Moonbound Silence

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The silence after Kael’s demand wasn’t empty.

It was heavy. Loaded. The kind that turned a crowd into a single creature holding its breath.

I could feel it through the tent canvas and through the bond and through the simple fact that every person outside had stopped pretending they didn’t care.

Tell them you’re not mine.

My throat felt like it had been packed with ash.

Aunt Mina’s voice cut low and sharp. “Riva. Stay. Inside.”

Her words should have been enough. They usually were. But Kael had said my name and every head had turned toward my tent like I was a prize being presented.

If I stayed silent, they’d call it proof.

If I spoke, they’d call it betrayal.

My wolf surged, furious and terrified, and the bond answered with a hot pull like it was trying to drag me toward the truth no matter what I wanted.

I swallowed so hard it hurt.

Then I stepped out.

The night air hit my skin like a slap. It smelled like smoke and sweat and dirt and wolf. It smelled like Ironclaw.

And it smelled like Kael.

The circle around my tent wasn’t huge, but it was dense. Ridgebacks in dark cloaks. A few Ironclaws at the edges, shoulders squared, watching like they’d been waiting for this exact second.

Aunt Mina stood close enough that I could feel the heat off her body. Her hand hovered near her knife. Her face was calm, but I could see it in her eyes.

This could go wrong fast.

Kael stood opposite me, a few steps away, posture relaxed like this was nothing. Like he hadn’t just yanked my name into the air like a rope.

Liora was there too. Not in the center, but not far. Pale dress, perfect hair, eyes sharp. The kind of woman who could smile while twisting the blade.

I didn’t look at her for more than a beat.

I looked at Kael.

His gaze hit mine and the bond flared so hard my ribs ached.

Mine.

No. Not tonight.

Not here.

“Say it,” Kael said quietly.

A Ridgeback guard spit to the side. “Why is he ordering her?”

“Because he thinks he can,” another muttered.

Kael didn’t even glance at them.

Aunt Mina stepped forward. “Riva doesn’t answer to you.”

Kael’s eyes flicked to her for the first time, cold. “Then have her answer to her pack.”

I wanted to tell him to go to hell.

But he wasn’t wrong.

If I didn’t speak now, Ridgeback would decide for me. Ironclaw would decide for me. The elders would decide for me.

My hands curled into fists inside my sleeves.

I lifted my chin the way I had across the stones earlier.

And I lied.

“I’m not yours,” I said.

The words came out steady, like I’d practiced them.

My wolf snarled inside me, furious at the denial.

The bond reacted like a live thing. It tightened, hot and painful, and for a second my vision went bright at the edges.

Kael didn’t flinch.

But his jaw ticked.

A beat of silence.

Then a ripple moved through the circle—relief in some, disappointment in others, irritation in the ones who’d wanted blood.

A Ridgeback guard let out a short breath. “Then what was he doing in her tent?”

Kael answered before Aunt Mina could. “I was checking that she wasn’t injured.”

A harsh laugh came from the Ridgeback side. “By who?”

Kael’s gaze swept the guards, bored. “By my pack. By yours. By the moon. Take your pick.”

“You think we’d hurt our own?” the guard snapped.

Kael’s mouth curved. Not a smile. “I think wolves do stupid things when they smell weakness.”

My stomach tightened.

Was he calling me weak?

Or was he calling the situation weak?

I couldn’t tell. That was part of the problem with him. He said things like he was speaking facts, but every word landed like a challenge.

Aunt Mina stepped between me and the closest Ridgeback guard, voice sharp. “Enough. This is over. He’s leaving.”

Kael didn’t move.

Liora finally stepped closer, just enough to be seen clearly. Her face was soft with concern that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Kael,” she said, like she was soothing a violent dog. “The council has been looking for you. The elders are asking questions.”

Kael didn’t look at her.

Which somehow felt worse than if he had.

Liora’s eyes slid to me. “And you,” she said, polite as poison. “I’m sorry if you were frightened. These summits can be… overwhelming.”

I didn’t answer.

Aunt Mina did. “We don’t need Ironclaw sympathy.”

Liora smiled. “Of course.”

Kael’s gaze finally moved—briefly—to Liora. A warning in his eyes.

She ignored it.

That told me more than her words did.

Kael shifted his stance, and the bond tugged like a leash. The air changed again, that tense edge returning.

He raised his voice just enough for everyone to hear.

“She’s Ridgeback,” he said, looking straight at Aunt Mina. “And she’s leaving this summit alive. If any of my people touch her, I’ll handle it.”

A Ridgeback guard barked out a laugh. “How generous.”

Kael’s gaze flicked to him. “Not generous. Practical.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m not giving you a body to rally around,” Kael said.

That shut the guard up.

Aunt Mina’s eyes narrowed. “And we’re supposed to be grateful?”

Kael’s voice stayed even. “You’re supposed to be smart.”

The insult hit like a slap.

Aunt Mina’s hand tightened around my arm. “We’re done here.”

She pulled me back toward our tents.

I moved because if I didn’t, my legs were going to lock.

The bond still burned under my skin. It didn’t care that I’d lied. It didn’t care that I’d denied him out loud.

It only cared that he was close.

And that he’d looked at me like I was something dangerous.

Behind us, I heard a Ridgeback guard mutter, “She’s shaking.”

I wasn’t. Not visibly.

But inside, my wolf was pacing, and my chest felt bruised.

As Aunt Mina dragged me away, I made the mistake of glancing back.

Kael had turned toward the fire.

Toward Liora.

He stepped into place at her side like he’d been born there.

Liora’s hand slid onto his forearm again.

This time he didn’t even twitch.

He just let it happen.

My stomach twisted hard enough I almost gagged.

Aunt Mina yanked me behind a row of tents, away from the clearing’s direct line of sight.

Then she stopped so abruptly I nearly collided with her.

Her face was stone.

“How stupid are you?” she hissed.

The words hit hot. “Excuse me?”

“You walked out,” she said. “You let him pull you into a public scene.”

“He already did,” I snapped. “He said my name.”

“And you answered,” she shot back.

I opened my mouth, then shut it.

Because yes.

I had.

Aunt Mina stared at me like she was trying to decide whether to shake me or hug me.

Then her expression softened, just a fraction.

“Do you feel it?” she asked.

My throat went tight.

There was no point lying to her.

“Yes,” I whispered.

Aunt Mina closed her eyes for a beat, like she was steadying herself. “Moon help us.”

I laughed, short and ugly. “The Moon did this.”

Her eyes opened, sharp. “Not funny.”

“It’s not,” I said.

We stood there in the narrow dark between tents. The camp around us was restless, moving like an animal that couldn’t settle. I could hear Ridgeback guards shifting positions, voices low.

Aunt Mina’s grip tightened on my arm. “Listen to me. You denied him. Good.”

“It didn’t feel good,” I said.

“It wasn’t for you,” she said. “It was for them.”

My stomach turned. “So what now?”

Aunt Mina’s gaze flicked toward the clearing. “Now we get you out of here before sunrise.”

“We can’t just leave,” I said, even though part of me wanted to run until my lungs burned.

“Yes, we can,” she said. “We came as a courtesy. We can leave with an excuse.”

“An excuse like what?”

Aunt Mina’s mouth tightened. “Like you’re sick.”

Kael’s words echoed in my head.

She’ll think you’re sick.

The thought made me furious.

“He planned that,” I said.

Aunt Mina’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe. Or maybe you’re just easy to read.”

I flinched.

She sighed, the anger in her face turning into something tired. “Riva, I don’t care if he planned it. I care that you survive it.”

I swallowed.

“What did you feel?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“When you said you weren’t his,” Aunt Mina pressed. “What did it do to you?”

I hesitated. Shame crawled up my throat.

“It hurt,” I admitted.

Aunt Mina’s eyes softened again, and that somehow made it worse.

“Of course it did,” she said quietly. “That’s why the bond is a curse when politics are involved.”

I tried to breathe past the ache in my chest. “He didn’t look hurt.”

Aunt Mina snorted. “He’s an Alpha. They don’t bleed where people can see.”

I pictured Kael’s face, the way it hardened like a door shutting. The way his jaw ticked.

Maybe he did bleed.

Just not where anyone would notice.

A shout rose from the clearing, followed by a short burst of laughter. It sounded forced.

Aunt Mina turned toward the noise, shoulders tensing.

“Stay with me,” she said.

“I am,” I snapped.

She gave me a look. “Not physically. Mentally.”

I tried.

But the bond kept pulling my attention back toward Kael like a hook in my ribs.

Even now, even after I’d denied him.

I could feel him.

Not words. Not thoughts. Just his presence like heat through a wall.

And underneath it, something tense.

Like he was waiting too.

Aunt Mina started walking again, steering me deeper into our camp.

People stepped aside as we passed. Eyes flicked to me, then away. Some looked curious. Some looked wary.

One Ridgeback woman whispered to another, loud enough for me to hear, “That’s her.”

I kept my face blank.

Aunt Mina guided me into her tent instead of mine.

“Sit,” she ordered, and this time I did.

The moment I lowered myself onto the edge of a bedroll, my legs started shaking.

I clenched my jaw to stop it.

Aunt Mina crouched in front of me, hands on my knees, forcing my gaze to hers. “You’re going to do exactly what I say,” she told me.

“I already did,” I muttered.

Her eyes flashed. “Don’t be smart.”

I swallowed. “Okay.”

She nodded once, satisfied. “You’re sick. The summit air doesn’t agree with you. You’re dizzy. You’re nauseous. You’re going to stay in this tent until I say otherwise.”

“And if someone asks questions?”

“I answer them,” she said. “That’s my job.”

I stared at her. “And if Kael—”

Aunt Mina’s hand tightened on my knee. “Do not say his name.”

The snap in her voice made me go silent.

She exhaled. “If he comes near you again, you don’t speak. You don’t look at him. You don’t react. You let me handle it.”

“He already came near me,” I said quietly.

Aunt Mina’s eyes softened. “I know.”

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

The sounds outside pressed through the canvas: footsteps, low voices, the crackle of distant fire.

Then Aunt Mina stood. “I’m going to speak to the Ridgeback Alpha’s representative,” she said. “We’re leaving at first light.”

My chest tightened. “And if they won’t let us?”

Aunt Mina’s smile was thin. “They’ll let us. No one wants to be the one who starts the war while the elders are still watching.”

I wasn’t sure I believed her.

But I nodded.

She turned to go, then paused at the flap. “Riva.”

I looked up.

Her voice dropped. “If you feel the bond pulling, you breathe through it. You don’t follow it. You don’t act on it. Do you understand?”

My throat tightened. “Yes.”

Aunt Mina hesitated like she wanted to say something else.

Then she left.

The moment she was gone, the tent felt too small.

I pressed a hand to my sternum.

The ache was still there.

The bond didn’t care that I was sitting alone. It didn’t care that I was trying to be smart.

It pulsed, slow and persistent.

Like a second heartbeat.

I closed my eyes and tried to count my breaths.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

It didn’t work.

Because in the back of my mind, I kept seeing Kael’s eyes. The way he’d said my name like he owned the sound. The way he’d demanded the lie.

Tell them you’re not mine.

Was he protecting me?

Or protecting himself?

Or was he protecting the feud, keeping it clean and predictable the way he’d said?

A scraping sound hit the side of the tent.

I froze.

It came again. Not the wind. Not canvas shifting.

Something deliberate.

Then a low voice, close to the fabric.

“Riva.”

Not Aunt Mina.

Not Kael.

My heart jumped into my throat.

I held my breath.

The voice spoke again, softer, like it didn’t want to be heard by anyone else.

“I know you’re in there. Don’t pretend.”

I recognized it now.

Liora.

My skin went cold.

I stayed silent.

The canvas shifted as if she leaned closer. “You denied him,” she whispered. “Good girl.”

My stomach twisted with disgust.

“Do you know what happens to girls who make Alphas look weak?” she asked.

I didn’t answer.

A soft laugh. “I’m not here to threaten you,” she said, and the lie in her voice was almost impressive. “I’m here to offer you a way out.”

My pulse pounded.

A way out.

She continued, voice sweet. “You can leave tonight. Before dawn. I can make sure no one follows. No one asks questions.”

I clenched my hands into fists.

“And what do you get?” I asked, and the moment the words left my mouth I hated myself.

Because speaking meant she’d won.

Liora’s laugh was quiet. “Smart,” she murmured. “You get to live. I get to keep my future clean.”

My throat tightened. “Your future.”

“Yes,” she said simply. “Kael’s future. The pack’s future. Peace.”

Peace.

The same word my aunt had made me say earlier.

It tasted like ash.

Liora’s voice softened again. “You felt it, didn’t you? The bond. You can’t hide it from someone like me.”

I stayed silent.

She took my silence as confirmation. “You don’t want that kind of attention,” she said. “You don’t want to be the reason wolves start dying. Let me help you disappear.”

Disappear.

The word hit me harder than her threat.

Because it sounded possible.

Because it sounded like relief.

And because it sounded like surrender.

I forced my voice steady. “Go away.”

Liora sighed like I was exhausting. “Think about it,” she said. “Because if you don’t take my offer, Kael will make his own choice.”

My stomach dropped. “What choice?”

Liora’s voice turned cold for the first time. “He’ll reject you.”

The word slammed into my chest.

Reject.

It wasn’t a rumor. It wasn’t a vague fear. It was a real thing with rules. With consequences.

A fated mate rejection wasn’t just a breakup. It was a public wound. A statement.

You are not worth the bond.

My throat burned. “He can’t.”

Liora’s laugh was quiet and sharp. “He can do whatever he wants under a full moon,” she said. “And the elders will let him if it keeps the packs from tearing each other apart.”

The bond pulsed hard, like it reacted to the word reject the way my body did.

Liora’s voice softened again, almost kind. “So decide,” she whispered. “Leave on your feet… or stay and be rejected on your knees.”

Then her footsteps retreated, light and unhurried.

I sat frozen, my hands clenched so tight my fingers ached.

The tent felt too quiet.

The bond felt too loud.

Reject you.

My chest hurt in slow, steady pulses.

Like a warning.

Like a countdown.

Outside, the summit fires crackled.

Somewhere beyond the tents, wolves laughed like nothing was wrong.

And somewhere in the distance, I felt Kael again—tense, controlled, and suddenly colder than before.

As if he’d already started making his choice.