Chapter 33
At 9 a.m., I sat at the kitchen table, sipping a hot cup of coffee while glaring at Bryan, who seemed determined to babysit me like I was some fragile doll. His intense focus on "keeping an eye" on me was borderline suffocating. It wasn't just that he was hovering—he was staring at me, unblinking, like I was going to disappear into thin air if he so much as looked away for a second.
I hadn't had a chance to talk to Jake about this overprotective behavior. Unfortunately, he left early this morning while I was still dead to the world, enjoying what was probably my deepest sleep in weeks. When I finally dragged myself out of bed and took a long, steamy shower, I walked into the kitchen only to find Bryan waiting for me with a weird grin on his face like he'd been planning this ambush for a while.
"Stop staring at me like that. It’s getting creepy," I said, reaching for the nearest object to throw at him, which just so happened to be a teaspoon. It wasn’t the most dangerous weapon, but it would do.
He dodged it effortlessly, his reflexes much too fast for a spoon to catch him off guard. "If you stop glaring and complaining, maybe I’ll stop staring. We might even have some fun," he teased, clearly enjoying how much he was getting under my skin.
I let out an exaggerated sigh, crossing my arms over my chest. "Bryan, I don’t want to spend the whole day locked up in here with you like a prisoner. Besides, I need to go downstairs and socialize with the pack—like a proper Luna would," I added, hoping to appeal to his sense of duty.
He sighed, clearly unhappy with the idea but knowing he couldn’t argue with my Luna responsibilities. "Fine, we can go downstairs if that’s what you want, but no one leaves the pack house, and you stay glued to my side the entire time."
My eyes lit up with excitement, and I jumped off the stool, practically beaming. "I promise I won’t leave your side! It’s not like I’m on a secret mission to get kidnapped," I said, rinsing my empty coffee cup in the sink before heading toward the door. "Come on, there’s so much I want to do today."
He rolled his eyes but followed me nonetheless. "Yes, ma’am," he muttered under his breath.
As soon as we reached the downstairs area of the pack house, I noticed something was off. I wasn’t expecting to find a crowd of people gathered in groups, all of them looking panicked, some whispering in hushed voices, others glancing around nervously. It was as if the whole pack was holding its breath, waiting for something terrible to happen. Bryan immediately grabbed my hand, his grip firm, as we joined a small group near the entrance.
"What’s going on here?" I asked, turning to a woman who looked pale and shaken, like she had seen something horrific.
Her hands fidgeted nervously, and she glanced around before answering in a shaky voice, "Oh, Luna, you shouldn’t be out here right now."
I furrowed my brows in confusion. "Why? What’s happening?"
"It’s bad... really bad," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.
Before I could ask for more details, Bryan stepped in front of me protectively, his tone sharp as he addressed the woman. "Answer the Luna’s question. Now."
The woman visibly swallowed, fear clouding her eyes as she nodded toward the door. "Outside… see for yourself."
Bryan wasted no time, pulling me along as we followed the growing crowd that was gathering near the large avocado tree in the courtyard. I had no idea what to expect, but the tension in the air was thick enough to choke on. My heart started racing, a sense of foreboding settling deep in my gut.
As we neared the tree, the crowd parted for us, making way for Bryan’s commanding presence. His voice took on an authoritative edge I hadn’t heard before. "Everyone, back up!" he barked, and the people immediately obeyed, stepping aside to give us a clear view.
But I wished they hadn’t.
The sight that greeted me was beyond horrifying. A strangled scream tore from my throat, and Bryan was quick to shield me with his broad chest, but it was too late. I had already seen her. The woman hanging from the tree was mutilated beyond recognition—her face was covered in blood, her skin slashed deeply as if by monstrous claws. Her eyes had been gouged out, and her body was covered in grotesque wounds oozing with pus. Worst of all, she was hanging upside down, her insides spilling from a gaping wound in her abdomen. The sheer brutality of it made my stomach lurch.
"Jenner," Bryan whispered in shock, his grip on me tightening as he pulled me closer.
Jenner. The woman who was supposed to help me. One of the coven leaders—my coven. Now, she was dead. Murdered. And not just killed but butchered. My mind reeled as I struggled to comprehend what I had just seen. This couldn’t be happening. How could this have happened?
"Let me see her!" I screamed, trying to wriggle free from Bryan’s protective embrace. "Let me see her!"
"No," he growled, holding me tighter. "You don’t need to see her like that again."
Tears stung my eyes as I fought against his hold, but he was too strong. I just wanted one last look at her, one final moment to understand what had been done to her.
"Let go! Let me see her!" I begged, my voice hoarse with desperation, but he wouldn’t relent. The pain of seeing Jenner in that state hung over me like a dark cloud, suffocating me.
"I’ll take her inside," I heard a soft voice say. It was Rebecca, one of the pack members who had been helping around the house. Her voice was calm, though her face was pale. She gently took my hand, her touch light and careful. "Bryan, cut her down. I’ll handle the Luna."
Bryan nodded stiffly, his jaw clenched as he turned back toward the gruesome scene. Rebecca began leading me away from the crowd, her grip on my hand firm yet gentle. We walked in silence, the horror of what had just happened weighing heavily on my chest.
As we moved further away from the scene, a strange sensation washed over me. A soft voice whispered in my ear, as light as a breeze, but its message was filled with urgency.
**Run.**
I stopped dead in my tracks, narrowing my eyes as I looked up at Rebecca. The voice—it was so clear. And the warning had felt real, desperate even. "It was you," I said, my voice trembling with accusation as I tried to pull my hand away from her.
Before I could react, Rebecca’s other hand moved swiftly, clamping a cloth over my mouth. A sickly-sweet scent filled my nose, and I gasped in shock, the world around me spinning as the chemicals overwhelmed my senses. I struggled, trying to fight her off, but my limbs grew heavy, my vision blurred, and the last thing I remembered before everything went dark was her cold, calculating gaze.
Then there was nothing.
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