Moonlit Vows Of Vengeance Chapter 41: Between Two Wolves

The final lantern drifted upward like a glowing tear against the velvet sky. I stood there a mont, my fingers still dusted with the fine ash of the wish paper we’d just released. Lucas was beside , arms folded, lips tight in sothing halfway between a smile and a scowl. Marcus, on the other side, kept glancing my way as if trying to read sothing hidden on my face.

I wasn’t even sure what I felt anymore.

We’d laughed and played like children—tossing rings onto glowing spikes, racing through moonlit obstacle courses, and even joining a riddle contest with a group of inner court guards who didn’t recognize us. I beat them all, of course. Lucas sulked about it for a full ten minutes until I bought him sweet bread. Then he sulked more because I shared it with Marcus.

Now, the air had grown still. The festival music slowed to a soft instruntal hum in the distance, like the final notes of a dream before waking. Couples began to pair off, drifting toward the lake to release their lanterns, whispering prayers to the stars.

Lucas hadn’t said much since we passed the last stall.

I turned to him. "Hey. You okay?"

"Hmm?" He didn’t look at . His gaze was locked on Marcus, who had stepped away to watch the reflection of the lanterns on the water.

"Lucas?"

He finally looked at , eyes flickering silver under the moonlight. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

I blinked. "I thought I was."

He gave a dry chuckle. "Thought?"

"Lucas, if you’re mad about sothing, just say it."

He faced fully now, shoulders tense, jaw set. "Alright. Why did you say yes to Marcus?"

That caught off guard. "What?"

"You agreed to go to the festival with him. After I asked you first."

"We all ca together."

"Not the point, Athena."

I folded my arms. "Then what is the point?"

He stepped closer. "That you entertained his offer. You didn’t have to. You could’ve just told him no. But you kept smiling, laughing at his jokes like—like—"

"Like what?" I shot back, defensive now. "Like I’m not allowed to have fun unless it’s on your terms?"

"That’s not what I’m saying."

"Then what are you saying?"

He exhaled, fingers curling at his sides. "I’m saying it felt like you forgot I was even there."

I stared at him, sothing sharp twisting in my chest. "That’s not fair, Lucas."

"Neither is watching soone you care about flirt with another wolf all night."

Care about.

I didn’t know what to say to that.

Before I could even try, Marcus returned, his expression unreadable. "Sorry. Am I interrupting sothing?"

Lucas didn’t reply. He didn’t have to.

I stepped back instinctively, sensing the tension snapping between them like a drawn bowstring.

Marcus looked at . "Athena, can we talk?"

Lucas growled low. "Of course. You always seem to need her when I’m around."

I shot him a glare. "Don’t do this."

"Why not?"

"Lucas—"

Marcus’s jaw tightened. "Don’t involve her in your gas."

Lucas’s half-smile returned—but now it was cruel. "Gas? I’m not the one with soone else pulling my strings."

Sothing flickered in Marcus’s eyes—hurt.

"I’m sorry," he said suddenly, looking only at . "I wanted to tell you..later on tonight.. I will have to leave tonight... I just wanted to spend so ti with you before then.."

I opened my mouth, but no words ca out.

"I had a fun night with you, bella, let’s do this again when im back"

Then he turned and walked away before I could stop him.

I stared at his back, then slowly turned to Lucas.

"Goodnight," I said to Lucas, not looking at him anymore.

"Athena—"

But I was already walking away.

When I returned to my quarters, the laughter of the festival still rang in the air outside, muffled by stone and distance. But inside, everything was silent. The silence even felt suffocating.

I leaned against the door after closing it, closing my eyes for a mont.

Marcus’s words lingered in my mind. "I just wanted to spend so ti with you before I go."

Lucas’s sudden aggression haunted even more. There had been sothing in his eyes as we watched the lanterns drift into the night sky. It was possessive, fierce, aching.

I tried to shake it all off, moving toward the edge of my bed. But as I sat, that old chill began to creep over again, the dream.

That dream... It felt too real.

I closed my eyes and tried to rember the surroundings—anything that might give a clue. The cold, white expanse of a broken moon... the howling of wolves... the surge of power that wasn’t mine but was sohow. It clung to my skin like static, like sothing ancient waking inside .

Was there a temple? A voice? I couldn’t rember clearly, no matter how hard I tried. Every ti I grasped for a detail, it slipped through my fingers like smoke. Frustration built in my chest like a storm.

"Damn it," I muttered, standing abruptly.

I paced the room. My fingers twitched. There was sothing I was missing, so piece I wasn’t seeing. I hated this feeling—this helpless confusion.

A knock at the door snapped out of my spiral.

"Who is it?" I called.

"ssage from the palace," ca the voice of a royal guard.

I opened the door to find him in full armor, looking slightly winded from running across the estate.

"The king has summoned you. You and... Lucas."

I blinked. "Summoned? Oh"

"I was only told to bring you both imdiately." He paused, then added, "It seems to be very urgent. You’re going to the Moon Temple."

The Moon Temple.

My breath stopped for a mont.

I gave a sharp nod, shutting the door behind . The unease in my chest doubled. The Moon Temple had been sealed off for years. To be summoned there, with no explanation, could only an one thing.

I didn’t waste ti.