Moonlit Sins

Chapter 6

Chapter Six — The Bond Awakens

The night was unnaturally quiet.

No crickets. No wind. No sound but the steady rhythm of Aria’s heartbeat — a soft, panicked echo trapped between her ribs.

Lucian stood before her, half in shadow, half in moonlight, his eyes glowing like molten silver. He hadn’t spoken for a long time, just watching her. Every breath she took felt like a trespass.

“You shouldn’t have followed me,” he finally said, voice low, smooth, and dangerous.

It wasn’t anger — it was restraint. As though every word cost him the control he clung to.

“I didn’t mean to,” Aria whispered. “I just— I heard something. I thought you might be in trouble.”

His jaw flexed. “You thought I might be in trouble?” A humorless laugh escaped him, short and dark. “You really don’t know what kind of trouble you’re standing in, do you?”

The air shifted. A faint breeze carried the smell of rain and pine — and something else. The faint, intoxicating scent that seemed to surround Lucian. It pulled at her, warm and dangerous all at once.

He took a step closer.

Aria’s breath hitched. Her body screamed at her to run, but her feet refused. Every instinct she had warred with something deeper — something that whispered she wasn’t supposed to be afraid.

“Lucian…” she breathed, her voice barely a sound. “What are you?”

His eyes met hers, and for a moment, she saw the truth there — wild and old and impossible. Then he turned away, clenching his fists.

“You saw too much that night,” he said. “The law of my kind demands silence.”

“Law?” Aria repeated, her chest tightening. “Are you saying there are more like you?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he turned toward the forest, the muscles in his back tensing. His voice was barely human when he said, “Go home, Aria. Forget me. Forget everything you saw.”

“I can’t,” she said.

He turned back sharply, eyes flashing. “You will.”

But Aria didn’t flinch. Her pulse thundered, but she met his gaze anyway. “You saved me,” she said softly. “You could have killed me that night, but you didn’t. Why?”

Lucian looked at her for a long time — too long. The silence between them burned.

Then he stepped closer again, closing the distance until the cold of the night was replaced by his heat.

“Because I couldn’t,” he said. “Because the moment I saw you, something inside me shifted.”

Aria’s breath caught. His voice had dropped to a whisper — rough, unguarded.

“I tried to fight it,” he continued. “Tried to stay away. But every time I breathe, I smell you. Every time I close my eyes, I see you.”

The words hit her like a spark to dry tinder.

She didn’t understand what he meant, not fully — but the way he looked at her made her heart ache and race all at once.

“Lucian…” she whispered.

He reached up, brushing his fingers against her cheek. His touch was gentle, but his hand trembled slightly. “You shouldn’t look at me like that.”

“How am I looking at you?”

“Like you want to trust me,” he murmured. “Like I deserve it.”

For a heartbeat, neither of them moved. The forest held its breath.

Then Lucian pulled away suddenly, turning toward the trees again. “They’re coming.”

“Who?” Aria asked, fear spiking.

“My pack,” he said. “They know what I’ve done — what I’ve risked. They’ll want to finish it.”

Aria’s eyes widened. “You mean— they’ll kill me?”

He didn’t answer, but the darkness in his expression told her enough.

Lucian stepped forward, his eyes shifting — not fully wolf, not fully man, but something caught in between. “I won’t let them touch you.”

Aria stared at him, trembling. “But they’re your people.”

“And you’re my mate,” he said fiercely.

The words seemed to hang in the air, heavy and final.

Aria’s heart slammed against her chest. “Your… what?”

Lucian’s jaw tightened. “It wasn’t supposed to happen. It’s forbidden. You’re human — you don’t belong to our kind.”

Her knees felt weak. She wanted to deny it, to tell him he was wrong, but part of her — the part that dreamed of him every night, that felt his pain like her own — already knew it was true.

“Lucian…” she began, but before she could finish, the first howl shattered the night.

Lucian spun around, eyes narrowing.

“They’re close,” he said. “Aria, stay behind me.”

Branches cracked in the darkness. Shadows moved between the trees. Then, three figures emerged from the forest — tall, broad, their eyes glowing faintly gold.

“Lucian,” the one in front growled. “Step aside. You know the law.”

Lucian didn’t move. His entire frame went rigid. “She’s under my protection.”

“You’ve broken the oath,” the wolf snarled. “You mated with a human. You’ve doomed us all.”

Aria’s breath came fast. She clutched the edge of Lucian’s shirt, instinctively moving closer to him.

Lucian’s lips curled into a half-snarl. “If the Council wants to punish me, they can try.”

The three wolves shifted. In seconds, fur replaced skin, claws replaced fingers. The air filled with the sound of growls and snapping bones.

Lucian didn’t hesitate. He moved faster than she could see, his own shift tearing through him — clothes shredding, bones twisting, his body exploding into a massive black wolf.

The battle was chaos.

Teeth clashed. Blood sprayed. The ground trembled under their weight.

Aria stumbled backward, tears blurring her vision. She didn’t know which one was Lucian — until the largest wolf, midnight-black and burning with silver eyes, pinned one of the attackers to the ground with a furious snarl.

When it was over, the clearing was silent again. The other wolves limped back into the shadows, defeated.

Lucian turned toward her. Blood matted his fur, his chest rising and falling with each heavy breath.

Then, before her eyes, he shifted back — body shuddering, bones cracking — until the man stood there again, naked, vulnerable, human.

Aria’s heart twisted. She took a hesitant step forward, then another, until she stood inches from him.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” she whispered.

He looked down at her, eyes still faintly glowing. “I told you. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Her hands trembled as she reached up, touching his cheek. His skin was warm — feverish, alive.

“Lucian,” she said softly. “What happens now?”

His gaze held hers, and for the first time, there was no distance between them — no secrets, no restraint.

“Now,” he said, voice rough with exhaustion and something deeper, “we run.”