Chapter 54 – The Day Before the Moon
The cell was quiet.
Too quiet.
Giselle sat in the farthest corner, her knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them. Her skin felt clammy, her breath thin. It wasn’t just the cold stone floor or the damp air that made her tremble. It was the absence within her.
Aeris was slipping further away.
Every time she reached inward, trying to feel the comforting brush of her wolf’s presence, there was only silence—like trying to hear someone scream through a wall of water. Dull, distant. Growing weaker by the hour.
Aeris had been her constant. Her strength. And now… now she was fading.
Her throat burned as she swallowed hard against the rising tide of grief. If she lost Aeris… she’d lose everything.
*Her wolf. Her mate. Herself.*
The metal door creaked open, and her head snapped up. Her heart sank as the rogue leader stepped inside, his expression even more manic than the last time. His steps were uneven, wild energy vibrating off him as he paced in front of her cell.
His lips curled into a crooked smile, and his eyes gleamed with triumph.
“One more day,” he whispered, almost to himself. “One more day and you’ll be mine. The full moon will make you see.”
“I’d rather die,” Giselle spat, her voice hoarse but firm.
He laughed, the sound jagged and broken. “You’ve said that before. But your body knows what’s coming. Your wolf is already giving in.”
“She’s not—”
“She is,” he cut in sharply, voice rising with a tremor of rage. “And so are you. The bond between you and that Alpha trash is cracking. I feel it. I *see* it.”
Giselle stood shakily, glaring through the bars. “You’ll never have me.”
“You say that now.” He stepped closer, hands gripping the bars. “But the moon will rise. The pain will break you. And when the bond shatters, you’ll see me. *Only* me.”
Before she could respond, the door creaked open again.
Giselle flinched.
The woman entered without a word. Her dark robes billowed slightly with each step, the thick fabric swallowing her entire frame. Only her eyes were visible—familiar, haunting. Giselle couldn’t place them, but they made her stomach turn in recognition her mind couldn’t catch up to.
The woman didn’t speak. She didn’t need to.
She moved with purpose, setting down a bowl and laying out bundles of dried herbs and colored powders. Candles followed, placed in precise positions around the cell door.
Giselle’s breath grew shallow.
“What is she doing?” she asked, voice low, wary.
The rogue leader grinned, his mania returning. “Preparing you. So you’ll be ready… perfect.”
“For *what*?”
“For *me*.”
The woman began to chant.
Low, guttural syllables filled the room—sharp consonants and curling vowels that clung to the air like smoke. The sound made Giselle’s skin crawl. She backed away from the bars instinctively.
The rogue leader was speaking again, but the chanting was louder, warping her ability to hear.
“You’ll forget him,” he said with certainty. “All of him. That Alpha’s touch. His voice. His name. When the bond is gone, there will be nothing left of him inside you.”
“I will never—”
“You will,” he hissed, face twisting. “We’ll be happy together. You’ll see. You’ll call *me* mate. You’ll beg for *me.* For *my* touch, and only mine.”
The chanting grew louder, piercing her ears, clawing into her skull.
Then the pain came.
A blast of searing fire shot through her spine, knocking her off her feet and onto her knees. Her scream was choked, her arms hugging her middle as her body folded inward.
It felt like her bones were being melted from the inside out.
‘Aeris. *Aeris.*’
No answer.
She gasped for breath, her nails scraping the stone floor as she collapsed fully, curling in on herself. Her vision blurred with tears, the scent of herbs turning rancid in her nose.
The chanting twisted and grew in intensity, invading her mind. It was *inside* her now. Writhing. Scratching.
“Stop…” she whispered, but it barely left her lips.
Over the screaming in her own head and the pounding of blood in her ears, she heard the rogue leader’s voice. Calm. Sinister. Final.
“All of this will be over tomorrow, Giselle.” She clenched her teeth, breath shallow. “The bond will be broken,” he continued, voice distant, as if speaking through a fog. “The pain will be gone. And you… you will be mine forever more.”
His words floated above her like a curse.
But deep within the swirling blackness that threatened to take her under, a single thought broke through.
*Rowan.* *Aeris.* *Me.*
And she held on. Even as her body shook and the chanting drowned her, she *held on.*
The chanting stopped so suddenly it left a ringing in Giselle’s ears.
The woman stood in silence for a moment, her gaze locked on Giselle through the veil. Then, without a word, she bent down and began packing her things. Candles were snuffed out one by one, the smoke curling around Giselle’s trembling body like ghosts. Herbs and powders vanished into her robe, and then she was gone—her footsteps soft and measured as she slipped from the dungeon, leaving Giselle in the silence once more.
Except she wasn’t alone.
The rogue leader’s eyes gleamed in the dim light as he unlocked the cell door with a slow, deliberate turn of the key. It creaked open, and he stepped inside.
Giselle tried to crawl away, but her body screamed in protest. Pain clawed through her limbs, raw and deep.
He crouched beside her, brushing hair from her sweat-dampened face with a touch far too tender for the monster he was. “I will make you mine, no matter what,” he whispered.
His fingers curled under her jaw, forcing her to meet his gaze. Her body spasmed with pain, and she cried out, biting back a sob.
Then silence—except for the fading echo of his footsteps as he left.
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