Chapter 130

Author's pov Alpha Xavier 's hand snapped over Luna Dora's mouth like a strike of lightning, halting the cry she hadn't even finished forming. With a firm grip on her shoulder, he yanked her behind a massive oak tree, shrouded in the orchard's growing twilight. Closer to the pond, Cici's bone-chilling scream rent the evening air, stealing every shred of attention from Cecilia and her group. Not a single soul looked their way. No one noticed the growing tremble in Luna Dora 's knees - or the figures quietly shadowing the back of the farmhouse. "Help me - someone help me!" Cici's voice cracked against the wind. Her desperation oozed out like sap from a wounded tree in the cool dusk. Only when the metallic flash of the blade arced toward her did reality crush through Cici's delusion of safety. Her legs twitched - attempted flight - but Nicole's grip was iron. With a hiss of silver slicing through air, the knife sank deep into Cici's shoulder. Agony seared through her. She screamed - not