The crescent pact

Chapter 15: Blood and bond

(Keal’s POV)

The world explodes into motion.

I leap through the trees, the scent of rogues sharp and foul in my nose. Shadows dart between trunks, fast and desperate—but not desperate enough.

They came for her.

My claws tear through bark as I lunge, slamming one to the ground. It howls, snapping its jaws at my throat. I twist, bones and muscle coiling with practiced precision, and silence it with a single strike.

The forest goes quiet for a heartbeat, then—three more emerge.

They circle us.

Behind me, I can feel Lyria’s pulse—rapid, alive, too close. She shouldn’t be here. She shouldn’t be anywhere near me when I’m like this.

She makes me lose control.

One rogue lunges. I meet it midair, the collision cracking through the night. Pain flashes bright as teeth tear into my shoulder, but I don’t stop. Can’t.

“Keal!” Her voice cuts through the chaos. It’s fear and fury and something else—something that makes my heart stumble.

The distraction costs me. Claws rake across my flank, deep. Blood spills hot and fast. The metallic tang fills the air.

And then—everything goes silent.

Because I hear her cry out.

The sound rips through me, wild and unbearable. I shift without thinking—fur to flesh, beast to man. My vision blurs, rage and instinct crashing like waves. I’m in front of her before I even realize it, shielding her, every breath shaking with the effort to stay human.

One rogue steps forward, snarling. My voice is a growl when I speak.

“Touch her—and I’ll end every last one of you.”

They hesitate. That’s all I need.

The moon burns above us, pale and merciless, as I unleash the part of me I’ve always feared—the power that shouldn’t exist. My blood hums, glowing faintly under my skin. The air shifts, heavy with something ancient.

The rogues freeze. Then they run.

When the last of them disappears, I drop to my knees, trembling. My body screams with pain—but it’s her touch that undoes me.

“Keal,” she whispers, pressing her hand to my wound. Her eyes are wide, glistening. “You saved me again.”

I meet her gaze, every wall I built crumbling. “No,” I rasp. “You’re the one keeping me alive.”

And in that moment—beneath the silver light of the crescent moon—I know I’m already lost.