Bound by Moonlight

chapter 5

Bentley – 3 Days Before the Summit

The pines thinned as we followed the winding road deeper into Lakewood Pack territory. The forest here felt older somehow—more watchful. Jax had gone completely still in the back of my mind, but not in a tense way. He was calm. Serene, even. Which, frankly, was unnerving.

Gage leaned forward in his seat, glancing at me with one brow raised. “Okay… why are you smiling like that?”

I blinked. Hadn’t even realized I was. “Jax,” I said simply.

“What about him?”

“He’s quiet. Happy.”

Gage gave a low whistle. “Huh. First time for everything.”

We crested a hill and came around a bend—and there it was. The Lakewood Pack house.

Smaller than Crescent Creek’s by a long shot. Modest. Straight lines and warm wood. It didn’t scream power or wealth, but it did feel sturdy. Rooted. A reflection of its Alpha, I supposed.

We pulled up to the circular drive just inside the border, and two guards waved us through with a polite nod and a short, “Welcome, Alpha Bentley.”

As we came to a stop, I spotted Alpha Calvin and his Luna standing on the porch, their expressions warm and unreadable. I recognized them immediately—Calvin with his peppered hair and sharp gray eyes, and Luna Eleanor, graceful and sharp in her own right. I’d met them at various summits and during their occasional visits to Crescent Creek over the years, but this was the first time I’d stood on their turf as Alpha.

Beside them stood a younger man I presumed was Alpha Jake—broad shouldered, dark-haired, with a hard-set jaw. He looked like someone constantly two seconds away from punching a wall. Clinging to his arm like a vine was a petite brunette, curvy and glassy-eyed, her grip on him just shy of territorial.

Jax stirred, the calm inside me shifting, sensing something. I straightened.

As I stepped out of the SUV, Calvin extended a hand.

“Alpha Bentley,” he said with a firm shake. “Glad you made it in one piece.”

“Thank you for having us,” I said smoothly. “It’s good to finally see Lakewood in person.”

“Long overdue,” Luna Eleanor added with a polite smile. “We’ve heard many good things.”

I nodded at Alpha Jake, who gave a curt nod back, and then my gaze flicked to the woman on his arm.

She stared.

Openly.

Like she couldn’t decide if I was a hallucination or a steak dinner.

Gage stepped out behind me, smoothing down his shirt like we were meeting royalty.

// Gage’s voice slid into my head, crisp and amused. //

“What is wrong with that girl? She’s eyeing you like you showed up naked and dripping in honey.”

I resisted the urge to cough.

// “Noted.” //

She finally blinked, then plastered on a saccharine smile and turned her attention back to Jake—who looked more bored than anything else.

“We’re honored to host this year’s summit,” Calvin continued, motioning toward the entrance. “We’ll get you both settled in. Rooms are ready upstairs, and dinner’s in a few hours.”

“I appreciate it,” I said, and followed them inside, Gage on my heels.

Jax was still quiet—but alert. It was like he could sense something on the air.

Something coming.

And for once… I didn’t feel like bracing for it.

---

Lize pov

Rory found me curled up on the window bench in the library, nose buried deep in my book, lost in a world that didn’t judge me for being different.

“There you are,” he said, his tone half-annoyed, half-amused. “You skipped lunch again. Come on—dinner’s about to start.”

I groaned, closing the book reluctantly and running my fingers along the worn leather spine. “Do I have to?”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes. You can’t live off books, Lize. Even you need real food. And trust me, tonight’s not the night to skip.”

“Why?” I asked, stretching.

He smirked. “Alpha Bentley’s here.”

I blinked. “The Alpha Bentley? Crescent Creek Alpha?”

“Mhm.” He raised his brows. “Apparently he’s hotter in person. Rumor has it he just got in.”

That didn’t mean much to me, not really. I wasn’t in the mood to be impressed. But I followed him anyway, brushing my fingers through my hair as we walked down the stairs to the dining hall.

The second we stepped inside, I felt it.

A pull. A strange, invisible thread that tugged at my chest. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and my gaze scanned the room instinctively—until I saw him.

He stood tall, towering really, beside Alpha Calvin and my father. Dressed simply, yet somehow he still managed to look like he’d walked straight out of a magazine. Black hair, sharp jawline, broad shoulders that looked like they were sculpted out of stone. And those eyes—icy blue and so intense they made my knees wobble.

Holy. Goddess.

Rory nudged me hard enough to make me stumble. “Jeez. Drool much?”

I blinked rapidly, heat rushing to my cheeks. “I wasn’t—”

“Don’t even try to lie. I’ve never seen you look at anyone like that.” He smirked. “Greek. God. Hot.”

“I—he just—he looked this way,” I stammered, and immediately wanted to smack myself. I sounded like a complete i***t.

We found our seats near the end of the long dining table. I tried to keep my eyes off him, but it was like trying to ignore the sun. Every time I looked up, he was still there—quiet, composed, yet somehow vibrating with this tightly coiled energy I couldn’t name.

---

Bentley pov

I’d heard the whispers the moment I stepped foot inside the dining hall.

“That’s her—Alpha Calvin’s daughter.”

“Still hasn’t shifted. Can you imagine?”

“Some say she’s broken.”

It took everything in me not to bare my teeth at the ignorant bastards. I didn’t care if they were pack members or not. The disrespect in their tone boiled my blood. My wolf, Jax, was already on edge the moment we passed the border, but the comments sent him straight into a low growl in the back of my mind.

And then—she walked in.

Her blonde hair was pulled back loosely, her cheeks still flushed from what I could only guess was time spent outside. She was petite, strong, and carried herself with a quiet sort of strength that drew me in like gravity. Her blue eyes scanned the room before locking briefly with mine.

My chest tightened instantly.

Jax surged forward so hard I nearly staggered. A deep possessiveness curled inside me—one I hadn’t felt in all my years of waiting for my mate. I barely noticed the Beta’s son beside her. All I saw was her.

“Mine.”

The word was a snarl in my head, low and primal.

But nothing clicked. No official recognition. Jax didn’t push for a shift. There was no spark. Just this maddening sense of almost.

She must not be of age yet.

It was the only explanation, and then I remembered her 18th birthday is in a few days. My wolf knew. He knew, and I had to trust him.

Even so, the sight of her walking beside that boy, all smiles and laughter, made my jaw clench. I wasn’t normally the jealous type—goddess knows I’d never had reason to be—but seeing her with him?

I wanted to rip him away from her and plant myself in his place.

As I sat down across the hall from them, I made a silent vow to myself and Jax both.

We would wait.

But we would not walk away.