Balance of Light and Shadow (By Chandrea) novel Chapter 238

Conrad POV

I tried to open my eyes, but after blinking several times, I realised that they were. It was just so dark that my eyes hadn’t adjusted. There is extremely little light, but I eventually get my bearings.

I jump when I see a shadow move next to me and try to growl, but it doesn’t come out right. That’s when I notice the yellow eyes staring back at me.

I speak just above a whisper. “Jace”

His voice appears in my mind. “Yes, Conrad. What happened? Why are we apart? Are we dead?”

“I have no idea, buddy. Maybe. I thought if we died, we would be at the Moon Goddess gate, where Lewana took us”.

Jace thinks thoughtfully. “Maybe the Shadow realm or something like that, then”.

I don’t respond for a minute, as that doesn’t feel right either. This place is too familiar. I know I have been here before. The stone walls feel cold to my touch, and I can feel the claw marks in them. I keep feeling around and eventually find a light switch in the room. My eyes strain at the sudden intrusion, but I’m still lost. Where am I?

“Please. I don’t want to. Please don’t hurt me”.I turn and see a little girl in a bright blue dress curled up in the corner, shaking in fear. I don’t recognize the child, but I recognize those bright blue eyes. The ones I stare into every night before I go to sleep.

My heart sinks through the floor as the piece clicks into place.

“Jace. We’re in the Blood Moon Pack dungeons, where they kept our girl as a child. I think the mate bond has brought us into her mind. We know the shadows use nightmares and emotions to manipulate people, so that must be how they are suffocating her light. By making her live in the darkness”

Jace suddenly goes still. “So she thinks we are here to…..

Oh hell no”.

I turn and look at the little girl curled up in the corner. I’m not going to let her relive this nightmare, and even if she doesn’t remember who I am, I am going to keep her safe.

“It’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to protect you”.

She starts crying harder and rocking herself. “That’s what they say. That’s what they all say. Please, I don’t want to”.

Shit. I remember what Alpha Marcus pleaded in my pack hall when I found out what he had done to her as a child and told her similar words. I start to panic and think of how to get her to trust me. How to get her to stop crying.”Arthur calls you Jellybean, right?”.

She instantly freezes, and the tears stop. “You…you know Arthur”.

I crouch down to her level and talk as gently as I can.

“Yeah. We’re friends. I know all about you, Lewana. I’m here to … help you”.

I turn around to the sound of whimpering, and Jace searching the room. He is sniffing the air and looking under the cot in the corner, scanning every dark corner, searching for something. Or someone.

Seeing Jace, Lewana lets out a small scream and hides her face in her hands.

“It’s OK, it’s OK. Jace is just trying to find Serena. Do you know where she is?”.

“You worthless girl. You know you are not to leave the dungeons, let alone with your suitors. I-will kill more of this pack, and they will starve because you can’t follow simple instructions”.

I feel her hand tremble within mine and see tears start to well in her eyes. Not this time. Not while I’m here.

“I know you’re not Blake. You’re just shadows grasping at straws as you know you’re on the clock”.

The figure freezes, and a wicked grin curves his lips into something unnatural before mocking laughter echoes down the empty hallways.

“I guess Malik should have given you more credit. Doesn’t matter now, though. There will be others we can corrupt.

Just curious, when we suffocate your light, will you breed again, or will your line end with you? Could you be with another?”

I snap back at him. “There will only ever be my Moonlight”

He grins. “Just what I wanted to hear. If we kill her and your legacy dies, no more blessed wolves will be born, and we can rise again much sooner”

He fades away, leaving his echoing laugh behind.

I pull my girl closer to my leg and realise he is right. All we can do now is survive, as both of us are needed.