Blood Moon Bound

3 - The Wolf Who Lied to Her Pack

(Lycara, Werewolf POV)

The forest roared with the sound of pursuit. Leaves trembled beneath heavy paws, and the echoes of growls bounced off the ancient trees. My pack was close. Too close. If they found Rhaelyx, his death would be instant. No hesitation. No mercy.

I could not allow that.

I broke into a sprint, my pulse hammering as I widened the distance between the hollow and the search party. The scent of damp earth filled my nose, grounding me. I forced my breaths to stay steady despite the panic clawing at my chest.

The moon’s red glow burned through the treetops like an omen. I tried to quiet the mate bond thrumming beneath my skin. It pulled me backward, toward him. Every step away felt like ripping muscle from bone. The bond reacted to separation quickly, far quicker than any wolf bond I had ever heard of.

Rhaelyx was not only injured.

He was tied to me in a way that frightened me.

I had to mask my adrenaline before the others caught my scent. Wolves read emotions through smell. Fear. Guilt. Shame. If I carried all three, my lies would fail before they even left my mouth.

I skidded to a stop beside a fallen log and braced my hand on it, swallowing a shaky breath. Focus. Calm. Think.

If the pack found any sign that I had helped a vampire, my status as future Alpha would crumble. My father would be forced to act. The council would intervene. I would be marked a traitor. Worse, they would hunt Rhaelyx until he was dead.

I whispered to myself, “You chose this. Now protect him.”

Branches cracked behind me. A low growl reverberated through the air. I spun around just as a large gray wolf stepped into the clearing.

Fenris.

He was the third strongest in our pack and my father’s right hand. His fur shimmered like smoke under the Blood Moon. His amber eyes studied me with sharp focus, piercing through every thought I tried to hide.

He shifted into his human form. Fenris stood tall, muscles coiled, jaw tense. His hair fell past his shoulders in tangled waves.

“Lycara,” he said, breath heavy from the chase. “Your father sent me ahead. He is furious that you disobeyed orders.”

I forced a steady expression. “I went out for air. Nothing more.”

Fenris narrowed his eyes. “On the night of the Blood Moon?”

“I felt restless,” I said calmly. “I wanted to clear my head.”

He moved closer, sniffing the air. My heartbeat quickened despite my effort to stay calm.

“You smell tense,” he said slowly.

“I was running. The forest feels strange tonight.”

“That is not all I smell.” He paused. “I scent blood.”

My pulse faltered. I had Rhaelyx’s blood on me, faint but present. I prayed the forest winds and my run had diluted it enough.

I kept my posture neutral. “Probably from the prey that scattered earlier. The Blood Moon disturbs everything.”

His eyes lingered on me. Too long. Too heavy. My wolf stirred uneasily.

Then his gaze softened by a fraction. “You should be more careful. There are stories about monsters that awaken on nights like this.”

I almost laughed at the irony. If only he knew.

“I did not wander far,” I said. “And I saw nothing. No threat.”

Fenris studied me again, then glanced toward the deeper woods. He sniffed the air once more and frowned. “Something passed through here. Not wolf. Not human.”

I tensed.

He stepped toward the hollow’s direction.

My instincts screamed.

I acted.

“Fenris.” My voice was sharp enough to make him pause. “If there was danger, I would have sensed it. I came from that direction. It was silent.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Silent?”

“Yes. Completely.”

His suspicion did not fade. Fenris had always been difficult to deceive. He prided himself on his instincts, and they were rarely wrong.

“Let me check,” he said.

Cold fear rushed through me. I stepped directly into his path, blocking him.

“There is nothing to check,” I said firmly.

Fenris stopped. Surprise flickered in his eyes. He was accustomed to me obeying pack protocol, especially regarding security and threats.

His voice hardened. “Move.”

“No.”

The single word hung between us like a blade.

Fenris stepped forward until he was only an arm’s length from me. His presence was heavy, almost suffocating. “Lycara, this is not a suggestion.”

I lifted my chin. “And I said no.”

A growl vibrated from deep in his chest. The forest seemed to hold its breath.

“You are hiding something,” he said quietly. “What is it?”

I forced myself to meet his stare without blinking. “I am hiding nothing. I am simply telling you that you are wasting time. The threat you think you smell is nothing but old blood and fear.”

“Fear,” he echoed. “Whose fear?”

I exhaled slowly. “Mine.”

That answer startled him. His brows rose. Fenris rarely saw vulnerability in me. To him, I was the future Alpha who needed to show strength at all times.

“I am not afraid of danger,” I continued. “I am afraid of disappointing my father. I left the den when he told me not to. I know he will be furious.”

Fenris studied me again, this time with less suspicion and more concern. “You should not worry about that. You are young. Restless. It is natural.”

“It is irresponsible,” I said softly.

Fenris sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder, gentle for someone whose strength could snap bone. “We will tell him you were restless. Nothing more. But I need you to stay close for the rest of the night.”

My chest loosened with relief I dared not show. “I will.”

He shifted back into wolf form and howled, signaling the rest of the pack. Moments later, four more wolves emerged from the trees and began circling the clearing. Their scents blended into familiar ones I had known since childhood.

I exhaled quietly, grateful for the noise they made. Their presence masked the fading traces of Rhaelyx’s scent.

Fenris trotted forward, but I caught his attention with a whistle. “The forest to the east is where I came from,” I said. “If you want to continue searching for disturbances, go north. That is where the animals fled earlier.”

Fenris sniffed the air. After a long silent debate with himself, he nodded.

The pack moved north as one unit. Their howls faded into the distance.

I waited until the last echo vanished before sinking to my knees behind the fallen log. The tension I had been holding rushed out of me all at once.

I had lied to my pack for the first time.

And the lie had slipped far too easily from my lips.

My wolf paced inside me, restless, worried, drawn to the bond pulsing faintly beneath my ribs.

Rhaelyx.

I could feel the faint echo of his exhaustion. The slow drag of his breath. The pain suffocating him. The bond responded to his suffering, tugging at me with a quiet, aching pull.

He needed me.

I stood slowly, brushing dirt from my clothes. I circled around the long way to avoid crossing paths with the pack again. The forest thickened, branches weaving overhead as if trying to shield what lay within.

When I reached the hollow, my footsteps softened. I parted the vines.

He was still there.

Rhaelyx leaned against the stone wall, eyes half-closed, chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. The crimson glow under his skin had faded slightly. His face was pale, but he looked more stable than before.

Relief loosened a knot in my stomach.

He opened his eyes the moment I stepped inside. The bond reacted instantly. Warmth surged through me, unexpected yet familiar.

“You returned,” he whispered, voice rough.

“Of course I did.”

His gaze softened. “You smell of lies and tension.”

“You can sense that too?” I said with a groan.

His lips lifted faintly at the edge. “Through the bond.”

I sat beside him, careful not to brush against his wounds. “My pack nearly found you. Fenris wanted to search this area.”

“And you stopped him.”

“Yes.”

“That was dangerous,” he murmured.

“Everything tonight is dangerous.”

He let out a weak breath. “You lied for me.”

“I did.”

“You risked yourself.”

“I did.”

He looked at me for a long moment. In the dim hollow, his red eyes looked less like burning embers and more like old rubies filled with history and sorrow.

“You should not bind yourself to my fate,” he said softly.

“I did not choose the bond,” I replied, “but I choose what to do with it.”

He closed his eyes, as if the truth of that hurt more than his curse.

The air between us thickened. Words hovered on my tongue, truths I could not yet say. Instead, I asked quietly, “Does the pain still burn?”

“Less,” he answered. “Not gone. But less.”

I hesitated. “Does the bond help? When I am near you?”

His eyes opened again. His gaze held a depth that tangled something inside me.

“Yes,” he said. “You calm the curse. Just being close to you keeps the feral state back.”

I breathed out slowly, the weight of his words sinking into me.

“So I have to stay close,” I said.

His voice dropped. “It seems fate intends that.”

Silence wrapped around us.

Not uncomfortable.

Not tense.

Something else.

Something warm and frightening.

Rhaelyx shifted slightly, pain flickering across his features. I moved closer without thinking, instinct taking control. My thigh brushed his leg.

He inhaled sharply.

The bond surged between us. Heat spiraled from my chest to my spine. His breath hitched. My heart raced.

Neither of us spoke.

Neither of us needed to.

Outside, the Blood Moon watched us with quiet, ancient patience.

For the first time, I wondered whether our bond was truly a curse.

Or a salvation neither of us knew we needed.