Bound by the Moonlight

Chapter 7 – The Lies I Wear

Hunter's POV

If anyone asks, I’ll tell them I don’t care.

That Jade Thorn is just an omega, nothing special. That I mock her because she’s weak, quiet, pathetic. Because it’s expected of me.

Because that’s what Alphas do.

But that’s not the truth.

The truth is, every time I look at her, something in me twists.

It started years ago—small things. How she wouldn’t flinch when I towered over her. How she looked me straight in the eyes even when everyone else bowed. How she always sat alone but never looked lonely.

She wasn’t like the rest of them.

And that scared the hell out of me.

Because in a world where power defines worth, being afraid makes you a liability. And I couldn’t afford to be weak.

I was the Alpha’s son. Crescent Moon’s future. Born with a legacy carved into my damn bones.

So I did the one thing that made the twisting stop.

I laughed at her.

Called her names.

Made her shrink.

Made myself feel bigger.

I watched the light in her eyes dim just a little each time I threw a verbal dart, and something in me clenched. But I ignored it. Pushed it down so far I couldn’t feel it anymore.

At least, I thought I couldn’t.

Until today.

She didn’t cry this time.

Didn’t run right away.

She just stood there. Small and quiet. And looked at me with something worse than hurt.

Disappointment.

And for a second—I wanted to apologize.

But then Marcus laughed beside me, and the rest of the class joined in. I felt all those eyes on me, waiting for me to say the next clever insult. To keep being who they thought I was.

And I did.

Because if I didn’t, they’d see the truth—that I wasn’t sure who I really was.

I laughed along. Hollow. Mechanical.

But when I got home, I didn’t feel powerful.

I felt like a coward.

I slammed my bedroom door shut and paced like a caged wolf. My skin itched with the urge to shift, to run, to do anything but think. But the scent of her—warm vanilla and wild pine—still clung to my memory.

Why did the Moon Goddess have to make her smell like peace?

I’d never admit it out loud, but I noticed the way her hair shimmered like midnight oil under the sun. The way she tucked her hands under her desk like she was trying to take up less space. The way she still smiled at Ashley like she hadn’t been dragged through the dirt her entire life.

She was strong in a way I didn’t understand.

And that terrified me.

Because I’ve always believed strength looked like dominance. Like being the loudest, the biggest, the boldest. But Jade… she had a quiet power. One that didn’t need recognition to exist.

She just was.

And I didn’t know what to do with that.

So I did what I always did.

I lashed out.

I became the version of Hunter Ashford everyone expected.

The arrogant future Alpha. The ruthless leader-in-training.

Not the boy who used to sneak extra food from the dining hall and leave it by the Omega quarters, hoping she’d find it.

Not the boy who used to lie awake at night wondering what her laugh sounded like when it wasn’t forced.

Not the boy who was scared that maybe—just maybe—she was meant for him.

I clenched my fists and stared at the moon rising outside my window.

My birthday was weeks ago. I hadn’t scented my mate yet, and everyone kept whispering it was coming soon. I felt it building—this invisible pull toward something I couldn’t name.

Or maybe someone.

And that’s what scared me most.

Because if it was her…

If the Moon Goddess dared to bind me to Jade Thorn, the lowest-ranked she-wolf in the entire pack…

What would that make me?

What would that mean?

Would I accept her?

Could I?

A knock on the door pulled me from my spiral. My father’s voice came through the wood—stern and unyielding.

“Hurry up, Hunter. You’re expected in the war room in ten.”

“Yeah,” I called back, swallowing the lump in my throat. “On my way.”

I ran a hand through my hair and took one last look at the night sky.

I’d built walls around myself, tall and impenetrable. I told myself they protected me, kept me in control.

But tonight, a c***k had formed.

And behind it was a truth I couldn’t outrun.

I didn’t hate Jade.

I hated that I was afraid of what she made me feel.

And if I wasn’t careful…

That fear was going to destroy us both.