Evelyn's POV
I didn't wait for them to stop me.
I didn't even think.
Clara's words kept ringing in my ears, louder than my own heartbeat.
"He killed the Luna."
"He slaughtered the guards."
"He went after your uncle too."
It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. There was absolutely no reason for someone like him, a monster, a demon, the beast everyone feared, to care enough about a weak, broken human girl like me to do something so…. bloody. So final.
I clutched the folded robe tighter against my chest and ran out of the servant quarters. My bare feet slapped the cold stone floor as I sped through the dark corridors. The air was heavy and silent, like the walls themselves were holding their breath. I didn't slow down. I needed to see him. I needed to hear it from his own mouth.
It's not true, I told myself. It's not true. It's not true.
By the time I reached his chambers, my lungs burned and my hands shook from the force of my grip on his robe. I pushed the heavy doors open and stumbled inside, but the room was empty. His presence was still everywhere though, the faint smell of iron and pine, of something wild and cruel lingering in the air.
I climbed the staircase to his private bedroom, my heart hammering.
And there he was.
He stood in the middle of the room, shirtless, his bloodied shirt lying crumpled on the floor like a discarded carcass. Dried streaks of crimson stained his face and arms. In the dim light, his skin gleamed like polished stone, muscles coiled and ready, a predator in repose. His claws weren't extended, but the mere sight of him was enough to make my stomach tighten.
When his eyes met mine, they darkened, and his voice, low and rough, broke the silence.
"Aveline," he called, taking a step forward.
I froze. The sound of that name on his tongue, the tone in which he always calls it, it felt strange. My hands tightened around his robe. Instinctively and I shifted back a step.
"What did you do?" I asked, my voice breaking.
He blinked, tilting his head. "What do you mean?"
I took a deep breath, my throat tightening. "I heard you killed the guards that whipped me. The Luna. And…" My voice faltered. ".…and my uncle. Is that true?"
His answer was casual, like he was talking about the weather. "Oh yes. Don't worry. I made sure they all died miserable deaths for laying a finger on you."
My heart stopped.
"I didn't ask you to!" I screamed, the sound echoing off the walls.
For the first time, something like surprise flickered across his face. "Aveline.…"
"My name is Evelyn, Evelyn Hart" I cut him off, my anger boiling over. "I don't know who the hell Aveline is, but that's not me. Please stop calling me that!"
He stared at me, silent.
I took another breath, but it came out shaky. "Tell me it's a lie. Tell me you didn't really kill all those people. Tell me you didn't really kill.… my uncle."
His eyes hardened. "Of course I did. I am not one to bluff about what I've done."
My stomach twisted.
"This isn't about you!" I yelled, my voice cracking under the weight of my fury. "This has absolutely nothing to do with you! Who the hell gave you the right to go around killing people for me? Who gave you the right to touch my uncle?"
His eyes narrowed, the shadows around him seeming to grow thicker. "Your uncle abused you. He deserved a horrific death and more for that, Aveline."
I stepped closer, fists trembling. "You might be bigger and a thousand times stronger than me, but the next time you call me a name that isn't mine again, I will spit in your face and kick your balls," I hissed, my voice low but steady.
For a moment, he actually looked stunned.
"My uncle abused me, Lucian," I said, my voice trembling now. "Me. Not you. The revenge was mine to get. It was something I've been biding my time for, waiting for the right moment when I would finally make him pay. That was my life goal, Lucian. So how dare you snatch it away from me? Who gave you the right to take that away from me?"
The words poured out of me like poison, years of being silenced breaking open all at once. "I am so tired of everyone pushing me around with no care for how I really feel, like I'm nothing. Everyone out there thinks you did this for me, but we both know the truth. You're a demon. A monster. You have the heart of a boulder. You have no ability to care about anyone. You're just a selfish, self centered demon wolf that has lived for centuries and now kills people just for the relish of it!"
My hands were shaking so hard the folded robe nearly slipped from my fingers. "That's the truth, Lucian. You didn't do all that for me. You did it to try to quench your insatiable bloodlust. You did it because you can." My voice cracked. "I hate you, Lucian Dreagor, for taking my right for revenge away from me. I will forever despise you. I wish the Moon Goddess had cursed you to die a miserable death instead of turning you into such a beast. You are living carnage, but I do not fear you. You are a monster. And I hate you."
I hurled the robe at his feet. It landed with a heavy thud, the fabric dark against the floor.
Lucian stood frozen, his eyes unreadable.
I turned on my heel and walked out.
The corridors felt colder now, the air thick with something unspoken. I didn't look back. I couldn't. Every step felt heavier than the last, but I forced myself forward. I wanted to get as far from him as possible, from that room reeking of blood and power.
The yard stretched before me, bathed in silver moonlight. I lifted my head and inhaled, trying to steady my breath.
Then it hit me.
A burning sensation on my arm, sharp and sudden like a hot blade pressed to my skin. I gasped, stumbling. At first, it was slight, a sting I could bear. But then it flared, searing deeper, hotter, until it felt like my very flesh was being branded.
My knees buckled. I crumpled onto the cold stones, clutching my arm. My vision blurred, my breath came out in ragged sobs. It was as though my skin had been dipped in fire and something was being carved into it, something ancient, something powerful.
I bit my lip until I tasted blood, trying not to scream.
And then, as suddenly as it came, the pain vanished.
My heart still raced as I slowly lowered my arm and uncurled my fingers.
There, on my skin where nothing had been before, glimmered the faint outline of a crescent moon. Its edges shimmered under the moonlight, glowing softly.
I stared at it, breathless, my entire body trembling.
What was happening to me?