Page 82 of Full Moon
Chapter 37
Torben
I watchas the color drains from Feray's face, her skin going pale as parchment while the weight of everything we've just discussed crashes over her like a wave. She wobbles on her feet, suddenly vulnerable in a way that makes my chest ache, and I swoop in to catch her before she falls—my instincts kicking in before my mind can even process the movement.
Holding her close to my chest, I look down into her gray-blue eyes that swirl like stormy seas caught between lightning strikes. There's fear and pain swimming in those depths, a raw vulnerability that pierces straight through me and makes my bear rumble with the desperate need to protect. All I want is to shield her from the harshness of this world, to be her refuge when everything else falls apart around her.
It's my duty. My honor. My privilege as her mate to love and protect her with every breath in my body.
Closing my eyes, I hug her tightly and tuck her head beneath my chin, letting my bear's rumble vibrate through my chest—a deep, comforting sound meant to soothe her frayed nerves and ease the pain I can feel radiating through our bond. She's been sostrong for so long, carrying burdens no one should ever have to bear alone, and now the cracks are finally showing.
"Let's feed you, little wolf, and then we'll come back here to look through your mom's things," I murmur, pressing my lips gently to the crown of her head where her fiery hair parts. The scent of winter roses and something uniquelyherfills my lungs, grounding me in this moment despite the chaos swirling around us.
I carry her across the dusty room in a bridal style, her weight light and precious in my arms, but before we exit into the hallway where prying eyes might be watching, I set her back on her own two feet and steady her with a gentle touch on her elbow.
"You can't be seen as weak in front of the other wolves," I whisper close to her ear, my breath stirring the fine hairs at her temple. "Not now. Not when everything is still so new and fragile."
She nods, understanding the delicate balance of strength and vulnerability that being Luna demands—the mask she must wear even when her heart is shattering beneath it.
Her lithe hand comes up to rest over my heart, the warmth of her touch sinking through my shirt and into my very bones. "Thank you, Tor. I love you," she says, her voice a soft whisper that wraps around me like silk.
Her smile is brave but doesn't quite reach her eyes as she turns to lead us down the dimly lit hallway, her steps steady despite the burden of unspoken fears weighing down her shoulders.
"Is she okay?" Khal asks as he catches up to us, concern etched across his sharp features and darkening his normally playful eyes.
"Not even close," I reply, my gaze darting to the others who fall into step beside us. They nod in silent acknowledgment of the weight we all carry—the understanding that our mate is struggling and there's only so much we can do to ease her pain.
"You know what it's like to be hunted," I say to Khal, and he nods, his expression going somber as old memories surface behind his serpentine eyes. "She's been hunted since she was in her mother's belly, marked for death before she ever drew her first breath. And now, as an adult finally coming into her power, she can see just how badly people wanted her dead."
I shake my head, a heavy sigh escaping me as the weight of the world presses down on my shoulders. "They still want her dead. That hasn't changed—if anything, it's gotten worse now that they know she survived their attempts."
"We've got this," Diaval says from behind us, his voice a steady anchor in the storm of uncertainty. "There's a reason Selûne and Asgorath placed us as her mates. We weren't brought together by chance or coincidence—we were brought together because she needs exactly what we can provide. Strength. Protection. Love that doesn't waver."
His dragon eyes lock onto Feray as she reaches the end of the hall, her silhouette framed by the warm light spilling from around the corner. She turns back to look at us, having noticed we weren't directly behind her, and there's something in her expression that makes my heart clench—a mixture of love and fear and desperate hope that we won't abandon her the way everyone else has.
I watch as Easton turns his back to Feray and steps directly in front of us, halting our progress with the sheer force of his presence. His aura is electrifying, crackling with barely contained power, and I can't help but notice the fierce determination blazing in his eyes—eyes that have begun to glow with an inner fire that speaks of the ancient creature lurking beneath his human skin.
His hands clench into fists at his sides, trembling with barely contained rage as he addresses us in a voice that's steady but charged with an emotion I've rarely heard from the normally composed phoenix.
"No one holds back. Use every weapon at your disposal to protect our mate—every claw, every fang, every ounce of power the gods saw fit to give you." His gaze moves between us, ensuring we understand the gravity of his words. "I will burn this world asunder to protect her. Fire will rain from the heavens before I let a single hair on her head be harmed. Do you understand me?"
Without waiting for an answer, Easton turns and loops his arm protectively through Feray's, striding purposefully down the hallway and leading her away from us. The air feels thick with the gravity of his vow, heavy with the promise of destruction should anyone threaten what's his.
"Wow..." I breathe, glancing between Diaval and Khal as the memory of Easton's fury lingers like heat from a forge. "I've never seen him so angry. Not in all the months we've traveled together."
"Last time he was that angry..." Diaval's voice trails off, his expression going somber as he motions for us to follow him toward the dining room. "Remember that fallen wolvenkingdom in the eastern territories? He leveled it in a single night because they threatened his nest. Burned it so completely that nothing grew there for a century."
The echo of his words hangs heavily in the air as we walk, and I find myself grateful that Easton's protective fury is directed outward rather than at us.
"Why didn't he take back his kingdom?" I ask, furrowing my brows as the question that's been nagging at me finally finds voice. "If he's that powerful, why did he let the basilisks drive him out?"
Khal answers, his voice tinged with regret that speaks to the weight of his people's history. "We can turn anyone to stone that has eyes—seeing or unseeing, awake or asleep. Even a phoenix as old and powerful as Easton can't escape our gaze. He would have burned through hundreds of us, but eventually, he would have fallen. The numbers were simply too great."
"I forgot about that," I murmur, remembering the conversation from what feels like ages ago. "He mentioned something about everyone being turned to stone—his entire court, frozen in the moment of their deaths."
We turn a corner and find ourselves facing four corridors stretching out before us like the fingers of an outstretched hand, each leading deeper into the labyrinthine Alpha house.
"Which way, Torben?" Diaval's question snaps me back to the present, and I arch a brow at him in confusion.
