CHAPTER 34: A Mother’s Restlessness

The quiet hum of torchlight flickered against the stone walls of Melanie’s chamber, casting restless shadows as she paced, her thoughts tangled in unease.

It had been months since she had last seen Eira, and the absence gnawed at her more than any chain ever could. She had never been allowed to hold her, never been permitted to raise her. Instead, she had been forced to watch from afar, stolen glimpses of a daughter who did not know her.

She closed her eyes, steadying her breath, but the feeling would not leave her.

Something was off.

Her gaze flicked toward the window—the world beyond it silent, indifferent to her growing restlessness.

But what unsettled her most wasn’t just Eira’s absence.

It was the red-haired girl.

The fleeting figure in the servant villas. The girl who had disappeared after only one night.

Melanie had felt something deep and familiar the moment she laid eyes on her.

She had wanted to ask questions—to understand—but the girl had vanished before she could even begin. And now, her heart refused to settle, refused to let go of the feeling that something was missing.

Melanie pressed her hands against the cool stone, her resolve hardening.

She would demand answers.

She would see Eira.

And if King Alex stood in her way, then she would remind him—she was no helpless prisoner. She was the Priestess of Jewara.

Queen Melanie stood tall before King Alex, her expression unreadable, yet her heart burned with emotions she had long since buried. Her patience was gone. Her silence, shattered.

“You have taken everything from me,” she said, her voice steady yet sharp. “Everything I once was, everything I built—you erased it as if it never existed.”

King Alex smirked, leaning back in his chair. “I did what was necessary.”

Melanie’s fists clenched at her sides. “Necessary?”

She took a step forward, refusing to be swallowed by his presence, refusing to bend to the man who had stolen her life.

“I was the Priestess of Jewara,” she continued, her tone unwavering. “I healed the sick, I protected the innocent, I ensured that balance remained intact. I was a voice for the people. A force of peace.”

Her gaze darkened.

“And then you came.”

Alex’s expression did not falter. He had heard it all before—her anger, her grief, her unyielding defiance. And yet, he let her speak.

“You destroyed what I built, burned Jewara to its foundation, claimed my throne and turned me into nothing.”

She exhaled sharply, fighting against the wave of sorrow that threatened to overtake her.

“You stole my son, kept me from him for years, twisted him into something I hardly recognize,” she whispered. “And now, you keep me from Eira, the only thing left that I—”

She stopped herself.

The pain was too raw.

The distance between them had always been too vast, and yet, Melanie had clung to the few stolen glimpses of Eira growing up, watching from afar, unable to hold her, unable to speak to her, unable to be her mother.

And now… now it had been months since she last saw her.

Her heart was unsettled, plagued by something beyond even her own understanding.

“The red-haired girl,” she said suddenly, shifting the conversation. “The one who stayed in the servant villas before disappearing the next day.”

She studied Alex carefully. Waiting. Watching. Searching.

“She felt… familiar.”

Alex’s smirk remained, but his eyes hardened.

“You should stop asking questions you do not want answers to,” he replied smoothly.

Melanie’s breath caught.

Something was wrong.

--

Melanie sat in her chair, gazing out the window, her expression unreadable. She knew King Alex had done something to Eira.

Even though her magic was weak, she had always been able to sense her daughter’s presence in the kingdom—a thread of warmth, something familiar.

But now, there was nothing.

Her chest tightened, unease settling deep within her bones.

She thought of Nyx.

"Has Eira awakened her wolf yet?" she wondered.

If she had, Nyx would bring her to me… wouldn’t he?

Melanie rested her chin against her hand, contemplating. Her thoughts swirled, filled with possibilities and fears, until finally, she closed her eyes and focused inward.

"Nyx," she whispered in her mind, searching for him through the fragile strands of her remaining magic.

Pain immediately shot through her stomach.

Her breath hitched. The poison.

Every time she tried to use her powers, a toxin pulsed through her body—a cruel trick of King Alex’s design to disrupt her connection to the world beyond her prison.

This was how he controlled her.

Melanie gritted her teeth, fighting through the agony.

There were herbs that could counter the poison, that could cleanse it entirely.

But Alex would never allow her to leave the palace gates alone.

Steadying herself, she forced her mind to push past the pain, calling Nyx’s name once more.

Far away, Nyx was in the middle of training Eira in meditation, guiding her toward focus and clarity when suddenly—

A whisper.

His ears flicked.

He turned sharply to Eira—but she was deep in meditation.

No… it wasn’t her.

The voice stopped.

Nyx surveyed the area, his sharp gaze scanning the surroundings. Callen was nearby, lurking in the distance—but this wasn’t his presence either.

Nyx closed his eyes, trying to connect to the voice, trying to reach whoever had called to him.

The urgency in it—it felt familiar, desperate.

And then—

"Nyx."

The voice returned. Weak. Fading.

"I’m here," Nyx responded instinctively. "Who are you?"

Melanie’s eyes snapped open.

At that moment, her body convulsed in pain, her stomach twisting violently.

Blood spilled from her lips as a sharp agony tore through her insides.

She collapsed onto the floor with a loud thud, gasping as darkness threatened to consume her.

The sound of footsteps thundered toward her chamber, guards rushing in, their eyes widening at the sight before them.

One soldier nodded to another, and without hesitation, the second man turned and sprinted toward the throne room—racing to inform King Alex of what had happened.