Moonlight In Chains (Trinity and Asher) novel Chapter 124

**TITLE: The Day He Forgot He Hated Me by Evangeline Marrow**

**CHAPTER 124**

The wind whipped through the clearing with a mournful howl, carrying with it the acrid scent of smoke mingled with the metallic tang of iron. The battle had drawn to a close, yet the oppressive silence that enveloped us felt far more harrowing than the chaos that had preceded it. Each of us stood like statues, our gazes riveted on Eryx.

My father.

He lingered at the periphery of the moonlight, his cloak sweeping across the earth like a shadow, his silver eyes gleaming even in the dimness. The way he regarded me sent a sharp ache through my chest. There was an undeniable pride in his gaze, but it was intertwined with a profound sadness, as if he were already mourning the struggles that lay ahead.

Arlo was the first to break the stillness. “You said they’re coming,” he began cautiously, his voice steady yet laced with concern. “Who exactly are you talking about?”

Eryx hesitated, his eyes drifting toward the dense forest where shadows clung to the trees like dark secrets. “Not the Eclipse wolves,” he finally replied, his voice heavy with foreboding. “Something much older. The ones who birthed the first darkness.”

A frown creased my brow. “You mean the shadows we fought before?”

He shook his head slowly, a gesture that felt like a warning. “No, those were mere echoes, remnants of a time long past. What approaches now are the originals—the Shadow Lords. They thrived on the power my family seized long before your existence.”

Lupa stepped forward, her complexion ghostly pale. “But you told me they were gone.”

“They were,” Eryx affirmed quietly, his voice almost a whisper. “Until the bloodline was fractured. When your sister took the heir and fled, she disrupted the balance. I believed it would shield her. Instead, it opened a door.”

His gaze returned to me, piercing and unyielding. “You were that door.”

The impact of his words struck me like a physical blow. I gasped, momentarily breathless. “I—what?”

“The power within you,” he explained, his tone steady yet laden with gravity. “It is not confined to a single realm. You embody the link between light and shadow. As long as you draw breath, both forces can reach into this world.”

Asher stepped closer, his hand brushing against mine, a small gesture that sent warmth coursing through me. “So, they want her because she can open the way.”

Eryx nodded, his expression grave. “Precisely. And now that the Eclipse Pack has faltered, the Shadow Lords will come in person.”

A chill slithered down my spine, and memories of my last encounter with the shadows flooded back—their whispers, their claws raking at my mind. I had nearly perished trying to fend them off. If these newcomers were even stronger, I knew I wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Then we have to leave,” Dennis urged, urgency creeping into his voice. “If they’re coming for her, we can’t risk the entire pack.”

Eryx’s eyes flared with intensity. “Do you believe that running will save you? They care not for distance. They will trace her blood no matter where she flees. If she runs, they will ravage every pack between here and the border until they find her.”

Lupa’s voice trembled slightly. “There must be another way.”

Eryx bowed his head for a moment, contemplating, before meeting her gaze again. “There is. But it is fraught with peril. The only way to halt them is to seal the door for good. And that door lies within her.”

My heart plummeted. “You mean you want to—”

“No,” he interjected sharply, shaking his head vehemently. “I will not harm you. But you must confront them in the Shadow Realm itself. Only there can you reclaim what was taken.”

The clearing fell into silence once more, the weight of his words hanging heavily in the air.

Arlo stepped forward, disbelief etched across his features. “You’re saying she has to enter that place? Alone?”

“She won’t be alone,” Eryx replied, his voice firm. “However, those who accompany her must be bound by blood and spirit. The bond must be complete.”

My gaze darted to Asher, and he held my stare, unwavering.

“We already share a bond,” he asserted, his voice steady.

“Not enough,” Eryx countered. “It must connect her to all who bear the blood’s protection—or the shadows will rend them apart.”

Arlo rubbed his wrist absently, the mark on his skin faintly shimmering under the moonlight. “Then I’m going too. I’ve witnessed the consequences of our division.”

Tears glistened in Lupa’s eyes. “Eryx, you can’t seriously intend to send them there. The Shadow Realm is a realm of poison, not life.”

Eryx stepped closer to her, his expression softening. “You think I am unaware of that? I lived there once. That is where I have been all these years.”

Every head turned toward him, shock rippling through the group.

“What?” I breathed, disbelief coloring my tone.

He sighed deeply, his shoulders sagging under the weight of countless burdens. “When we believed you were lost, I refused to accept it. The shadows were already on our trail. I stayed behind to hold them at bay, to prevent the door from swinging wide open. It worked for a time. But when she vanished, I could not leave the realm. It consumed everything I had just to stave off the darkness from devouring what remained of my soul.”

I stared at him, grappling with the image of my father ensnared in that world, surrounded by the very monsters he had once battled. “So how did you escape?”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify