Moonlight Sanctuary

Chapter # 4

The waiting is agony. I pace the medical room, the mate bond pulling at me, demanding I go to Asher. It's worse now that he's close, like a living thing trying to drag me toward him. Dr. Sarah watches me with concern but doesn't try to stop my pacing.

"The bond will fight you," she says gently. "It doesn't understand abuse. It only knows that your mate is near and you're not with him."

"How do I make it stop?" I ask desperately.

"Time and distance help. There are also herbs that can dull the connection, but they're not pleasant. They make you sick, disoriented." She pauses. "And there's one other way."

"What?"

"A second chance mate. If the Moon Goddess grants you another bond, it can override the first. But that's rare, Willow. Most wolves only get one mate in their lifetime."

I nod, not allowing myself to hope for something so unlikely. I'm eighteen years old, and I've already wasted my one chance at a mate bond on someone who sees me as property.

Voices drift from outside… raised, angry. I move to the window and see Duke and Marcus standing at the edge of the clearing, facing Asher. Even from here, I can see the tension in Asher's body, the rage radiating from him.

"Give her back!" Asher's voice carries across the distance. "She's mine! The bond."

"The bond doesn't give you ownership," Duke interrupts, his voice calm but firm. "Willow has requested sanctuary, and I've granted it. She's a member of Silvermoon Pack now."

"You can't do that! She's my mate!"

"A mate you've been abusing." Duke's voice drops, becoming dangerous. "Did you think I wouldn't examine her? That I wouldn't see the bruises, the healed fractures, the evidence of months of systematic violence?"

Asher laughs, the sound making my skin crawl even from this distance. "That's how you train them. How you make them understand their place. My father taught me…"

"Your father is a relic of a dying age," Duke cuts him off. "And his teachings have no place in the modern world. Willow stays here. You need to leave."

"I'm not leaving without her!" Asher's body begins to shake, the telltale sign of an impending shift. "I'll tear this whole pack apart if I have to!"

Duke doesn't move, doesn't react to the threat. "You're one wolf against two hundred. You really want to try those odds?"

As if summoned by his words, wolves begin to emerge from the surrounding buildings. They don't shift, don't attack, but their presence is clear. A show of force, of unity. Silvermoon Pack standing behind their Alpha.

I've never seen anything like it. In Blackwater, the pack members would have scattered, leaving the alphas to fight it out. But here, they stand together, a wall of solidarity.

Asher seems to realize he's outmatched. His body stops shaking, but the rage in his expression doesn't diminish. "This isn't over. The mate bond is sacred. Pack law."

"Pack law also states that an Alpha has the right to offer sanctuary to those in need," Duke counters. "And that right supersedes mate bonds in cases of abuse. I've already contacted the Regional Council. They're aware of the situation."

This is news to me. The Regional Council oversees disputes between packs, enforcing the laws that keep our kind from descending into chaos. If Duke has involved them, he's making this official. Serious.

"You'll regret this," Asher snarls. "Both of you. Willow!" He turns toward the building where I'm watching. "You think you can hide from me? You think this bond will let you go? I'll find a way to get you back. I'll make you wish you'd never run!"

The bond flares with his emotion, and I gasp, doubling over from the pain. Dr. Sarah is at my side immediately, supporting me.

"Get him off this territory," Duke commands, and several of the Silvermoon wolves move forward, herding Asher back toward the border. "And post guards. I want twenty-four-hour surveillance on all entry points. If he tries to come back, I want to know immediately."

Asher resists for a moment, then seems to think better of it. He backs away, his eyes never leaving the building where I stand. Even from here, I can feel his promise of retribution.

Then he's gone, disappearing into the forest, and the bond stretches thin and painful between us.

I collapse onto the examination table, shaking. Dr. Sarah brings me water and something that smells bitter.

"Drink this," she instructs. "It'll help with the bond pain."

I swallow the mixture, grimacing at the taste. Within minutes, the pulling sensation dulls to a manageable ache. My head swims, and the room tilts slightly, but it's better than the agony.

Duke returns a few minutes later, his expression grim. "He's gone. For now."

"He'll be back," I say with certainty. "Asher doesn't give up. Ever."

"Neither do I." Duke pulls up a chair again, sitting so we're at eye level. "Willow, I need you to understand something. By accepting you into this pack, I've made you my responsibility. That means I will protect you, no matter what it takes. But I also need you to be honest with me. Is there anything else I should know about Asher? Any particular skills, connections, resources he might use?"

I think about it, trying to push through the fog in my head from Dr. Sarah's medicine. "His father is Alpha of Blackwater Pack. They're not as large as Silvermoon, maybe eighty wolves, but they're vicious. They believe in the old ways completely. If Asher asks for help..."

"His father might bring the whole pack," Duke finishes. "I considered that. It's why I contacted the Regional Council. If this becomes a pack war, I want it on record that we're in the right."

"Will that matter?" I ask bitterly. "The Council is mostly old males who probably agree with Blackwater's philosophy."

"Some of them, yes. But not all. There are those who believe in progress, in change. And the law is clear, sanctuary rights supersede mate bonds in abuse cases. They'll have to uphold that, or risk undermining the entire legal structure."

He sounds so confident, so certain. I want to believe him, but I've seen too much of how the world really works.

"You should rest," Duke says, standing. "You've been through hell, and your body needs time to heal. Dr. Sarah will set you up in one of the guest rooms."

"Duke?" I call as he reaches the door. He turns back. "Thank you. For helping me. For standing up to Asher. I know I'm just a stranger, and this could cause you so many problems, but... thank you."

Something soft crosses his face. "You're not a stranger anymore, Willow. You're pack. And we protect our own."

After he leaves, Dr. Sarah helps me to a small but comfortable room on the second floor. It has a real bed with clean sheets, a window overlooking the forest, and a door that locks from the inside. That last detail makes me want to cry with relief.

"Get some sleep," Dr. Sarah advises. "I'll check on you in the morning."

I lock the door after she leaves and stand in the middle of the room, trying to process everything that's happened. Two days ago, I was trapped in Asher's cabin, planning my escape. Now I'm in a strange pack, under the protection of an Alpha who seems too good to be true, with my abusive mate lurking somewhere in the forest beyond.

The mate bond pulses dully in my chest, a constant reminder that I'm not truly free. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

I crawl into bed, exhaustion finally overwhelming fear, and fall into a fitful sleep filled with dreams of running, of Asher's hands around my throat, of kind brown eyes that promise safety I'm not sure I can trust.