Blade stood in the doorway. His dark hair looked messier than usual, like he'd run his hands through it a hundred times. In his hand he held my pen, the blue one I always carried in my pocket. He looked down at me where I sat curled against the door, knees up to my chin.

"You dropped this downstairs," he said quietly. His voice wasn't loud or bossy. It was gentle, like he was talking to a scared bird. "Figured you might want it back."

I stared at the pen, my fingers were still shaking when I reached out. I took it and clutched it against my chest like it could protect me.

Blade didn't move closer right away, he just looked around the small empty room, then he lowered himself to the floor a few feet away from me.

He sat with his back against the opposite wall, legs stretched out, hands resting loose on his knees. He didn't try to crowd me. He just sat there.

I shifted sideways a little, pressing my shoulder harder against the door. I needed more space.

He noticed.

But he didn't say anything about it.

After a long quiet moment-long enough that I could hear my own heartbeat, slowing he spoke again.

"You don't always have to believe what the Alpha says when other people are listening."

My head snapped up. My eyes locked on his face.

He wasn't looking at me, he was staring at a tiny crack in the floorboards, like it held all the answers. His voice stayed soft.

"Sometimes words are said for ears that aren't yours. To keep certain people from guessing the real truth. To keep someone safe."

My fingers squeezed the pen until the plastic made a tiny creaking sound.

Blade finally glanced at me, his eyes were steady. Not angry. Not pitying. Just honest.

"I'm not saying he's perfect but I know him, and I know he doesn't throw away the people he actually cares about."

The words felt warm for a second like a tiny candle in the dark, but then Ryder's voice crashed back into my head, loud and cold from downstairs:

"I don't give a d*mn about what happens to a mute girl... If she dies, the pack moves on. I move on."

I shook my head once.

Blade didn't argue, he just nodded, like he understood everything I couldn't say. Then he went quiet again.

We sat there for what felt like forever, the only sounds were my breathing, still too fast and the faint tick of a clock somewhere far away in the house.

After a while, Blade pushed himself up slowly. He held out his hand not grabbing, just open, palm facing up.

"Come on," he said gently. "You can't stay in here all day. Let's get you back to your room."

I stared at his hand.

I didn't take it.

But after a few more heartbeats, I used the door to push myself up. My legs felt wobbly, like they belonged to someone else.

Blade didn't rush me, he waited until I was standing straight, then stepped back to give me room.

We walked out together. The hallway felt too bright after the dim little room. My new blue flats made soft tapping sounds on the floor.

Blade walked beside me not too close, not too far either. Like he knew exactly how much space I needed to feel safe.

We turned the corner.

And there he was.

Ryder stood at the far end of the hallway, arms crossed over his chest. His face was blank hard to read. His eyes flicked from me to Blade, then back to me. Something quick flashed in them sharp, like a spark then disappeared.

He stepped forward.

"You start school tomorrow," he said. His voice was flat. Calm. Like he was reading from a piece of paper. "Go back to your room. The maids will bring your food. They'll bring everything you need for school. Prepare tonight, you start tomorrow."

He didn't ask how I was.

He didn't look at the dried tear tracks on my cheeks.

He didn't mention the broken vase downstairs or why I'd run.

He just turned and walked away. His boots echoed down the hall until the sound swallowed him up.

I stood there, staring at the empty spot where he'd been.

Blade touched my elbow just a light brush of fingers. "Come on," he said softly. "Let's get you to your room."

I let him guide me. My legs moved, but I didn't really feel them. Everything felt far away, like I was watching myself from somewhere high up.

We reached my door, Blade opened it for me. The room looked exactly the same, purple blanket folded neatly on the bed, closet full of new clothes, desk with my notebooks. But it didn't feel like mine anymore. It felt like a pretty cage.

He paused in the doorway. "If you need anything just write it down and give it to a maid. Or find me. Okay?"

I nodded once.

He gave me a small sad smile, then closed the door quietly behind him.

I stood in the middle of the room for a long time, then I walked to the bed and sank down on the edge.

My eyes drifted to the window.

The curtains were still half-closed.

I remembered the man from last night.

Ryder's words kept replaying in my head.

"If she dies, the pack moves on. I move on."

I pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them.

And then I saw it.

On my pillow.

A single piece of white paper.

It hadn't been there before.

My heart gave a hard thud.

I stared at it.

Slowly, I reached out and picked it up.

Big red letters were scrawled across it...messy, angry, like someone had pressed the marker so hard it almost tore the paper.

"Hey new Luna

welcome to hell and get ready to die like the previous Luna."

My fingers went cold.

I couldn't scream.

Instead, I rushed to the bell at the corner of the room and pressed it repeatedly, my fingers trembling against the cold metal.

Within minutes, a few maids hurried in, their footsteps echoing against the floor. Their eyes immediately fell on the letter clutched tightly in my shaking hands.

One of the maids gasped softly before rushing out obviously to call Ryder.

I remained seated, frozen in place, my body still trembling as the words on the paper blurred before my eyes.

Chapter 8 8

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