BENEATH THE MOON'S BITE

LUCA'S POV

"He'll be back." she said, her voice sad and fragile.

"He doesn't give up, he would use Rafe as a bargaining chip, they always use what you love most."

"He wants to use me to kill his own father." I said, the reality of settling strangely in my brain. It wasn't about revolution, it was about patricide.

"He wants to use you to take power." she corrected.

"Cain is just the obstacle in his way." She turned to me, her expression grim.

"The trial they have for you tomorrow... it's real, the Kindred Rogues revere the old myths they'll test your connection to the moon... If you prove it, they'll protect you as a living relic. If you fail..."

"I'm Caleb's property." I finished. The word tasted like dirt.

"Do you know why you couldn't sense your alpha?" she asked, changing the conversation.

"No, I don't mom." I replied honestly.

"It happens when your emotions are high, when you feel a connection strongly, and want to speak through it." Her eyes were knowing, like she understood what I tried doing earlier.

"Like the bond with your Alpha."

I flinched. She saw it.

"It's your greatest strength right now." she said softly.

"And your biggest weakness. Caleb will try to use it against you, the trial will try to break it to see what's underneath." She shifted closer.

"I can try to show you, to help you find the calm center,so as to avoid what happened earlier but it will be hard. She bowed her head.

"Why hard mom?"

"If the rogues sense me helping you, they may disqualify the test, they call it interference." She explained.

I didn't care about their rules, all I cared about was not being handed to Caleb.

"Show me."

She had me sit facing her. "Close your eyes, Breathe, don't reach for the wolf, don't reach for the power just reach for... the thread."

"The thread?"

"The thing that ties you to him, the bond. It's not just a feeling. For us, it can be a path. A guide. Find it."

I closed my eyes, trying to shut out the smell of the cell, the fear. I focused inward. Past my own racing heart. I searched for the bond.

There it was, I finally saw it again, a warm, humming cord of light in my mind's eye, stretching away from me into the dark. It felt safe and stubborn, a feeling only Rafe can provide.

"Good." my mother murmured.

"Now, don't pull on it."

"Just... listen to it. Let it steady you."

I focused on the steady pulse of it, the proof that he was alive somewhere in this maze of stone.

My breathing slowed, the panic receded, just a little. In that calm, I felt the other thing, the silver, restless pool of power that had been churning inside me since my shift. It was still there, but quieter like a lake without wind.

"It's calm." I whispered.

"That's your center." she said with a light smile

"The bond is the anchor that holds you there."

"Remember this feeling, you must find it tomorrow, no matter what they do to you."

The door bolt crashed open again.

Caleb walked in, alone this time. He carried a wooden tray with a bowl of stew and a hunk of bread, he placed it on the floor just inside the door, his movements casual, like he was feeding a dog.

"Thought you might be hungry." he said, his eyes on me.

"I'm not." I lied. My stomach was actually tightening due to hunger.

He shrugged and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms, he was ignoring my mother completely now. "Change your mind?"

"No."

"Pity." He laughed clicking his teeth, he didn't look upset, he looked amused.

"The trial is at moon-high tomorrow, in the main cavern, all the Kindred will be there. It's quite a show." He pushed off the wall and took a single step toward me.

"Here's the thing Luca, I know you think you can pass, you have your mama's tricks now." He laughed coldly.

"But you see, pretty boy, the trial... it's designed to break you, to strip you down to your most basic instinct, and when you're broken, when you're nothing but a scared, screaming Omega, that little bit of moon magic won't save you."

My mother hissed, but Caleb's gaze snapped to her, an Alpha glare so potent I felt the pressure in the air. She went rigid, silenced.

He looked back at me, his voice dropping to a conversational tone. "So here's my final offer. You don't have to join me just fail, take a dive, let the trial break you.

"The rogues will lose interest, they'll give you to me, I'll make sure you're... comfortable. And I'll let your precious Rafe live, I'll even set him free, far from here." He concluded cunningly.

My blood went cold. "You have him."

"Of course I have him." Caleb's smile was cruel and brutal.

"He's in a cell three levels down. He's been entertaining my guards, very stubborn. But everyone breaks." He leaned in, his voice a whisper meant only for me.

"Fail the trial tomorrow, and I'll open his cell door, fight it, try to win, and I'll have him killed before the moon reaches its peak. Your choice, Omega. His life, or your pride?"

He didn't wait for an answer. He turned and walked out. The bolt slammed shut.