When The Moon Hides Her Crown novel Chapter 159

1594ike & Man Not A Beast

RYKER

Under the dark sky, faint butterflies of light fluttered around the page in my hand, dissolving into nothing the moment my fingers brushed them. I had found the page hours ago, yet only now did I choose to touch it.

From the shadows, Percy emerged from the depths of the forest, his wolf form shifting into a man. He walked toward me with measured steps, clutching a folder.

“Alpha,” he said, bowing slightly before offering me the documents, “I got the details on Alpha Ronan Volkstane that you requested.”

I took the file without a word and began to flip through it. Some of the information was predictable, public records, the kind every Alpha had access to. But beneath those lay the hidden truths, fragments of a past carefully buried.

I read line by line, my eyes skimming through battles won, alliances forged, and scars unspoken. Then, one piece of information caught my attention. His past.

lingered on the words, my gaze fixed and unblinking, as though the paper itself might reveal more if I stared hard enough. A chuckle nearly slipped from my throat. Instead, I drew out a cigarette, lighting it with deliberate calm.

The smoke curled lazily upward as I touched the burning tip to the page. The edges blackened, curled inward, and then the entire document crumbled into fire and ash.

“Now this,” I murmured to myself, exhaling a slow drag, “is interesting.”

Turning on my heel, I left the forest behind, my steps set firmly toward the Academy.

When I crossed the Academy gates the lights were one. However, as soon as I did I realized something.

“She’s not in the Academy,” my wolf growled in my mind as I halted at the steps of the building.

I stared at the massive doors, reaching out with my senses, scanning every wolf’s presence inside, their aura, their scent, but hers was missing. I had searched the forest myself before returning, and now she wasn’t here either. There was only one explanation: her page had been torn. My mind went blank

Custer 159 Lila A. Man, Not A Beast

at the very thought.

The next, I strode straight to the Alpha instructors‘ office. The assistant inside jumped when 1 pushed through the door.

“Alpha Ryker!” He dropped the file in his hands, startled. “Y–you’re not allowed in this part of the Academy…”

“Did Seth Darven pass the task?” I cut him off coldly.

His brows furrowed, caught off guard. “Seth Darven?”

“Do you want me to repeat myself?” My voice was flat, my stare blank.

A chill ran down his spine. He shook his head quickly. “I heard you, Alpha Ryker but I must apologize. Until the leaderboard updates, no data or task information can be revealed.”

“I don’t give a damn about the task or your data,” I growled lowly. “I want one thing. Did Seth Darven find his page or not?”

The wolf lowered his head, panic clouding his face. “I… I’m sorry, but I can’t—”

He choked mid–sentence, clutching at his own throat. His hands clawed against an invisible force as he gasped for breath, his face turning red, his eyes swelling with tears. He looked at me in terror as though death itself loomed above him.

“Did Seth Darven pass?” I repeated, my voice a quiet blade.

His head bobbed frantically, a desperate nod.

I tilted my head back slow returned yet?

So, she found her page. Then why hadn’t she

And Ronan… he hadn’t returned either.

My mind turned ice–cold. Without another word, I pivoted and walked out. Behind me, the wolf collapsed to the ground, coughing blood, his hands trembling violently.

I strode down the corridor, my steps sharp, my wolf barely sane. Just as I crossed the threshold of the building, a slender figure in an academy uniform appeared and bumped straight into me.

Chapter 159 Like A Man Not A Beast

“Ah…” she hissed, stumbling back. Instinctively, I caught her, pulling her against my chest.

She gasped, wide amber eyes locking onto mine. She was back. and just like that, the storm inside me stilled.

“Why are you in such a hurry that you can’t even see someone as big as me?” she demanded, brows furrowed.

The corner of my lips curved. “I was in a hurry to murder someone, but you stopped me. Again.”

Her eyes widened. “Murder someone?! Why?”

I tilted my head, savoring the way my reflection gleamed in her gaze. “To reclaim what’s mine. To take back my possession, I’d have to get rid of the opponent, wouldn’t I?”

“That’s wrong.” Her frown deepened, and for the first time, a woman dared to look at me that way, unwavering, unafraid. My wolf froze. “First, if something is truly your possession, it will always return to you, no matter who tries to snatch it away. And second,” her voice was firm, her eyes fierce, “if someone takes it from you, then fight to win it back like any other man. Only when there is no other choice…should there be bloodshed.”

A low chuckle escaped me. She truly despised bloodshed. “Is that so? Wouldn’t that take too long?”

“Maybe,” she admitted, blinking. “But what’s the use of something if you don’t have the patience for it? If it’s truly yours, isn’t it worth the time?”

Her words struck deeper than she knew, brushing against the darker, hidden corners of me. My smile disappeared. I leaned down, lowering my voice until it was only for her ears. “What if my possession isn’t an object? What if it’s something living…breathing?”

She froze in my arms, her heart pounding so wildly I could hear it. “Living… breathing?” she whispered.

“Yes,” my lips brushed dangerously close to her ear as I whispered, “do I still have to be patient?” My gaze pierced into hers.

Her silence stretched, broken only by the frantic rhythm of her heartbeat. At last, she answered, her voice quiet but resolute. “Yes. Be patient. Fight. Burn, and claim it back like a man should…not like a beast.“

My heart skipped, and this time, my smile was real. “Okay,” I whispered.