The Alpha's Borrowed Luna (Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 213

Chapter 213

I awoke to a gentle knocking at the door. The dim morning light filtered through the curtains, casting long shadows across the room. For a moment, I allowed myself the small comfort of forgetting–forgetting the demon growing inside me, forgetting my newfound thirst for blood, forgetting that I’d chosen a path that would likely lead to my death.

*Come in, I called, expecting Daisy with her morning rounds or perhaps Frost with breakfast.

The door creaked open, revealing Rowan. A flicker of warmth touched me at the sight of him. He’d been one of the few to see me off when I left the pack, a gesture I’d appreciated more than I’d let on. thought I’d glimpsed him on the training grounds recently, but there’d been no time for greetings. Now, though, with the demonic corruption twisting my insides, all I wanted was for him to disappear before he saw what I was becoming.

‘Why are you here?” I asked, pulling the blanket higher to cover the grotesque swell of my abdomen.

“I’d been wanting to meet you for a while now, but since I last saw you on the training field you seem to have vanished…” His voice trailed off as he took a step into the room, concern evident in his expression. “What happened to you?”

I noticed for the first time that his arm was wrapped in a bandage, a small spot of blood seeping through the white fabric. The scent hit me instantly–rich, coppery, intoxicating. My mouth watered, teeth aching as they lengthened into points.

“I’m fine,” I managed, though my voice sounded strained even to my own ears. “You are injured; you should leave.”

He glanced down at his arm, then back at me, taking another step closer. “Not until you tell me what happened, are you alright?

His proximity only intensified the scent, making it harder to think, harder to control the hunger that clawed at my insides. I gripped the edges of the bed, fingernails digging into the mattress.

“Rowan, go now,” I warned, feeling my control slipping with each heartbeat.

“No, you need help. Does the Alpha know…?” He reached for me, his uninjured hand extending in a gesture of comfort.

“Yes, he does, Rowan. I’m warning you, leave.” I could hear the desperation in my voice, feel the hunger building, drowning out all rational thought.

His eyes widened, finally registering something was wrong. “Your face…”

But it was too late. The hunger took over, a red haze descending over my vision. I lunged forward with inhuman speed, my newly strengthened body easily overpowering him. My teeth found his throat, sinking deep into the soft flesh. The hot rush of blood filled my mouth, sweeter than anything I’d ever tasted, more satisfying than any meal.

I drank greedily, lost in the ecstasy of feeding, barely conscious of his struggles growing weaker, his heartbeat slowing beneath my hands. Only when the flow began to ebb did awareness start to return–horror dawning as his body went limp in my grasp.

Darkness closed in around me, my consciousness fading as the demon inside me gorged on the feast I’d provided.

I don’t know how long I was unconscious. When awareness returned I was on the floor, a metallic taste lingering in my mouth. Something heavy lay beside me, unnaturally still. It took my foggy mind a moment to process what I was seeing–Rowan’s body, deathly pale, his throat a ruined mess of torn flesh.

No, no, no. This couldn’t be real. This had to be another nightmare.

I scrambled away, my back hitting the wall as panic surged through me. “Help! Somebody help!” My voice broke on the words, terror

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Chapter 213

constricting my throat.

Footsteps pounded in the corridor. The door burst open, and Kaius stood there, his expression shifting from alarm to grim understanding as he took in the scene.

‘Sorry, Frost couldn’t come…” he began, then froze as his eyes fell on Rowan’s body.

“I don’t know–I woke up on the floor beside him.” The words tumbled out, frantic and disjointed. “He needs a healer; why aren’t you doing anything?”

Kaius knelt beside Rowan, checking for a pulse he surely knew wouldn’t be there. “He is dead; nothing can be done.”

“What do you mean, he is dead? He can’t be dead. Who would have done this?” Denial gave way to confusion as memories began to surface–fragmented images of hunger, of blood, of ecstasy.

Kaius looked up at me, his eyes filled with a compassion I didn’t deserve. “There’s blood on your lips.”

I raised a trembling hand to my mouth, feeling the stickiness there. Horror washed over me in waves as the full reality of what I’d done crashed down.

“I didn’t… I didn’t do this; please believe me, Kaius.” But even as I pleaded, the memories sharpened–my teeth in his throat, his struggles weakening, the intoxicating rush of his blood.

“Is alright,” he said softly, rising to his feet and moving toward me.

“Is not; Rowan is dead, and I did not do it.” The denial was automatic, desperate.

Kaius reached for me, his hands gentle as he pulled me to my feet, away from Rowan’s body. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”