CHAPTER 31: DEATH AT THE BORDER

Devon stood frozen in the doorway of the infirmary, his fingers trembling against the wooden frame as the weight of the news settled on him like a crushing boulder. Several pack families... gone. Entire households were wiped out near the border. The whispers inside the hall were poisoned with fear, the healers’ faces pale, the warriors’ eyes steeled with quiet rage.

But all Devon heard, felt, was the shattering inside his chest. He backed away, the corridor spinning. His breath hitched, shallow and uneven, as he staggered toward the nearest wall, gripping onto it to stay upright. His vision blurred. His heart cracked open.

He had fought so hard for this pack. Bled for them. Nearly died for them more times than he could count. He had given everything, his magic, his body, his sanity, to protect this place. To protect Elias. To protect Lucien.

And yet...

More death. More failure.

His fault. His weakness. His cursed magic brought nothing but danger.

"Devon?" Lucien’s voice reached him before the Alpha himself appeared.

When Devon lifted his gaze, Lucien stood only a few steps away, still dressed in his dark patrol gear, boots stained with forest soil and blood, hair wind-tousled from the run back to the packhouse.

His eyes were sharp... until they landed on Devon. Then they softened with something dangerously close to worry.

"Devon," he repeated, slower this time, approaching as if Devon were a startled creature. "You heard."

Devon couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t speak. He simply nodded once.

Lucien closed the distance and cupped his arms gently but firmly, supporting him before he collapsed.

"Come here," he murmured, voice low. "You’re shaking."

"I should have protected them," Devon whispered, voice breaking. "I should have..."

"No." Lucien’s tone sharpened instantly. "Don’t take responsibility for the actions of murderers."

"But I’m supposed to be Luna," Devon forced out, chest tightening painfully. "And instead of helping the pack, I’m in bed half the time because of my... my stupid magic backlash..."

He didn’t finish. His breath hitched, and he had to turn his face away to hide the tears burning down his cheeks.

Lucien exhaled sharply through his nose, then guided Devon into the nearest room, a quiet meeting chamber, and shut the door behind them.

For a long moment, Devon stood silently, trying to calm the thunder in his chest. But the moment he sensed Lucien’s presence behind him, close, warm, heavy, everything inside him broke again.

"I’m failing," he whispered hoarsely. "Lucien, I’m failing you. I’m failing this pack. And Elias... gods, even Elias almost died. And I..."

"Stop." Lucien caught his wrist and turned him around.

Devon was shaking violently now, the dam fully bursting. "If I had more control, if I understood what I am, if I wasn’t some magical anomaly that hurts himself every time he tries to help, maybe those families, maybe..."

Lucien grabbed his shoulders. "Devon. Look at me."

Devon did, and instantly regretted it. Because Lucien’s eyes were burning. Not with anger. Not with disappointment. But with something far more devastating.

"Do you really think I measure your worth by how useful you are?" Lucien asked quietly.

Devon’s lips parted, but no words came.

Lucien stepped closer, his breath brushing Devon’s face. "Do you know where I was when we found the border massacres?"

Devon swallowed. "A-all I heard is that you were searching for survivors..."

"Because I needed to make sure none of them were you," Lucien said, voice rough. "Because the moment Elias collapsed from poison, I realized something terrifying."

Devon held his breath.

Lucien continued in a whisper, "If I lose him... or you... I will not survive it."

Devon’s knees almost gave out.

Lucien caught him again, one arm supporting his back.

"You are not failing," the Alpha murmured, grounding him with every word. "You are drowning alone."

Devon shut his eyes, helpless tears falling freely. "I didn’t want to burden anyone."

Lucien’s jaw clenched. "You think you’re a burden? Devon, half the pack sees you as their Luna already. They adore you. They feel safer when you’re around, magic or no magic."

Devon shook his head. "But I’m not strong enough."

"You are," Lucien said fiercely. "But strength isn’t something you carry alone. Let me shoulder some of it."

Devon looked at him, eyes trembling. "Why... why are you being kind to me now?"

Lucien’s breath hitched, barely noticeable, but Devon felt it.

"I should have been kinder sooner," Lucien admitted, shame quietly slipping into his tone. "But I thought keeping you at a distance would protect you. Protect the pack. And myself."

Devon blinked. "Yourself?"

Lucien looked away for a moment, jaw tightening.

"You unsettle me, Devon. And I thought I could ignore that." His voice dropped. "I was wrong."

A thick silence followed.

Devon’s heartbeat thudded loudly between them, mingling with Lucien’s. He didn’t know whether to step closer or push him away.

"But right now," Lucien said softly, "none of that matters."

He placed a hand against Devon’s cheek.

"You’re not okay. Let me help."

Devon swallowed every instinct to run, to hide, to bear everything alone.

"I’m scared," he whispered shakily. The admission tore out of him like a wound.

Lucien’s thumb brushed away a tear. "Then let me be scared with you."

Devon’s breath broke entirely, and he sagged against Lucien’s chest with a choked sound, unable to hold himself upright anymore.

Lucien held him tightly, arms solid and warm, protective in a way that made Devon’s entire body tremble with relief and fear and longing all at the same time. He rested his chin on top of Devon’s head.

For the first time, Devon allowed himself to collapse into someone else, allowed someone else to hold the pieces of him together.

"I don’t know what’s happening at the borders," Lucien murmured into Devon’s hair. "But we’ll face it. Together."

Devon’s fingers curled into Lucien’s shirt, gripping it like a lifeline. He shook with silent sobs.

"And if your magic is changing..." Lucien added quietly, "Then we’ll learn it together too."

The promise slipped into Devon’s bones like warmth.

"...Lucien," he whispered weakly.

"Hmm?"

"Don’t leave."

Lucien hugged him tighter. "Never."

Outside the closed door, the muffled sounds of panic and preparation continued, warriors gathering, scouts reporting new findings, the pack bracing itself for whatever darkness had begun to creep in.

But inside the small room...

A shattered Luna clung to his Alpha. And an Alpha, once cold and unreachable, finally allowed himself to hold the person he feared losing most.

Somewhere in the shadows of the world beyond the pack, something stirred, watching, waiting, hungry.

But for now, Devon and Lucien stayed in each other’s arms.

Together. Silent. Terrified.

But no longer alone.