Chapter 29 "Two Nights Before the Moon"
Two nights remained.
Hollowfen didn't sleep the same anymore.
The laughter that once filled its streets had quieted into cautious whispers. Lanterns burned longer. Patrols doubled. Even the wind felt different—slower, heavier… like it carried warnings no one could quite hear yet.
Inside the estate on the outskirts of town, the silence was deeper still.
Too deep.
The Dream
Blue ran.
Branches clawed at his arms as he pushed through the forest, lungs burning, legs heavy—too heavy. The ground beneath him pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat that wasn't his.
He didn't remember how he got here.
He just knew one thing:
He couldn't stop running.
A voice echoed behind him.
Low. Amused. Patient.
"You're getting faster…"
Blue didn't turn.
"…but not fast enough."
His breath hitched.
Varkuun.
The Alpha didn't chase him—not really. He didn't need to. No matter how far Blue ran, the presence behind him remained constant… like a shadow stitched into his soul.
Blue forced himself to turn.
Varkuun stood there.
Still. Calm. Watching.
And yet—
Closer than before.
Amber eyes burned through the darkness.
"You felt it, didn't you?" the Alpha said.
"Every time you sleep… you give me more."
Blue stepped back.
"What are you talking about…?"
Varkuun smiled.
"Your strength."
The ground beneath Blue cracked.
Black tendrils began rising from the earth, wrapping slowly around his legs.
"Your energy."
They tightened.
"Your future."
Blue tried to move—
He couldn't.
Another voice joined the dream.
Softer.
Colder.
Ancient.
"Sleep, child…"
The Moon Witch.
She didn't appear like Varkuun did. She was everywhere and nowhere at once—her presence woven into the darkness itself.
The tendrils climbed higher.
Wrapping his chest.
His arms.
His throat.
"Give… and rest…"
Blue's body weakened.
His vision blurred.
Something was being pulled from him—something vital.
Something that wasn't coming back.
"No…" he whispered.
Varkuun crouched in front of him.
"Yes."
Selene Awakens
Selene's eyes snapped open.
She didn't breathe.
She didn't think.
She felt.
A ripple—violent and wrong—cut through her senses like a blade.
Not just magic.
Violation.
Her body moved instantly.
She was already out of bed before the realization fully formed. The hallway blurred as she moved, her speed silent, precise, unnatural.
The deeper she went into the estate—
The colder it became.
The walls themselves seemed to recoil.
And by the time she reached Blue's door—
She already knew what she would find.
The Intrusion
The door opened without a sound.
And there it was.
A shadow stretched unnaturally across the ceiling—too thin, too long, bending at angles that didn't belong in this world.
It pulsed.
Like a parasite.
Blue lay beneath it, unmoving, his body trembling as faint streams of dark energy were pulled from his chest and fed into the shadow.
Selene's eyes ignited.
"You dare touch my son…"
The words didn't echo.
They pressed.
The entire room bent under the weight of her voice.
The shadow reacted instantly, twisting toward her—
Too late.
Selene raised her hand.
Ancient runes flared into existence across the walls, glowing crimson and gold. The air thickened as power flooded the room—old power. Royal power.
She began to chant.
The language was older than Hollowfen. Older than kingdoms.
The shadow shrieked.
Not a sound heard—
But one felt.
The spell locked onto it like chains.
And then—
Selene pulled.
The shadow tore violently, stretching, resisting—
Then snapped.
Not destroyed.
Returned.
Ripped back through the magical tether that bound it to its caster.
Far away—
A heart stopped.
Holding On
Selene didn't wait.
She dropped beside Blue instantly, placing both hands over his chest.
His energy was fading.
Too fast.
"Stay with me…"
Her magic poured into him—warm, radiant, forceful. Crimson and gold light wrapped around his body, pushing back the lingering darkness.
But the drain had been deep.
Too deep.
Selene gritted her teeth.
"Not like this… not my son…"
She pushed harder.
The room shook.
The sound of her magic echoed through the estate.
The House Awakens
Doors burst open.
Footsteps thundered.
X arrived first—eyes glowing, aura already rising.
"Selene—what—"
"Kitchen."
She didn't look at him.
"All of you. Now."
There was no hesitation in her voice.
Only command.
Zak appeared behind X, already reading the situation. Rito, Kin, and Gus followed—half-awake, confused, but instantly alert.
No one argued.
They left.
Explanation
Minutes passed.
Then Selene entered the kitchen.
Everyone stood.
X didn't wait.
"What happened?"
Selene met his eyes.
"The Moon Witch entered his dreams."
Silence fell.
"She was draining his energy," Selene continued.
"Feeding it through a tether spell."
X's voice dropped.
"…To the Alpha."
Selene nodded.
Rage
The room shifted.
X didn't shout.
Didn't move.
But his presence—
Changed.
"They're using him…" he said quietly.
"Using my son as fuel for that thing."
The table cracked under his hand.
"They think I'm going to sit here and let that happen?"
Selene stepped forward.
"X—"
But he was already gone.
Breaking Point
The night air hit him like fire.
X stepped into the open field—
And his wings exploded outward.
Power surged uncontrollably.
Before he could launch—
Zak stepped in front of him.
"If you leave now," Zak said calmly, "you'll kill everything in your path."
X's eyes burned.
"Then move."
Zak didn't.
"That's exactly what the Alpha wants."
Silence.
"He wants the world to see you as a monster."
X snapped.
"MAYBE I AM THAT MONSTER!"
The ground cracked beneath him.
"FOR MY SON—I WILL BECOME THE WORST THING THIS WORLD HAS EVER SEEN!"
Zak held his ground.
"…And then what?"
That stopped him.
"And then what, X?" Zak continued.
"When you lose yourself… how do we get you back?"
No answer.
"How does Selene live with that?"
"How does Blue?"
The wind slowed.
X's wings lowered.
His breathing steadied.
"…Damn it."
A long pause.
"…You're right."
He exhaled.
"…I'm sorry."
Zak nodded.
"Let's go."
Return
X walked back inside.
Everyone waited.
He didn't avoid it.
"I lost control."
A beat.
"I'm sorry."
Selene stepped forward.
"It's alright."
Rito nodded.
Kin shrugged.
Gus muttered,
"Could've been worse."
A faint smile almost appeared.
The Question
X looked at them all.
Family.
Allies.
Everything that mattered.
Then he asked:
"…What's the plan?"
Silence followed.
Because now—
They weren't reacting anymore.
They were preparing.
For war.
End of Chapter 29