BloodMoon: Captivated by the Forbidden Lycan Alpha
Chapter 172: A VISION IN THE DARK

Chapter 172: A VISION IN THE DARK

The night wrapped itself around the keep like a second skin—dense, silent, and suffocating. I lay deep in restless sleep, half-buried beneath furs still warm from the dying hearth. The darkness should’ve been restful, but instead, it buzzed with an unnatural tension.

Then came the tremor, not of earth or stone, but of soul. Tor... The voice curled into my dreams, soft and breaking like winter wind through brittle branches. Familiar. Achingly familiar. "Tor!" The next sound wasn’t the voice; it was a growl, Gale. I startled awake, chest rising in sharp gasps as my wolf tore through the haze. He’s reaching out, Gale rumbled in the back of my mind, restless and alert. Freyr. My heart thundered, the name alone enough to steal my breath.

Freyr.

I sat up fast, searching the room. The fire was ash now, shadows long and trembling. But in the center of the chamber, where moonlight spilled like liquid silver through the high window, a shape began to form. He stood there—tall, worn, and radiant all at once. My mate.

"Freyr?" I whispered, disbelief clashing with a tidal wave of relief. "Is it you?"

He nodded, his image flickering like candlelight in the wind. "Yes, Tor. It’s me." His voice cracked. "Gods, I’ve missed you."

I surged forward, but my hands passed through the air. Vision. Not flesh. But it was him.

"Where are you? What happened? I—"

"No time," he interrupted, urgency bleeding into his tone. "Listen. After we were separated, I made it to the base of Blood Stone Mountain. The sanctuary beneath the mountain is corrupted. There’s a creature. Twisted. Ancient. Fed by the blood sacrifices Marcel’s cult performed there for generations, I went head-on with it as it attacked.

I clenched my jaw. "Lord Marcel. That coward couldn’t take power the true way, so he bred darkness in the veins of the mountain."

Freyr’s eyes darkened. "He’s bound to it now. He’s the vessel. The creature speaks through him. It thrives in him."

Gale snarled low. We end him. Both of them.

I nodded. "You’re not alone anymore."

Freyr’s expression trembled through the vision, hope and fear clashing in his features. "I’ve found the Vampire Blood Mira. I will use its magic to sever the link between the creature and the mountain. Marcel loses his power. The darkness dies with it."

"And you think I’d let you do this without me?" I stepped closer to the glowing spectre. "No. We do this together."

He stared at me, unsure, and I lowered my voice. "You hear me, Freyr? I’m coming to you. I swear it is the bond that ties us. You and I, there’s no path I won’t take to get to you. We’ll tear that mountain down together if we have to."

"I’m afraid, Tor," he whispered. "Afraid that our lifetime promise will be delayed.

"No," I cut in, sharp and steady. "Don’t finish that sentence. You are mine, Freyr. My mate. My moon. My fire and my life. Nothing will stand in our way."

He looked like he might cry, but the strength returned to his stance. "I love you."

"And I’ve loved you since the moment I first scented your presence on Hanka Island," I said softly, voice thick. "You’re not alone in this. Not ever again. We will win. And when it’s over, there will be no more running. No more hiding. Just us."

Gale’s voice surged in my chest. Let’s go to him, Alpha. Let’s end this.

Freyr’s form started to fade, but before he disappeared entirely, he smiled through the pain.

"I’ll be waiting in Hanka Island," he said. "And Tor... thank you."

Then, the room was empty again, but my path was clear as I rose to my feet, muscles coiled with purpose, heart blazing. "Blood Stone Mountain," I said aloud. "We’re coming. For Freyr. For everything." And this time, not even the shadows would stop us.

Sleep was a ghost that no longer haunted me as I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the cold stone floor, the echo of Freyr’s voice still warm in my ears. The vision had vanished like smoke, but it left behind a storm. The hearth had gone dark hours ago, but I hadn’t noticed. I barely noticed the chill either, or the stiffness in my shoulders from staying still too long. My mind was anything but still.

Gale paced inside me like a caged beast, restless and snarling. "We need our mate," I murmured, running a hand through my hair. "We have to go to him." I nodded slowly, my gaze fixed on the pale glow slipping through the high window. The moon hung low and full, bleeding silver across the sky, an omen if I ever saw one. I stood then, the decision settling into my bones like wildfire. The ache of fatigue still lingered, but adrenaline swept it away.

Sleep finally came, late, shallow, and fleeting. When I woke, dawn had barely broken. The sky was painted in faded hues of ash and rose, and the air carried that biting edge of morning mist. For a while, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, Freyr’s face still etched into the darkness behind my eyes.

Gale stirred inside me. You rested enough. Let’s move.

I swung my legs off the bed and stood, shaking the cold from my limbs. "Yeah," I murmured. "Time to make this real."

By the time I stepped into the war room, I was fully awake—barefoot and half-dressed, but more alert than I’d been in days. The table was still scattered with maps and notes from the night before. My fingers drifted over the lines of the eastern coast, stopping at the faded ink circle marking Paradise Bay—our passage to Hanka Island.

The door creaks open behind me. "Should’ve known you’d be up before the sun," said a familiar voice, and I turned as Spark stepped in, shrugging off his cloak. He had the same sharp jaw and the same fire in his eyes that mirrored mine. My brother. My beta.

"You always had a bad habit of showing up when I was thinking too hard," I said.

He smirked. "You always think too hard."

I nodded toward the table. "This time, it’s different."

He stepped up beside me, eyes scanning the map. "Blood Stone?"

I looked at him, serious. "Freyr’s alive, Spark."

He blinked, then met my gaze with the weight of someone who’d carried a storm of questions for too long. "You’re sure?"

"I saw him," I said. "He came to me in a vision. Told me everything. He’s on Hanka. Beneath the shrine. And he’s found the creature Marcel’s been hiding. It’s real. Worse than we imagined."

Spark’s voice dropped. "And you’re going to him."

I didn’t need to answer. The bond between us said it all.

The door opened again, and Wave, General Tiger, and Ralph stepped in. Quiet nods, exchanged glances. They could feel the shift in the air.

"Are we holding council?" Tiger asked.

"More like planning an invasion," I said, motioning for them to take seats.

They settled in without a word, the scent of tension thick in the room.

"I called you here because I’m leaving before nightfall," I told them. "We sail from Paradise Bay. Destination: Blood Stone Mountain. Freyr found the creature, and hewantst me to help me take it down.

No one moved. No one breathed.

Ralph raised a brow. "So, uh... how bad are we talking? One monster, or a mountain full of them?"

"Bad enough that Lord Marcel made himself a puppet just to wield its power," I said. "We take out the there, at, and we sever the creature’s link. But Marcel won’t go down without a fight."

"I fear that this is a hard battle."

"This isn’t just a rescue, but it’s a reckoning. That mountain’s been bleeding darkness into our land for generations. It ends now. We go in clean and quiet, and we don’t leave until it’s done."

Spark stood beside me. "Then we stand with you. Always."

I glanced at Spark, and for a moment, I responded, "You all need to hold fort as I suspect the vampires will attack, and you need to keep Bay Shifter Bay safe."

Spark clapped a hand on my shoulder. "We will."

And for the first time in days, I didn’t feel the weight alone.

The others were still standing, voices low as they began to scatter into motion—plans, logistics, weapons, ships. The machine of war is beginning to turn. I turned toward the door where Ralph lingered, chewing on something again—nuts this time, maybe jerky. Always snacking when things got serious.

"Ralph," I said, my voice low but firm.

He straightened instantly. "Yeah, Alpha To.r."

"I need you to send word to Rou. Now. Tell him I need him at Bay Shifter pack by dawn.

His brows lifted. "Rou?" he repeated, like I’d just asked for a ghost.

"Yes," I said. "Tell him I’m going to Hanka Island—and he’s coming with me." I took a step toward him, my gaze steady. "He’s been searching for a way to find Rolan for years. He said once the answers lay in the east. Well, this is the East. This is the moment. If that mountain holds the creature, it might also hold the truth."

"You think Rolan’s involved?" Ralph asked quietly.

"I don’t know," I admitted. "But I think Rou deserves the chance to find out. And I’d rather have him at my back when we walk into that cursed place."

Ralph gave a low whistle. "That’s... that’s going to be a tense reunion."

I nodded. "Maybe. But it’s time."

He started backing out the door. "Alright. I’ll find him. Are you sure he’ll come?"