Chapter 5: Pack Bonds
1559 Words
Maya's POV :
The howling was closer now—too close.
It wasn’t just noise anymore. It pressed in on me, vibrating in my teeth, rattling my ribs. I felt like my whole body was a cracked shell, shaking apart one piece at a time.
Three hours ago, I was Dr. Maya Chen. My biggest problems were overdue vaccine schedules and a particularly demonic cat named Mr. Patterson that hissed and swatted every time I got within three feet of him. I worried about rent. My dad’s heart meds. Whether my ex, Marcus, would text or ghost me forever.
Now?
Now I was apparently Maya Silvermoon. “Moon Child.” “Luna.” Some cosmic savior with powers I didn’t ask for and a destiny I didn’t want. The words sounded fake—like they belonged in some bad fantasy series, not in my actual life.
I didn’t understand any of it.
I didn’t want to.
I just wanted to go back to worrying about paw infections and weird growths on golden retrievers.
“How many are out there?” My voice came out thin, like a fraying thread. I had to swallow to find it. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. It wasn’t fear—not just fear. It was like my whole nervous system was short-circuiting.
Kai didn’t look at me. His eyes were locked on the door. His whole body was one taut wire.
“At least a dozen,” he said. “Maybe more.”
I pressed my back into the wall. The drywall bit into my skin. I needed something solid, something real. But all of it felt unreal. Monsters—real monsters—were outside. And they were coming for me. Me.
I just wanted a normal life. A boring, small, safe life. A date that didn’t end in disappointment. A cat that didn’t want to murder me.
“I can’t…” The words caught in my throat. “I can’t do this. I don’t know how.”
Kai turned to me, slowly, his eyes soft. “Maya—”
“No.” I shook my head—too hard. My breath came in little jerks. “You don’t get it. Yesterday I was worried about rent. Today I’m—what? A chosen one? A magical battery? I’m not built for this. I talk to dogs, Kai. I don’t fight demons.”
Tears burned behind my eyes, and I hated them. Hated how weak I felt.
“I wanted peace,” I whispered. “I came here to disappear. Not... this.”
Elena stepped closer. Her voice was calm, the kind of calm that made me feel even worse. “We know it’s a lot. But this is your destiny.”
“Don’t,” I snapped. The word cracked in half on its way out. “Don’t give me that speech. I’m not a hero. I’m not brave. I don’t even like yelling at people.”
But even as I said it, the lie of it landed like a punch to the gut. I didn’t have a life to go back to. The clinic was wrecked. My past—my family, Marcus—all of it felt like a hallucination I’d finally woken up from.
I slid down the wall until my knees hit the floor. The weight of it all—shame, grief, disbelief—crushed down on me.
“He still taught me to ride a bike,” I whispered, blinking fast. “Held the seat until I stopped wobbling. Burned pancakes every Sunday. Always said it added flavor.”
Kai knelt beside me. His expression mirrored mine. “I get it,” he said quietly. “My dad wasn’t who I thought he was, either. When the truth hit, it broke something in me. But the memories? They’re still yours. They still matter.”
A howl ripped through the night. This one was so close I felt it in my bones.
Elena’s voice lost its gentleness. “We have to move. Now. You can fall apart later. Right now, you survive.”
“What if I can’t?” I asked. My voice was barely air. My heart pounded like it wanted out of my chest. “What if I freeze? What if I screw up and get you both killed?”
Kai reached for my face. His hands were warm. Steady. He made me look at him.
“Then we deal with it. Together. I’m not going anywhere.”
I wanted to cry. Scream. Hide. Anything but this.
But then the shadows started to twist.
Shapes that didn’t move right. Too tall. Too fast. Too hungry.
“They’re here,” I breathed.
Kai didn’t say a word, but his jaw clenched. His eyes flicked toward me—afraid. Not of them.
Of losing me.
The first wolf peeled from the dark. Huge. Black. Its fur devoured the moonlight. It didn’t look like an animal. It looked like a void with fangs.
I wanted to run.
I didn’t.
“Okay,” I whispered, forcing myself to my feet. My knees almost buckled. “What do I do so we don’t die?”
Elena didn’t miss a beat. “They feed on lunar energy. Your power draws them, but if you control it—it burns them.”
“And if I can’t?”
“You become dinner. Along with us.”
A laugh sputtered out of me. It sounded half-crazed. “Cool. Great. No pressure.”
More wolves emerged. Eight. Ten. I lost count.
“I’m terrified,” I muttered, staring them down.
“Good,” Kai said. “Means you want to live. Now use it.”
“Any last-minute pep talk?”
He looked at me—really looked at me. Fierce. Steady. Real.
“You’re stronger than you think. And I’m with you. No matter what.”
The lead wolf howled, and the pack surged.
Elena flung out her arms—ice exploded from her hands, throwing up spiked barriers. Kai launched himself forward, mid-air shift already in motion. His body cracked and twisted, bone giving way to sinew and fur, until the gray wolf landed in a crash of teeth and snarls.
I stood there, frozen. Chaos blurred everything.
One broke through Elena’s wall and lunged.
I didn’t think.
I screamed, flung up my hands—and silver light shot from my palms. The wolf hit it hard, bounced back, howling. I stumbled, the recoil burning my arms.
“They’re immune to direct blasts!” Elena shouted. “You have to get creative!”
Creative?! I was trying not to pee myself.
Another wolf came from the left. I turned, focused on the asphalt—and the parking lot cracked upward in a geyser of silver-lit rubble. The wolf yelped, knocked off course.
Pain hit me like a fever. My energy drained fast, like someone unplugged me.
“Better,” Elena called. “Still sloppy. But better.”
More wolves. Too many. I couldn’t hold them all.
“I can’t keep this up!” I gasped.
“You’re calling them in!” Elena snapped, flinging a sheet of ice across the ground. “You’re a lighthouse in a storm. They’re drawn to your power.”
“So I stop using it and just—what? Let them eat me?”
“No. You learn to shield. Or you die.”
Behind Kai, a massive wolf emerged. Bigger than the rest. Its eyes glowed red. It opened its jaws.
No.
No.
Something broke inside me—not in panic. In focus.
I didn’t think about being the Luna. I didn’t care about prophecies or magic.
I cared about him.
I lunged, grabbed Kai, wrapped my arms around him—and poured everything I had into him. My fear. My grief. My love.
The world exploded in silver.
When the light faded, the wolves were gone. Just ash. Smoke.
I was still holding Kai. My fingers clutched his shirt like he might vanish.
“What... did I do?” I asked. My voice was ruined.
Elena stared at me. Her expression unreadable.
“Mate-bond shield,” she said quietly. “That’s Luna-level magic. The highest tier. It only works when it’s... fueled by love.”
Kai looked at me—at my hand, still fisting his shirt—and back up to my face. “Maya, that kind of magic... it doesn’t happen unless—”
“I don’t care what it means,” I said. And for the first time, I meant it. My voice was calm. Solid.
“I care about you.”
Elena cleared her throat. “We need to go. That little light show just broadcasted your location to every magical predator in a hundred-mile radius.”
We headed for her car.
As we passed the broken glass, something flickered in the reflection.
Elena’s face.
The smile dropped for a heartbeat—just long enough to show what was underneath.
Jealousy. Rage. Ice-cold fury.
It was gone in an instant.
“Elena?” I asked softly.
She turned, her smile flawless again. “Yes, love?”
“Thanks. For helping.”
Her smile widened. But it didn’t reach her eyes. “Of course, darling. What are friends for?”
But as we pulled away into the night, I couldn’t shake it.
The shadow wolves were terrifying.
- Writer
