Chapter 232
Tristan’s POV
I slammed my list against the steering wheel, the engine of my car still running as I sat in traffic. My blood was boiling. Had she really just threatened to find another man to mark her?
Stupid fucking traffic,” I muttered, drumming my fingers impatiently against the leather.
My phone buzzed again–Selene’s third call in an hour. I silenced it without looking. My mind was consumed with Lysandra’s words.
Just the thought made my wolf howl with rage. My grip tightened on the wheel until my knuckles turned white. No. I wouldn’t allow it.
The cars finally began to move. I swerved around a slow–moving SUV, ignoring the angry honk behind me. I needed to see her–needed to make her understand exactly what she was threatening.
Fifteen minutes later, I pulled onto Lysandra’s street, slowing as her house came into view. The porch light was on, casting a warm glow against the darkening evening sky. As I approached, movement caught my eye.
Lysandra rushed out her front door, a small bag clutched in her hand. She glanced nervously over her shoulder before climbing into her car.
I pulled over, watching as she backed out of her driveway. Where was she going in such a hurry? And why the furtive glances? My suspicions flared. Was she meeting someone? Eldreth?
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“Fuck,” I growled, putting my car in drive and pulling back the road. I kept a careful distance, making sure she wouldn’t spot me in her rearview mirror.
The city lights fell away as we headed into the outskirts. I expected her to head toward a restaurant or hotel–somewhere she might meet a man. Instead, she turned onto the winding road that led toward Moonvale Forest, the dense woodland that separated Silverblood and Moonshade territories.
My brow furrowed as I followed her deeper into the forest. This wasn’t a place for romantic rendezvous. The narrow dirt road eventually opened to a small clearing where several hiking trails began. Lysandra parked, grabbed her bag, and stepped out, zipping up her jacket against the evening chill.
I pulled over some distance away, cutting my headlights. What the hell is she doing out here?
She wasn’t dressed for hiking–just jeans and a light jacket–yet she moved with purpose, taking an old trail that few people used anymore. I waited until she disappeared among the trees before following.
The forest whispered around me as I tracked her scent. My senses sharpened as I moved silently between the trees, careful to stay downwind.
Up ahead, Lysandra paused, opening her bag to check something inside. I caught a glimpse of what looked like bundled herbs and small glass containers.
Not meeting someone, then. But what was she collecting out here that she couldn’t get in town?
I kept my distance as she continued climbing the increasingly steep path. The trail was growing narrower, rougher, winding its way toward the cliffs that overlooked Moonvale Lake.
She’s looking for something specific, I realized. Her steps were too deliberate, her attention focused on certain areas of the undergrowth. She stopped occasionally to examine plants in the moonlight before moving on.
The wind shifted suddenly, carrying my scent forward. I froze, expecting her to turn and spot me. But she remained focused on her task, too engrossed to notice.
The path opened onto a rocky ledge–a cliff overlooking the lake far below. Lysandra looked almost ethereal standing at the edge.
Chapter 232
She knelt, examining something growing along the cliff’s edge. Small, luminescent blue flowers clung to the rocky soil–Moon Lilies, incredibly rare and notoriously difficult to harvest. They grew only in the most dangerous places, usually on cliff edges or in deep caves, and bloomed solely under the full moon.
I remembered reading somewhere that they had powerful healing properties. Was that why she was here? For Alaric?
My thoughts were interrupted as Lysandra edged closer to the precipice, reaching for a cluster of flowers just beyond safe reach. My body tensed as she stretched farther, her upper body now hanging dangerously over the edge.
Careful,” I whispered under my breath.
As if in response to my silent warning, her foot slipped. The loose rocks beneath her gave way with a sickening crunch. She gasped, her body pitching forward.
My heart stopped.
She managed to grab a protruding tree root, halting her fall. But she was dangling now, her legs kicking helplessly against the cliff face, nothing but air and a hundred–foot drop beneath her.
She called out, her voice tinged with panic. “Help! Someone, please!”
I burst from my hiding place, sprinting toward her. The look on her face when she saw me wasn’t relief–it was shock.
“Tristan?” Confusion replaced fear in her eyes. “What-”
The root snapped.
Without thinking, I threw myself forward, grabbing her wrist just as she began to fall. The momentum yanked me toward the edge. I dug my heels into the ground, using all my strength to keep us both from going over.
“Hang on!” I shouted, trying to pull her up.
Her face, pale in the moonlight, stared up at me. Her expression wasn’t gratitude or fear anymore–it was resigned, almost peaceful. Like she’d made peace with her fate.
That look terrified me more than anything.
The ground beneath my knees crumbled. Chunks of earth and rock broke away, tumbling into the darkness.
In that moment, as I felt us both begin to fall, memories flashed through my mind. Lysandra on our wedding day. Lysandra holding the twins, her face glowing with exhausted joy. Lysandra leaving, her back straight with dignity.
I’d failed her so many times. I wouldn’t fail her now.
“I’ve got you,” I promised, even as we both plummeted from the cliff.
I pulled her against me mid–air, wrapping my body around hers to shield her from impact. The wind rushed past us, then the shocking cold of the lake swallowed us whole.
The impact knocked the air from my lungs. Water rushed into my mouth, cold and suffocating. I kept my arms locked around Lysandra, kicking desperately toward what I hoped was the surface.
We broke through gasping, Lysandra coughing violently in my arms. I treaded water, keeping her head above the surface as I searched for the shoreline. Even in the darkness, I could see she was dazed, barely conscious.
Rejected Luna Returns with Secret
