CRESCENT BOUND

The Trap of Fate

Kaelen's POV

I woke up a mess.

Not from lack of sleep—I hadn't slept at all. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that photograph. Elara, maybe five years old, standing beside a woman with the same eyes and the same silver locket. And behind them, his hand on the woman's shoulder, smiling like he belonged there—my father. Roderick Blackwood.

I'd stared at that photo for a while before I left her house. Questions filled my head.

How did my father know Elara's mother?

And why did Elara have no idea who he was?

I stood at my locker now, my hands braced against the metal, my head bowed. The hallway was filling up around me, students laughing and talking like it was any other day. I hated them for it. I hated how easy everything was for them.

I'd watched the whole thing with Lila. Every word. Every shove. Every cruel, cutting remark.

And part of me—the part I didn't want to acknowledge—had hated it.

Not because I cared about Elara. I didn't. I couldn't. She was a human. An outsider. A problem my father had ordered me to stay away from.

But the way Lila had grabbed her arm. The way she'd yanked at that locket. The way Elara had flinched, just for a second, before something else flickered in her eyes—something sharp and defiant—had made my chest tighten.

I didn't know why. I didn't want to know why.

I pulled open my locker, expecting nothing. Instead, a piece of paper fluttered out and landed at my feet.

I bent down and picked it up. It was folded neatly, crisp and white, nothing written on the outside. I unfolded it.

"Protect her, and you die. Walk away while you still can."

My blood ran cold.

I crumpled the paper in my fist, my jaw tight.

Protect her, and you die.

Whoever wrote this didn't know me. Because threats didn't scare me. My father had threatened me my whole life. Lila threatened me daily. The pack threatened me with exile, with death, with the loss of everything I'd ever known.

And none of it had ever stopped me from doing what I wanted.

But this—this was different. This wasn't about me. This was about her.

I didn't know why that mattered. I didn't know why the thought of something happening to Elara Vance made my chest ache in a way I couldn't explain. I didn't know why I'd carried her home, why I'd stayed and watched her sleep.

She's nothing, I told myself. She's a human. She's a threat. She's the reason my father is watching me like a hawk.

The shatter of glass broke me out of my thoughts.

I looked up just in time to see Lila stumbling backward, her hands flying to her face, blood streaming down her cheek. The fluorescent light above her had exploded—glass everywhere, students scattering, chaos erupting in the hallway.

And Elara stood frozen in the middle of it all, her hand pressed against her locket, her face pale as death.

I watched as Lila pointed a trembling finger at her, shrieking accusations. Watched as Elara shook her head, her voice cracking, her eyes wide with what looked like genuine terror.

Lila stormed toward me, her face a mess of blood and tears, her voice shrill and desperate.

"Kaelen! Look at what that girl did to me!"

I didn't look at her. I couldn't. My eyes were fixed on Elara. On the way, she gathered her things and hurried down the hallway, her steps quick but steady.

Lila grabbed my arm, her nails digging in. "She's dangerous! You saw what happened! You have to tell your father—you have to—"

"Go to the nurse," I said flatly, pulling my arm free. "Get that cleaned up."

"But—"

"I said go."

She flinched like I'd hit her. For a second, I saw something in her eyes—hurt, confusion, and fear. But I didn't care. I'd never cared. Lila was a contract, a promise made between our families to keep the pack strong. I'd never loved her. I'd never even liked her. She was just... there. A duty I had to fulfill. A face I had to keep.

Oh, Moon Goddess, I thought bitterly. Rescue me.

Lila turned and stalked away, her heels clicking against the floor. I watched her go, then looked down at the crumpled note in my hand.

Then, I stuffed it in my pocket and started walking.

I found Elara at the end of the hallway, just outside the class. She was standing still, her back to me, her hand pressed against her chest—against the locket.

I stopped a few feet away, my heart pounding in a way I didn't understand.

And then she turned.

Our eyes met.

The world stopped.

I saw her breath catch.

She doesn't remember, I realized. She doesn't remember last night. The wolf. The fight, carrying her home.

You wanted this, I reminded myself. You wanted her to forget. It's safer this way.

But it didn't feel safer. It felt like a lie.

Elara walked past me without a word, her eyes dropping to the floor, her steps steady and measured. She pushed open the door to the classroom and disappeared inside.

I stood there for a long moment, the crumpled note burning in my pocket.

Then the bell rang.

Biology was the last class of the day. I sat in the back, arms crossed, barely listening as Mrs. Hastings droned on about cell division and genetic inheritance. My eyes have been on Elara the whole day.

"Alright, class," Mrs. Hastings announced, clapping her hands together. "I'm assigning your semester project. You'll be working in pairs."

A collective groan went through the room. I didn't bother to join in. I didn't care who I was paired with. I'd probably end up doing all the work anyway.

"I've already chosen the pairs," Mrs. Hastings continued, consulting a clipboard. "When I call your names, please move to sit with your partner."

She started reading off names. I tuned her out, staring at the window, watching the trees sway in the wind.

"Kaelen Blackwood and Elara Vance."

My head snapped up.

What?

It seemed my carefully laid plans to stay far away from her had just been irrevocably swept aside by nature—or perhaps by the Moon Goddess herself.