His Silent Luna (Verity and Felicity) novel Chapter 28

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT: FINDING HER

Cassian’s Perspective

The seal was unmistakable—black wax bearing the twisted emblem of Veyran the Hollow. Yet this time, the message it enclosed carried a chilling weight that unsettled me to my core.

The note itself was brief, consisting of only a few terse, threatening lines:

“While you pace the borders like a caged wolf, I walk your halls like I own them. I am closer to her than you will ever be, King. The clock is ticking.”

My fingers clenched so fiercely that the parchment crumpled beneath my grasp. My eyes darted immediately toward the distant silhouette of the castle, nestled deep within the kingdom’s heart, its stone walls looming ominously under the moonlight.

All this time, while I had been wasting my strength guarding the outer limits, I had left the very heart of the realm vulnerable. I had left her exposed—unprotected.

A raw, guttural snarl erupted from deep inside me, shaking the thin canvas walls of the patrol tent. My chest burned—not from physical exertion, but from a searing, unfamiliar pain that clawed at my insides. My thoughts scattered chaotically, unable to keep pace with the urgent surge of panic. Without a second thought, I launched myself into a desperate sprint, my boots digging deep grooves into the soft earth beneath me.

Voices called out my name—patrol captains, sentries, even the messenger—but their shouts faded into nothingness behind me, powerless to halt my flight.

Mid-stride, the transformation seized me. Bones cracked and shifted, muscles twisted, and skin tore and reshaped in a blur of sharp agony that barely registered through the flood of adrenaline. My beast surged forward, taking control as if it had been waiting for this exact moment. We became one—his fury stoking my panic, my desperation feeding his rage—until the two were indistinguishable.

The forest around us blurred into streaks of shadow and silver moonlight as we tore through it. Each impact of my paws against the ground jolted through my spine. My lungs burned fiercely, but I refused to slow down. I simply could not.

“Faster,” his voice thundered inside my mind, more a growl than words. “She’s ours. No one touches what’s ours. You let this happen!”

“I know,” I ground out between clenched teeth, my chest tightening with every pounding stride. “Goddess, please let me be in time.”

We covered miles with relentless speed, the world shrinking to the rhythm of our run and the pounding echo in my ears. The night birds’ songs and the rustling wind in the trees faded away completely. All I could hear was the deafening silence of her absence.

Halfway through, two familiar scents pierced the night air—Kin and Caleb, moving ahead of me at the steady, controlled pace I had commanded hours earlier. Both were in wolf form, their heavy pawbeats synchronized, unaware of my sudden surge.

Without breaking stride, I shot past them like a streak of fury, the rush of wind ruffling their fur.

“Cassian, what’s happened?” Caleb’s voice crashed into my mind, nearly tripping me up.

“Verity’s in danger,” I snapped, not slowing. “Veyran’s inside the castle.”

Caleb cursed sharply, panic lacing his words. Kin’s growl followed, fierce and sharp as he screamed inside my head, “What?! A rogue in the castle?!”

I didn’t pause to answer. Their shock and disbelief faded behind me as they pushed into a full sprint, chasing after me.

They weren’t nearly as fast—nothing close—but I could feel their determination, their paws pounding the earth behind me, matching my urgency.

The castle walls rose on the horizon, stark and imposing against the night sky. What had once been my sanctuary now felt like a furnace of dread as I wondered what horrors awaited inside.

My beast snarled, driving us harder than ever before to close the distance.

Almost there…

Almost there.

Claws dug deep into the dirt as we closed the final mile.

We slammed into the gates at full speed, my body shifting mid-leap to land solidly on two feet without losing momentum.

“Where is she?” I roared, voice raw and desperate.

The guards snapped to attention, eyes wide with shock. “Your Majesty—”

“Verity! Where is she?” I demanded.

One stammered, “We… haven’t seen her tonight—”

I didn’t wait for the rest. Caleb and Kin were just behind me as I burst through the castle doors. My voice echoed down the stone corridors. “Verity!”

No reply.

We reached her chambers first—empty. The adjoining bath—empty. The bedcovers lay untouched, perfectly neat. My heart thundered painfully in my ears.

I was already halfway down the west wing corridor before Kin could suggest another possibility, my vision narrowing, my control fraying at the edges. Every second without her was another second Veyran could be—

“Don’t,” my beast growled low in my mind, a rumble that shook me to the core. “Don’t imagine it. Just find her.”

We tore through the castle from top to bottom—kitchens, council chambers, training yard, balconies, even the servants’ quarters. Nothing. The air felt like it was choking me, tightening around my throat with every passing moment that I wasn’t holding my precious Verity in my arms.

Caleb’s face had gone pale, lips pressed into a grim line. Kin’s jaw was clenched so tightly I half expected it to snap.

And then—

The library.

The thought wasn’t reasoned; it was instinct. Without hesitation, I flung open the double doors so forcefully they slammed against the walls with a deafening crash.

There she stood.

In the center of the room, startled, eyes wide as if we had ripped her from a deep trance.

My breath caught. For a moment, my legs nearly gave way.

Unable to speak, I reached for the scrap of paper and charcoal I always kept on me—Caleb’s advice from our last session—and quickly scribbled:

Why the sudden interrogation? What’s going on?

The three of them exchanged a loaded glance—a silent, heavy conversation passing between them in mere seconds. I hated when they did that, shutting me out of whatever was being communicated through their eyes.

Kin glanced at me briefly before returning his gaze to the others. Caleb’s jaw shifted slightly, and Cassian’s face remained unreadable—if anything, the tension in his expression deepened.

It was Kin who finally spoke, his tone as blunt as ever. “I don’t trust you.”

He said it like stating a fact—not an insult, not even a threat—just a simple report.

“But… I believe you’re not lying right now. Which means…” His eyes slid toward Cassian, his jaw tightening. “… the letter was a bluff.”

Letter?

Someone had sent them a letter? About what? My brows furrowed as I leaned over the paper again.

What letter? I wrote.

Their shared look lingered longer this time—too long. Caleb’s gaze remained calm, though I caught a flicker of something beneath it, almost like concern. Kin’s lips pressed into a hard line, as if holding back more words. Cassian didn’t move or blink; his eyes darkened, cloudy like storm clouds gathering on the horizon.

He sighed deeply.

Without a word, he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket. His fingers closed around something small, and for a moment I thought he might withhold it. But then he pulled out a folded piece of parchment, its edges frayed and softened from handling. The black wax seal had been broken, leaving faint crumbs of hardened wax along the crease.

He hesitated, fingers tightening as if giving it to me crossed some invisible boundary. Then, slowly, he extended it toward me.

I felt the weight of their strange gazes as I took it from him. The temperature in the room seemed to drop, and suddenly it felt like countless unseen eyes were watching me.

The sensation was unsettling.

Carefully, I unfolded the letter, the faint scent of wax and old ink drifting to my nose. The handwriting was familiar—messy, sinister—as I read the chilling words once more:

“While you pace the borders like a caged wolf, I walk your halls like I own them. I am closer to her than you will ever be, King. The clock is ticking.”

My fingers trembled against the fragile paper. The final line drained the blood from my face.

Veyran the Hollow.

My vision blurred briefly as my heart thundered in my ears.

It was him…