Beneath the Alpha's Moon
Chapter 82: Trapped in Despair

Chapter 82: Trapped in Despair

TERESA’S P.O.V.

After another swipe at the men, the wolf shifted back into position, stepping between me and the invaders. Its massive form was a wall of muscle and bristling fur, every sinew in its body taut and ready to strike. The swish of its tail was slow, deliberate—a warning. Was it protecting us? Or was it merely laying claim to its next meal? My stomach churned at the thought, but there was no time to ponder.

One of the men lunged at it. It was too fast, a blur of movement. The wolf moved faster. Its powerful jaws snapped shut around the man’s torso, lifting him as though he weighed nothing. The sickening crunch of bone and the wet sound of tearing flesh filled the room, and the man’s lifeless body was tossed aside like a broken doll. The remains crashed into the cribs, shattering what was left of them into splinters.

My stomach roiled, bile rising to my throat, but I couldn’t look away. I couldn’t even blink.

And then it got worse.

More wolves burst into the room, their howls splitting the air like war cries. They came from every direction, tearing through the remaining walls as though they were paper. The room descended into chaos—a blur of fur, fangs, and blood. The intruders fought back fiercely, their weapons glowing with an unnatural light. Some wielded swords that crackled with energy, while others muttered incantations under their breath. Waves of shimmering magic exploded through the air, creating ripples that distorted everything around them.

Magic. That’s what this was.

I pressed myself into the farthest corner I could find, clutching Ollie in one arm and Mai in the other. My heart pounded so loudly I could barely hear anything over it. The metallic tang of blood filled the air, mixing with the cries of my children and the deafening sounds of battle. I so much wanted to run, to hide, to disappear—but just like the last few minutes, there was still nowhere to go.

The wolves were relentless. Their snarls were like rolling thunder as they tore through the intruders with brutal efficiency. Bodies piled up around us, the floor slick with blood. The violence was overwhelming, suffocating. I couldn’t shield my babies from it. I couldn’t even shield myself.

Then, as the last of the intruders fell, the man in the silver robe remained. He stood amidst the carnage, calm and composed, as though the slaughter around him was nothing more than an inconvenience.

And then he turned to me.

"No..." The word barely escaped my lips, a desperate whisper of denial.

He began to chant. The words were sharp and alien, each syllable grating against my ears like jagged glass. The air shifted, growing dense and heavy. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. Then the pressure closed in, and before I could even register what was happening—Mai vanished from my arms.

"NO!" My scream tore through the room, raw and broken. I lunged forward, reaching for the empty space where my daughter had been.

She was in his arms now, her tiny body dwarfed by his grip. She squirmed and cried, her wails piercing through my soul like a thousand knives. My heart shattered, the pieces so jagged I could barely think through the pain.

"Please—don’t!" I begged, my voice trembling, thick with sobs. I reached out to him, desperation pouring out of me.

The wolves froze, momentarily stunned by what they’d just witnessed. But then, as if driven by some unseen force, they lunged at him, their teeth bared and their golden eyes blazing with rage.

He didn’t flinch.

With a snap of his fingers, the world around me seemed to fracture. He vanished. Just like that. The man, the robe, the shimmer of magic—and my baby girl—were gone.

Mai was gone.

The wolves collided midair with a bone-shaking impact, their snarls reverberating through the blood-soaked room. Claws raked and teeth snapped as they scrambled to regain their footing, their fury a whirlwind of fur and fangs. But their battle barely registered in my mind.

I was frozen, my body numb and my thoughts caught in a single, devastating moment.

Mai was gone.

My knees buckled, and I crumpled to the floor, clutching Ollie so tightly to my chest that his cries of protest barely reached me. I rocked back and forth, my screams tearing from my throat in raw, guttural waves. They were sounds I didn’t recognize—primal, filled with an anguish so deep it felt as though my very soul was being ripped apart.

The wolves were already in motion. They bolted after the man who had taken her, their howls slicing through the chaos like war horns. All of them—except one.

The first wolf, the one that had first broken into the room, stood frozen. Its golden eyes, which had burned with fierce determination just moments before, softened as they locked onto mine. There was no anger in its gaze now, only a haunting sadness that made my chest ache even more.

For a brief, heart-stopping moment, it seemed as though the wolf might approach me. It took a single step forward, its ears lowering, as though it understood the unbearable grief tearing through me. Then it threw its head back, releasing a mournful howl that echoed through the destroyed room. Without another glance, it turned and bolted after the others, disappearing into the long hallway.

And then I was alone.

The silence that followed was suffocating, broken only by Ollie’s tiny, hiccuping cries and the sound of my own shattered sobs. My hands trembled as I cradled him closer, pressing his little body to mine as if that could somehow shield him from the horror surrounding us.

But nothing could shield me. Nothing could fix this. Mai was gone.

The room was a grotesque tableau of death and destruction. Blood pooled on the floor, bodies lay twisted and broken, their lifeless eyes staring into nothing. The air was thick with the metallic tang of blood and the lingering scent of magic. But I didn’t care. I couldn’t stay there—not a second longer. I had to find my baby.

With trembling legs, I pushed myself to my feet. My steps were uneven, stumbling, as I clutched Ollie tightly and ran, my feet slipping on the blood-soaked floor as I screamed into the emptiness.

"Mai! My baby! Someone please bring my Mai back to me!" My voice cracked with desperation, each word scraping against my raw throat.

I stumbled over the bodies of the fallen, my vision blurred by tears. Ollie whimpered against me, his tiny face damp with my tears as they fell onto his soft skin. I wiped them away with shaking fingers, trying to compose myself, to stay strong for him. But I was breaking—cracking under the weight of my own helplessness.

"Where are you, Lucian?!" I screamed, my voice trembling with anger and despair. My words echoed through the mansion.

Through the blur of my tears, the chaos around me felt distant. I could see people darting back and forth in the house, their movements a frantic blur. Alex and Luke were in front of me, their mouths moving as if they were saying something—maybe to me—but the words never reached. It was as if the world had muted, leaving me trapped in the silence of my own despair.

Lucian was supposed to protect us. He was supposed to be here. But he wasn’t.

The ache in my chest grew unbearable, a deep, pulsating pain that felt as though it would swallow me whole. My heart screamed for my daughter, for my family to be whole again. Every fiber of my being begged for this nightmare to end.

But then, buried beneath the suffocating weight of grief, came a whisper—a tiny, flickering ember of hope.

I couldn’t give up.

Not yet.

Lucian would come. He had to.

He’d promised to protect us, to never let harm come to me or the twins. If there was one thing I knew about him, it was that he was relentless. And if he cared for us even half as much as he claimed, he would find her.

He had to find her.

My steps quickened as I clung to that fragile hope, my cries still echoing as I ran out into the night. I didn’t know how, and I didn’t know when, but I was going to get my Mai back.

No matter the cost.