Chapter 92: Chapter 92

Adelie

Fall wasn’t my favorite season. The days were dreary, the sun was scarce, and the chill in the air was relentless.

It was a feeling I could relate to.

“Luna, they’re waiting for you,” a guard informed me as I studied my reflection in the mirror. I was wearing a black lace dress, the kind you’d wear to a funeral.

Was someone dead?

Not exactly, but it sure felt like it.

I stared at my reflection, my face as cold and unyielding as stone. As the days passed, it was becoming easier to maintain this facade. I was turning into a stone-cold Luna.

Or at least, I was getting good at pretending to be one.

The pack members had been lingering outside my door for days. I hadn’t shared with them what was going on. I never did.

I hadn’t even ventured outside. But I had made a promise to those in the know that there would be consequences if word got out.

This time, I made the pack come to my door.

It wasn’t the usual place for announcements, but if they thought it was okay to yell at me and pound on my door, then so be it.

The guards slowly opened the door, their voices fading as they watched me emerge from the shadows and onto my front porch.

Some of them started whispering, others gasped at the sight of my long, black lace dress.

But Kairos wasn’t dead.

“Luna, we deserve an explanation!” A man cautiously broke the silence.

Another chimed in, “You can’t just disappear for days without a word.” I knew that. I knew it wasn’t the behavior of a good leader.

“Where is Alpha?”

“When will we see Alpha?”

“What has happened?”

Their voices overlapped, their questions all centered around one topic: Kairos.

I couldn’t respond. My face was numb. I was numb. The only other emotion I could show was sadness, but I couldn’t let that happen.

The noise grew so loud that I couldn’t make out individual words. It reminded me of my first day with them, when I was still figuring out how this pack operated.

Kairos had allowed them to bombard me with questions until panic set in.

I felt it again. The panic was rising.

I lowered my head, staring at the ground, and closed my eyes to drown out the noise.

It took a while, but eventually they understood and one by one they fell silent.

Only when the noise ceased did I open my eyes and look at them.

“Night Walkers pack!” I had to be strong. “I stand before you today to inform you that Alpha Kairos will no longer be leading this pack.”

They gasped, then started talking again. I closed my eyes and waited for them to finish. This time, they quieted down more quickly.

I looked at them again. “I am your Luna!” I declared, my voice echoing. I didn’t even know I could sound so powerful.

“I am the true leader of this pack. Everything that was done by Alpha Kairos will now be done by me. Any problems that arise, I will handle them.

“From this point forward, you will live under my rule. Anyone who disobeys will be dealt with harshly!”

Their eyes widened, but they didn’t seem convinced. I knew I didn’t command their respect or their fear.

Many of them had feared Kairos, but that fear had kept them in line. “When will Alpha return?” a woman asked.

I met her gaze. “I don’t know.”

And then the anger erupted. “Where is he?”

“What have you done?”

They were yelling at me, accusing me. Every word was a curse.

I felt a burning sensation in my fingertips, like they were on fire. Smoke began to rise from them, swirling around everyone.

A man lunged at me, but roots erupted from the ground, ensnaring their ankles. I recoiled, surprised at my own reaction.

I hadn’t intended to harm them, but fear had taken over. I was petrified.

Their cries filled the air as they struggled to free themselves. “Quiet!” I demanded. They fell silent, not daring to even breathe. I left a trail of smoke in my wake as I approached the man who had tried to tackle me.

“Don’t cross me,” I warned him.

He smirked in response. “You’re powerless without your nature,” he sneered. “Once you’re confined within four walls, you’re helpless.”

His audacity stunned me. He wasn’t entirely wrong, but he didn’t know me. He didn’t know what I was willing to do for Kairos.

He didn’t understand why I was here, why I was acting this way. I couldn’t afford to show weakness.

I signaled to one of my guards, instructing him to bring the twenty masked guards I had requested.

They emerged, rifles in hand, and positioned themselves around me, ten on each side.

“These bullets aren’t ordinary—they’re laced with silver,” I informed the pack. “Feel free to test them.

“I strongly suggest you follow my rules and obey my orders. I may not be Alpha Kairos, but I will rule with the same authority.

“Disrespect me, and you’ll pay the price. From this moment on, the Night Walkers pack is under my command!”

I turned my back on them and retreated indoors, releasing the roots that held them captive. As I closed the door behind me, silence enveloped the area.

One of the masked guards followed me inside. Once the doors and curtains were closed, she removed her mask.

“You could have made up an excuse for him. You could have said Kairos was away on business.

“Or that he’s ill. You could have told them anything,” she argued.

“No, Fala!” I retorted. “I won’t lie to them. I’d rather withhold the truth than pretend everything is fine. ~Nothing~ is fine.”

“You didn’t lie? You told them he’s never coming back,” she pointed out.

“Fala, don’t be naive. You act as if everything can be fixed. Go see him for yourself. Try to find the Kairos you once knew. Ask him when he plans to return.” I knew my words hit her hard.

But I was exhausted. Exhausted of everything. I didn’t want to be this way. But this was the only version of myself I could be at the moment.

I expected Fala to leave. Or to argue with me, given her nature. But perhaps she was growing up, even in this chaotic world.

“You scared them,” she observed.

“I tried to be gentle, Fala. I want to be kind. And I will be, once they understand my intentions. But right now, they see me as another Mia. They think I’m here to destroy their pack.”

Fala was silent for a moment. “I pledge my loyalty to you, my Luna,” she declared.

“I know you’re a true leader. I know what you’ve done to protect this pack, and I know you’d do even more.

“For that, and for Kairos, I promise to stand by you and obey you.” She stood tall, a young woman with her whole life ahead of her, yet vowing to stay by my side.

There were so many things I wanted to say to her, but all I managed was, “Thank you, Fala.” She nodded and left for her room. She would now have to live in secrecy.

I had to ensure that the identities of my masked guards remained a secret.

In a small pack like ours, it wouldn’t take long for people to notice who was missing.

Fala was the only guard from our pack. The others hailed from different packs, but I trusted their loyalty to me.

The house had never been this dark before. Every curtain was drawn, blocking out all traces of daylight.

I halted in front of a rusty metal door, unhooked a key from around my neck, and turned it in the lock. The door creaked open.

A staircase led down to a basement with stone walls and floors. The metallic scent in the air wasn’t from the basement—it was the smell of blood.

The silence was deafening. I had a remote to control the chains, raising them to stretch his arms upwards, preventing him from causing harm.

He saw me and lunged forward, but the chains held him back. The silver chains weakened him.

That’s how I knew this wasn’t Kairos. Kairos would be too weak to resist the silver, but this creature wasn’t as affected.

His wrists, ankles, and neck were bruised and bloody from his attempts to break free.

I kept my face impassive, maintaining my cold stare.

“What?” he yelled at me.

“Feeling talkative now?” I asked.

He laughed. “I’ve told you everything.”

“Who are you?” I asked.

He smirked at me, his eyes gleaming with malice. “Your dear husband.” Those words had never made me feel so nauseous.

I shook my head. “You’re not my husband. I want to know why you’re acting this way. My husband would never look at me with such hatred.”

“Oh, I don’t just look at you with hatred. I want to kill you!” he spat, causing me to flinch. “I want to see you suffer, feel hopeless, die.”

I approached him, standing close enough to smell his sweat. His eyes were pitch black. “Do I look helpless to you now?” I asked.

Seeing Kairos like this was surreal. Even when we first met, he didn’t seem as evil as the stories suggested.

“You’re pathetic,” he laughed, fueling my anger. “You can’t hurt me. You feed me, give me water. The worst thing you’ve done is lock me up.

“If you could harm me, I’d be dead already. It’s only a matter of time before I escape. This isn’t a bad vacation.

“You can’t hurt me, girl. You’re just the same pathetic, loner Omega you’ve always been.”

“Kairos doesn’t think that,” I said, more to reassure myself than him.

“I am Kairos!” he shouted. “I am everything I couldn’t express before because I was too weak. I was blinded by this thing you call ‘love.’

“I was too weak to seize the opportunities life offered me. I should have cast you aside long ago.”

I reached out and touched his cheek, silencing him. “I know the Kairos I love is still in there somewhere, and I won’t give up on that hope.”

He relaxed slightly. He didn’t retort. He met my gaze and was calm.

A single tear rolled down his cheek. “Help me, Adelie,” he pleaded.

“Kairos?” I asked. Could it really be him?

“I’m in pain,” he said, glancing at his chains. “Free me,” he begged.

“I can’t do that yet. You know I can’t.” Tears welled up in my eyes.

“Please, I am weak,” he implored, but I shook my head.

“I love you, Adelie.” He looked into my eyes.

“I love you,” I echoed.

He attempted to lean in for a kiss, but the chains held him back. I knew I probably shouldn’t, but I hadn’t had a real conversation with Kairos in what felt like forever.

I wasn’t certain if I’d get another opportunity.

I took a tiny step towards him and initiated the kiss. His lips were chapped and rough from his struggles.

But our kiss was cut short. He began to laugh uncontrollably, causing me to pull away. “You’re such an idiot,” he chuckled, and I felt a pang in my heart. “Pathetic!”

I was convinced it was Kairos…that he had snapped back to reality, if only for a moment.

His laughter filled the room. “Come give me another kiss, darling,” he taunted. I couldn’t keep up the charade any longer. Couldn’t pretend that his words didn’t wound me. That I was resilient.