. One forged not only of goods, but of trust.

To that end, I send with this letter my delegate, Riven Caldric, a wolf of steady word and clear eyes. He will speak further of our vision: shared resources, mutual defense, and the strength of alliance—one befitting the old names and the enduring blood of our kind.

I ask that you welcome him with respect and consider our offer for what it is. Dawnbreak does not wish to change Ironshade, only to stand beside it, as allies, not enemies.

In moonlight and in oath,

Alpha Thalia Vex of Dawnbreak

Daughter of the Ember Line.

Darius folded the paper neatly and shook his head. He pushed the paper to Livia to read. She gasped once she was done and looked at the men with worried eyes.

Darius stroked his chin, deep in thought. The prospect of trade was a wonderful given, and he had gotten a positive reply from Alpha Thalia after so long. This was the wrong time for something of the sort.

"Darius," she breathed, a cautious smile tugging at her lips, "this is great news. I was starting to wonder how much longer we could survive on what little we had. Dawnbreak’s trade routes could change everything."

Darius, on the other hand, was not too pleased. There was a huge problem, and she had golden hair and a mesmerizing smile.

Ryker grunted, and their attention turned to him. "We do not have much time to prepare. The delegate should arrive soon."

Darius nodded and ran his hand through his hair. Livia was much too happy to realise that the presence of Serena caused a problem for them.

Dawnbreak was the Caridial pack situated in the north of Kaldora, the largest pack of all. Its population consisted mainly of werewolves, and the rest were a handful of other species. They held the keys to trade, and they could pull Ironshade out of the stagnant position they had found themselves in.

The delegate arriving here placed a pressure on Darius that he could do without. An ambassador from Crimsonclaw would be a shocking sight, no doubt, and matters would fall out of Ironshade’s hands.

"The rogue," Ryker said.

Livia’s hands stilled in the air before she grimaced, pressing her lips into a thin line. It was that one stumbling block that could make or break this pack.