Chapter 110
LUNA AQUAMARINE’S POV
“That’s enough for today.” His voice was quiet as he pushed the pages aside with a firm hand.
I frowned. “Why? We were making progress.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “You’ve been locked in this room for two days, Aqua. That’s not progress. That’s hiding.”
The words struck harder than I expected. My lips parted, but nothing came out. He was watching me too closely, like he was measuring whether I’d fight him or not.
Two days.
Two agonising, dragging days.
The mark has reduced a lot.
The burn wasn’t eating me anymore, but sometimes it stung not just my arm- but my whole body.
But, he never left my side.
He brought water, food, the bitter mixtures he made and sat in the room like a shadow that refused to move.
I didn’t leave the room once.
Not because I couldn’t. Because I didn’t want to.
Zara came in once in a while, quiet, careful, bringing trays that Clifford always took from her hands before she got too close. She hadn’t mentioned Alexander. Not a word about him.
And I never asked. I didn’t want to know where he was or what he was doing.
The truth was, I was glad and I was scared.
Glad no one was sneaking in, pretending to care and forcing me into baths or touching me.
But silence wasn’t peace.
Clifford’s eyes on me only made it worse–like he was studying every twitch of my body.
But I wasn’t just sleeping and eating. I still had the writings I had traced from the Book of Ashes that I was supposed to show Alexander.
So on the first day, I pulled the papers out and spread them across the bed. Clifford hadn’t told me to put them away. Instead, he sat down and studied them with me.
And that became our daily routine.
“You need air. You need to move. Staying in here won’t help you heal,” Clifford added, softer now.
I dropped my gaze to my arm, the bandage still wrapped snugly over the burn. My chest tightened. Going out meant being seen. It meant the chance of running into them.
“I’m not-” I started, but Clifford cut me off gently.
“Yes, you are,” he said, standing and offering me his hand. “Come on, Aqua. Just for a little while.”
Clifford was right. Staying locked away made me feel like my bones were melting. But the second I stepped into the corridor, I wanted to run back.
Clifford stayed behind me, a quiet shadow. It should have comforted me. Instead, it made me wonder how pathetic I looked–needing him to trail after me like I couldn’t walk alone.
Like I was weak.
I took one step, then another, until the air in front of me shifted.
And there he was.
The huge red–haired man.
Alexander.
My chest collapsed. My heart sprinted into my throat. He wasn’t even looking at me at first, just talking to one of the guards, his hand waving in that way that made people snap to obey.
Then his eyes slid to me.
Everything inside me froze.
“Aquamarine.” His voice was low, but it held no warmth. Not Aqua, just… Aquamarine.
Did he know I’d been hiding? Did he even care?
“So you can finally come out,” he said.
I didn’t look at him. “I needed rest.”
His brow went up, “Rest? Or running away from responsibilities?”
Running?
I wasn’t running, you pushed me into walls I couldn’t climb and now everything felt suffocating because of
you.
But the words didn’t come. My throat closed, burning.
Behind me, Clifford shifted like he was about to say something, but I threw him a glance sharp enough to cut.
Not now.
Alexander’s gaze dropped, slow and deliberate, like he was scanning me for weakness. His eyes paused on my arm before lifting back to my face. My stomach twisted.
Could he tell? The bandage?
“Don’t disappear again,” Alexander said finally. “I still await the news. Don’t let Fiona’s warnings be true.”
I felt my nails dig into my palm. Warnings about what? That I was barren?
Even though he knew he was my first? How would I know why nothing has worked yet?
But all I managed was a stiff nod.
Because if I opened my mouth, I didn’t trust my voice one bit.
He turned away first and almost immediately, he was out of sight. The echo of his footsteps hadn’t even faded when I heard another.
“Reality hits hard, doesn’t it?”
She glided into the corridor from the other side, her hands folded delicately in front of her.
I wanted to walk past her. Just keep going. But my feet rooted themselves.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she added, brushing her hair back. “I only came to thank the Primus for letting me and my mother stay in Katherine’s old chambers. It’s such a beautiful room, don’t you think? He’s so… thoughtful.”
Her lips curved to smirk.
Clifford moved slightly closer behind me, but I lifted my hand a fraction.
My voice came out tight. “Enjoy it while it lasts. When Alexander is done with you, he’ll drop you soo fast you won’t know how you two spoke in the first place.”
Somehow, my words reminded me of someone.
Gaia.
I sounded just like her. When she warned me about Alexander’s pattern. But I couldn’t help but think about what exactly made him attracted to her.
Her normal eyes? Normal hair? Normal skin?
Her smile widened, but her eyes flickered, sharp and mean. “Oh, I intend to. Trust me, I have more to offer than you ever would. I’m quite sure he wished he took me instead of you. But now, he’s righting his wrongs one step at a time.”
My eyebrows ticked.
“I warned you. Didn’t I?” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “You thought you could play smart with me. Bragging about how you’ve faced shit in this pack and then your fake–ass apology that still worked in my favour. I know you loved my acting but you have no idea how far I’ll go to get what I want.”
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt. Clifford shifted beside me, stepping forward, but she snapped her gaze to him before he could speak.
“Don’t, even think about it Clifford,” she cut him off, her voice like a whip. “I don’t care if you were the Alpha’s son in that pathetic pack we left behind. Here, you’re nothing but a dog chained to a girl we all once hated. A slave-”
Clifford stilled, his shoulders tight, his eyes flashing–but he stayed silent.
“That’s enough, Fiona.” I shut her up. “He’s my Kyrexeis. He’s above you so you better give him the respect you give Levi.”
Her attention swung back to me and she chuckled. “You’re soo dumb Aqua, a Kyrexeis isn’t just a title. You have to bind yourself to him first and you can’t form a bond as you have no wolf.”
What?
I glanced over to Clifford but he didn’t meet my eyes.
“You might be leading the Moonstone pack now, Aquamarine. But tell me–how much do you really know about it? The secrets? The strengths? The powers?” Her smile curved cruelly. “Because I know more. And in time, things will change… drastically.”
Change?
She leaned in, her words a whisper meant only for me. “In just two moves, I’ll destroy you. Trust me.”
With that, she turned and left fast. In the same direction Alexander went.
The echo of Fiona’s words still burned in my ears. Two moves and I’ll destroy you.
I wanted to storm back into my room, lock the door, and never crawl out again.
But as soon as she disappeared around the corner, I noticed the shuffle of footsteps. Dozens of them.
The Elders. All moving toward the hall.
My chest tightened. I should have turned away. Pretend not to see, pretend not to care. But something in me hardened. Clifford’s earlier words circled back – staying in here too much won’t help you.
I couldn’t keep hiding. Not if I wanted them to remember who I was supposed to be.
So I followed. Or sneaked in.
The moment I stepped inside, the atmosphere shifted. Heads turned–then just as quickly turned away. The Elders who once greeted me with respect, who bowed, who called me Luna even though some had thought otherwise- now they looked through me like I wasn’t even there.
Like I was an eyesore.
My stomach turned as I walked forward. Each step felt like I was closer to my death. Like those eyes were mocking and judging at the same time.
Taunting even as I lowered myself into my seat.
Nothing. No acknowledgment.
Not even from him.
Alexander’s eyes brushed mine for half a second, before sliding away.
I forced my hands still against my lap, though every nerve in me screamed to clench, to strike, to do something.
But before I could speak, his voice rang out–low and commanding.
“Fiona.”
Her name cracked through the hall like a whip.
I froze.
Fiona? Here?
I looked up to see her. Lingering at the back startled as though she wasn’t expecting it either.
The guards shifted for her as she moved forward, her steps small, her head lowered like a lamb called to sacrifice.
Except I could see it in her—the faint quiver of lips holding back a smile.
She reached the circle. And then the second blow came.
“Sit here,” Alexander said, his hand gesturing–not to the side seat near the door, where she should have been, but closer.
Near Levi.
My stomach dropped. I couldn’t breathe.
