Chapter 4 4

The village lights flickered in the distance, a warm glow against the cold grip of the forest. Each step Luna took toward safety was accompanied by the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. The encounter with Ronan had left her shaken, but it was Elias walking silently beside her who truly unnerved her.

Every few moments, her gaze flicked to him, his profile shadowed but strong under the pale moonlight. He hadn't said much since they left the clearing, and the weight of his earlier words pressed heavily between them.

"You're quiet," Luna said at last, breaking the silence.

"I'm thinking," Elias replied without looking at her. His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it, as if his thoughts were darker than he let on.

"About what?"

"About how reckless you are," he said, his tone sharper than she expected. He stopped walking, turning to face her. "You think you can just wander off into the forest without consequences? You're not invincible, Luna."

Her jaw tightened, the fire in her chest rekindling. "I don't need a lecture right now, Elias."

"You need someone to make you see sense," he shot back, his gray eyes piercing. "You're not just some healer anymore. You can't afford to act like your choices don't matter."

"And whose fault is that?" she snapped, stepping closer. "I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be some...Moonborn or whatever it is you think I am. I was fine before you showed up with all your warnings and secrets."

His jaw ticked, his expression unreadable. "Fine? Is that what you call it? Do you even understand what's at stake here?"

"I understand that my life is no longer my own," she said bitterly. "You expect me to trust you, to follow your lead, but you're just as full of secrets as Ronan. Why should I believe anything you say?"

For a moment, Elias didn't respond. The tension between them crackled like a live wire, and Luna thought he might turn and walk away. But instead, he stepped closer, his voice dropping to a low growl.

"Because I've seen what happens when Ronan gets what he wants," he said, his words heavy with pain. "I've seen him destroy lives, tear apart families, and leave nothing but ashes in his wake. And I swore I'd never let him do it again."

The raw emotion in his voice caught her off guard, and she found herself staring at him, searching his face for answers.

"What happened?" she asked softly, her anger fading.

Elias hes

itated for a moment, as if weighing whether to trust her with the truth. Then, with a deep breath, he looked away, his voice quiet but laced with pain.

"He killed my pack," Elias said, his words cutting through the night like a blade. "Years ago, when I was barely more than a boy. Ronan wanted power, and my alpha stood in his way. So he burned our village, slaughtered my family, and left me for dead."

Luna's breath caught in her throat. She could see the shadows of old scars in his eyes, wounds that hadn't fully healed.

"I've spent every day since then making sure no one else has to suffer like that," Elias continued, his gaze returning to hers. "When I heard about you, I knew he'd come for you next. You're more than a target to him, Luna-you're the one thing that could make him unstoppable."

The weight of his words settled on her chest, heavier than she'd expected. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but the words wouldn't come.

Instead, she looked down at her hands, her mind racing. "And you...you think I'm the Moonborn. That I have this...power," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't think, Luna. I know," Elias said firmly. "You've felt it, haven't you? The way the moon speaks to you, the way your wolf stirs when you're under its light."

She hesitated, flashes of her past rising unbidden in her mind-moments when she'd felt an unexplainable connection to the moon, when her wolf seemed stronger, sharper, more alive than anyone else's. But she'd always dismissed it, chalked it up to imagination.

"I don't want it," she admitted, her voice trembling. "I don't want to be someone's weapon, or prize, or whatever it is he thinks I am."

Elias's gaze softened, and for the first time, there was no frustration in his eyes, only understanding.

"I know," he said quietly. "But you don't get to choose what you are, Luna. You only get to choose what you do with it."

She looked up at him, her heart pounding with a mix of fear and something else-something she couldn't quite name. His presence was overwhelming, but not in the way Ronan's had been. Where Ronan was dark and menacing, Elias was steady, like an anchor in a storm.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked, her voice barely audible. "What do you get out of this?"

Elias held her gaze, and for a moment, she thought he wouldn't answer. But then he stepped closer, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"Because I couldn't save them," he said, the vulnerability in his tone making her chest ache. "But maybe I can save you."

Luna's breath hitched, and she found herself unable to look away from him. There was something raw and unguarded in his expression, something that made her want to believe him, despite everything.

Before she could say anything, a sharp howl echoed in the distance, cutting through the night like a warning.

Elias's head snapped toward the sound, his body immediately tensing. "We need to move," he said, his voice all business now.

"What is it?" Luna asked, her heart racing.

"Ronan's scouts," Elias said, already moving. "They'll be searching for you. We can't let them find us."

Luna hesitated for only a second before following him, her pulse pounding in her ears. Whatever was coming, she knew one thing for certain: her life would never be the same again.