The room was dark...and cold.
Della looked around, but she couldn’t make out a single thing. But one thing was for sure...she was currently in Malachi’s room
She had remembered vividly as Rowan had brought her here, opened the door and gestured at her to go on. No wonder the beta had looked surprised when Malachi had whispered into his ear.
Still, Della had looked at him wondering if he had actually heard Malachi right, because an Alpha’s room was one of his private spaces, and he doesn’t just let anyone in.
Especially a rotblood.
Della had stepped in, unsure, but now she was leaning by a corner waiting for anything to happen.
The Sovereign Moon Ceremony had either been cancelled by what happened tonight, or it had continued. Judging from the slight vibrations she could feel from the walls, it probably continued.
Good!
Her ankle was still hurting so she couldn’t stand for long, and sat on the floor with both legs outstretched. Malachi should have sent her to see Annelise or someone who could take care of her leg, instead of...this.
But somehow, the cold in the room actually made her injury feel better.
Della closed her eyes, trying not to remember everything that had happened tonight. The sack was still around her shoulders, and she sighed almost hopelessly.
This had probably been her last chance at escaping this hellhole. Would she ever see Lian again?! The thought almost had her bursting into tears.
Sleep never came, even though she desperately wanted it to come. Even if it was for a few minutes, she wanted to forget everything. Her lack of sleep all of these might finally kill her, or she might start hallucinating seriously.
It was almost dawn when the door to the room finally opened, and some candle light from outside spilled in for a second. She watched with dreadful eyes as the Alpha quietly walked in, his foot making not even the smallest vibration...and then he closed the door again.
Della squeezed her eyes shut and stopped breathing. Maybe if she remained silent, he would ignore her. But there’s no way he sent her to his own personal space just to ignore her.
But nothing happened.
No footsteps approached.
No orders came.
No threats.
The silence stretched for so long that her curiosity eventually won over her survival instinct, and she slowly cracked one eye open.
Somehow, a bit of Moonlight that has probably been covered by clouds since she stepped into this room, which actually had windows, had spilled in through the window.
Malachi was sitting near it on what looked like an old chair, as though he’d been there for hours already.
The moonlight spilling through the glass caught part of his face, illuminating the sharp line of his jaw and the exhaustion hidden beneath his eyes.
Della froze and looked at him more intensely.
She felt it again through the bond. The man was actually exhausted, and the crazy part? He had made the emotion strong enough for her to feel it. Or maybe he just didn’t care and was too immersed in his own... pressuring world.
It rolled through him in slow waves, and for the first time since she’d met him, he actually looked less like an Alpha and more like a man carrying something far heavier than he was supposed to.
His gaze shifted toward her for a brief second, "You can stop pretending."
Della immediately closed her eyes again, "I wasn’t pretending."
"You were."
"No."
"You were."
She sighed dramatically, "This is why nobody likes you."
The corner of his mouth twitched just slightly. He...smiled?
Silence returned a second later, and it didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.
Just strange.
She followed his gaze to look at the full moon hiding beneath the moving clouds, and no matter how much time passed, the clouds refused to end. Almost as if the clouds were deliberately trying to hide the Moon.
"Why am I here?" Della finally asked. She couldn’t bear the thoughts anymore alone.
Malachi didn’t answer immediately, and his eyes remained fixed on the moon outside.
"Would you rather be in the Iron Pits?" He finally replied, his voice low.
"That’s not an answer." Della scowled.
"No."
"Then answer it."
"No."
She rolled her eyes.
Of course. Why had she expected anything different?
The silence stretched again, and she hated it so much. Deeply. Because silence brought a brooding energy for thoughts, and when thoughts became too much, they become explosive and come out of her mouth unintentionally.
"...what happened to your wolf?"
The room instantly became still, and Della almost slapped a palm to her lips.
Wow! She had actually...said it.
Meanwhile, Malachi didn’t react outwardly at all. There was no blink, or flinch, or the glare or irritation she had been expecting for a while now.
But through the bond, she felt a deep ache coming from him. Like a wound he’d been trying his hardest to close, or a memory he’s been pushing down finally clawing back to the surface.
Della felt it for only a second before it vanished.
Gone so quickly she almost thought she’d imagined it.
Almost.
Slowly, Malachi turned his head toward her, and Moonlight reflected in his eyes, "That’s a very dangerous question." He replied.
"But not one you denied." She said tightly.
His stare lingered long on her face, and again, she didn’t even feel the slightest discomfort. Then, he looked away again and somehow, that answer was enough.
Della’s chest tightened
It really was true.
The strongest Alpha alive, the most feared wolf in existence...had no wolf.
Not anymore.
The thought felt impossible, yet she had witnessed how true it was firsthand.
If this ever got out that Malachi was wolfless, or his wolf was now practically made of the most dangerous substance known to wolves, unspeakable disaster would befall Eclipse Crown.
Della had read so many books and knew well enough how Pack politics worked.
Power, above all.
Once someone gets a whiff that something was off, your downfall begins.
She looked at Malachi again and sighed. She wanted to ask, wanted to know how long he’s been without his wolf? Was he born like this? How has he managed to keep this secret from everyone?!
"...did Katherine do it?"
Moon Goddess! At this point, she needed to tape her mouth shut.
Malachi reacted this time when she felt his exhaustion deepen, "You ask far too many questions."
Della pulled up her legs and hugged her knees, entirely forgetting about her ankle pain. Or many the pain had simply subsided that much, "You never answer any." She whispered back.
"Good."
She glared at him, and he ignored her.
The bond remained quiet for several moments before Della finally spoke again, "You’re welcome."
That got his attention.
"What?"
"You heard me."
Malachi stared.
Della stared back, then she pointed toward the door.
"You’re welcome."
"For what?"
"For obviously preventing the two most powerful men alive from destroying the entire ceremony...and from stopping anyone from discovering...your secret,"
The silence that followed lasted almost ten seconds, and she thought he might actually get angry.
Then— "That." Malachi pointed lazily toward her, "Was unbelievably reckless."
Della blinked, then she blinked again and frowned, "That’s not gratitude."
"It wasn’t intended to be."
"You’re impossible."
"You threw yourself between two Supreme Alphas."
"You were about to fight."
"We weren’t."
"Yes, you were."
"We were having a discussion."
"A discussion?" She laughed.
"Yes."
"The ground cracked."
"That happens."
"Cassian had claws."
"He gets emotional."
"You were about to kill each other."
"We were not."
Della rolled her eyes so hard she almost hurt herself.
Moon Goddess.
Men!!!
"It’s not that hard, you know," Della murmured, "All you had to do is say..." Her voice turned slightly deeper as she tried to copy his tone, ’Thank you, Moonfire’, it’s really not that hard, I promise,"
Another twitch of his lips, but he didn’t say anything.
The damn man be cursed!
Right...he already was.
A few moments later he stood and crossed the room over to his large bed. Then he grabbed a pillow and a folded blanket. Without warning, he threw both directly at her face.
Della yelped as the pillow bounced off her forehead while the blanket swallowed her whole, "Ow!"
"Sleep." He commanded.
She emerged from the blanket looking murderous, "That was assault."
"Sleep."
"My ankle still hurts."
"Sleep."
"You have the emotional range of a rock."
"Sleep, Adelaide."
The use of her name surprised both of them, but neither commented on it.
Eventually, Della pulled the blanket around herself, but she still watched him silently.
The mattress was still untouched as Malachi had returned to the chair by the window, still watching the Moon between the clouds.
Watching anything except her.
"I didn’t do it," She said, slowly blinking back what felt like sleep, "I didn’t do any of it. From IronRidge, all the way to Eclipse Crown," Her eyes fluttered close, "I’m... innocent, if you still care the least...to believe even the atom of my words..."