Moon Bounded

Chapter 7 Azrein POV

I woke with a start, gasping for breath, my chest heaving as if I had just run a marathon. The remnants of the transformation lingered in my body like a bad taste in my mouth, a gnawing ache in my bones. The wolf had taken control last night, and the aftermath always left me feeling broken.

I sat up, but as I did, I immediately became aware of the chill against my skin. My body was naked, the familiar sharpness of the cold biting into every inch of me. It wasn't just the night air that made my skin prickle—being exposed like this, vulnerable in the forest I knew so well, felt like the last shred of the control I'd fought so hard for had slipped from my grasp.

I had shifted, I had run, I had—gone to her.

The moon, which had been my only companion through the night, now hung low in the sky, leaving a soft light over the treetops. I should have been back in my cabin by now, covered in clothes, trying to rebuild some sense of normalcy. But the wolf had its own agenda. Its primal urges always left me scattered, stripped bare—not just physically, but emotionally, mentally.I stood, brushing off the dirt and leaves from my body, my muscles sore and stiff.

The transformation had drained me, but it was the aftermath that always hit hardest. My body was human again, but my mind still felt caught in that other world, the world of claws and teeth, of instincts that had nothing to do with the life I had known.

Elara.

The thought pierced through me like a fresh wound, raw and aching. The smell of her—the way her hair smelled of wildflowers, the softness of her skin beneath my fingers—still lingered in my senses. I had almost crossed the line last night, had almost let the beast take over completely. I'd wanted to see her, to be close to her, but I knew deep down I couldn't. I couldn't risk bringing the wolf any closer to her.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, my thoughts a whirlwind of confusion. But the cold air, the emptiness of the forest, and the echoes of last night's moonlit madness only reminded me that I had to leave her behind.

And yet, as I walked through the forest, every step felt heavier, each one a battle against the pull of her memory, of everything we had been. I didn't want to be here like this, naked to the world, walking with nothing but my own guilt and shame as company. But in this state, in this rawness, I could feel it—the ache in my chest, the ache that I couldn't escape, the ache that told me I was broken and couldn't fix myself.

Every step further from her was a form of punishment, but it was the only way to protect her. I reached the clearing, but I didn't stop. The sun was beginning to rise now, casting a muted light through the trees, and I felt its warmth on my bare skin. It reminded me of her, the way she had looked at me that last night—so full of trust, so full of love. And all I could do was destroy it.

I couldn't have her. I couldn't be the man she deserved.

But as the ache inside me intensified, the weight of my decision crashing down on me, I realized the truth.

I couldn't leave her behind, not completely. Even as I stood here in the cold, naked and exposed, I knew the one thing I couldn't do was forget her.

I closed my eyes, willing the thoughts to stop, but it was no use. The pull to her was too strong. I had broken her heart once. I couldn't do it again.

And yet, the idea of going back to my old life, of pushing her out of it, felt impossible. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I wasn't sure if I could walk away at all.

I wasn't sure if I could stay away.

The wolf inside me stirred again, its presence never far, and the memories of last night's chaos felt like they were going to swallow me whole. My breath quickened. I needed to focus. I needed to leave before it all spiraled out of control again.

But the deeper I walked into the forest, the more the urge to return to her, to hold her, to make things right, pulled at me.

Maybe... Maybe I didn't have to leave completely.

The thought lingered in my mind, a soft whisper. And for the first time, I wasn't sure if I was strong enough to follow through with the choice I had made.

As I stood there, cold and exposed, with nothing left but the remnants of my broken resolve, I wondered—what would happen if I didn't run anymore?