Bound by the Moon

Bound by the Moon – Part 2

The Bond Chosen by Moonlight

The world was still, the air trembling with the echo of something ancient and alive. My heart raced so hard it felt like it would burst from my chest. The moonlight painted the clearing in silver, and Kael’s eyes those fierce, storm-gray eyes reflected every ounce of light and darkness in the night.

I couldn’t move. My breath came in short, broken gasps, and yet… I couldn’t look away.

Breathe, he said softly, voice low and rough, the kind of sound that settled under your skin and refused to leave.

I—I am, I whispered, though the truth was, I wasn’t. I was barely holding myself together.

He stepped closer, slow, cautious, like he was approaching something fragile. And maybe he was. My body trembled, torn between the instinct to run and the pull to stay. Every step he took felt like gravity shifting, drawing me toward him.

I didn’t mean for this to happen, he said, his gaze flicking to the mark glowing faintly on my wrist the mark that hadn’t been there minutes ago. A thin crescent shimmered under my skin, pulsing softly like a heartbeat.

What… what is this? I managed to ask, my voice trembling.

Kael’s jaw tightened. It’s the bond.

The bond? I repeated, shaking my head. You mean

The moon chose, he interrupted, voice heavy with something I couldn’t name. It doesn’t care about pack law, about bloodlines. When the moon claims, it binds.

I took a step back, my pulse thundering in my ears. No. No, that’s notthis isn’t possible. I’m not even one of you.

You are now. His words were final, unyielding, and terrifying.

A rush of wind swept through the clearing, carrying the scent of pine and storm. The forest seemed to hum around us, alive with invisible eyes. Something deeper than fear stirred inside me a sense that the world I knew had already slipped away.

Kael looked away briefly, as if struggling with himself. You shouldn’t have been here tonight. You shouldn’t have seen the shift.

I didn’t mean to, I said quickly. I was just....

Curious, he finished for me, a faint, knowing smirk flickering across his face before fading. You humans always are.

The word humans cut deeper than I expected. So that’s what I am to you now? Something different? Something lesser?

His eyes softened then, a flash of guilt breaking through the hardened expression. No. You’re… something I wasn’t supposed to find.

The silence between us thickened, heavy with things neither of us could say. I wanted to demand answers, to scream that I hadn’t asked for this but before I could, Kael’s body went rigid. His head tilted, nostrils flaring.

What is it? I whispered.

Rogues, he said, the word sharp as steel.

My stomach dropped. What do you mean rogues?

He turned to me, eyes glowing faintly under the moon. They’ve been tracking me for days. They must’ve caught my scent when I... it He stopped himself, but the unfinished thought said enough. When he shifted.

A growl tore through the forest before I could speak again. Low, guttural, and close.

Kael’s hand shot out, grabbing mine. Run.

We darted into the trees, my heart slamming against my ribs. Branches tore at my clothes as we weaved through the dense forest. I stumbled more than once, but his grip never loosened. Even through the chaos, the warmth of his hand against mine sent sparks racing up my arm.

Another growl echoed, closer this time. Kael cursed under his breath. They’re faster than I thought.

Then let me go! I gasped. You’ll move faster without me!

He stopped abruptly, pulling me behind a tree. His face was inches from mine, breath ragged. I’m not leaving you.

Why? You don’t even know me!

His expression darkened, eyes flicking to the mark on my wrist. Because now, I do.

Before I could reply, the sound of snapping branches shattered the night. Three figures emerged from the shadows tall, broad, eyes glowing amber. Rogues. Their scent hit me wild, metallic, wrong.

Kael stepped forward, shielding me with his body. Stay behind me, he said, voice suddenly deeper, more primal.

One of the rogues snarled. The Alpha’s runaway finally marked a mate, he taunted, his grin sharp and cruel. How touching.

Leave her out of this, Kael growled, the sound vibrating through the air.

Can’t, another rogue sneered. The bond makes her valuable.

Before I could blink, the first rogue lunged. Kael met him halfway, their collision echoing through the forest. I stumbled backward, hitting the ground, watching in terror as fur burst from Kael’s skin mid-motion. His body shifted, bones snapping, reshaping. The moonlight caught his silver-gray coat as he landed on all fours, snarling.

The fight was chaos

fast, brutal, silent except for growls and the sickening thud of impact. The rogues moved like shadows, but Kael was faster, stronger. Still, there were three of them.

Kael! I cried, unable to stop myself.

One rogue broke from the fight, turning toward me. His teeth gleamed in the dark. I scrambled to my feet, grabbing a fallen branch, though I knew it wouldn’t help. He lunged then froze midair as Kael slammed into him, throwing him aside.

The world blurred. I felt heat at my wrist the mark glowing brighter. Then a strange, invisible force pulsed outward from my chest, a shockwave that sent the remaining rogues staggering back.

Kael turned, eyes wide even in wolf form. The rogues, sensing something they didn’t understand, hesitated then fled into the shadows.

For a long moment, the only sound was my breathing. Then Kael shifted back, kneeling on the forest floor, sweat and blood glistening on his skin.

What… was that? I whispered.

He looked at me like he’d never seen anything like me before. You shouldn’t have been able to do that.

I didn’t do anything! I said, my voice trembling.

He stood slowly, eyes burning with a mix of fear and wonder. You did. The bond… it responded to your fear.

My knees weakened, and I sank to the ground. I don’t want this, I whispered, voice breaking. I never asked for any of this.

Kael crouched before me, his hand hovering near my face but not touching. Neither did I, he said quietly. But now, we have no choice. The moon has bound us, and the rogues won’t stop until they break that bond or claim it.

My chest tightened. What happens now?

He glanced up at the moon, then back at me. Now, he said softly, we survive the night.

The forest was silent again, but the silence wasn’t peaceful anymore. It was a warning, a promise, and a question all at once.

And as Kael reached out and finally brushed his fingers against mine, a shiver ran through me. Not of fear but of recognition.

Something ancient and unbreakable had awakened between us. Something neither of us could ever escape.

The night air shimmered like it was alive, wrapping around us with a weight that pressed on my chest. The moon’s light painted Kael’s skin in silver, making him look almost unreal a creature carved from both shadow and starlight. My pulse raced, every beat echoing in the quiet that followed, as if my heart itself recognized something my mind couldn’t yet understand.

I should have been afraid. Every instinct screamed that I should run, that I should break whatever force tied me to him. But my body refused to move. The more I tried to pull away, the deeper the invisible tether between us pulled me back a pull that wasn’t just physical, but something far deeper.

Kael’s eyes met mine, and the world seemed to narrow until there was nothing else no forest, no danger, no moon only him. A storm brewed behind his gaze, equal parts hunger and regret. I could feel the turmoil radiating from him, like a fire he couldn’t put out.

He reached for me, hesitated, then finally brushed his thumb across the mark on my wrist the mark that now burned with soft lunar light. “You feel it too,” he murmured, his voice rough with something I couldn’t name.

I nodded, unable to find words. My voice would’ve betrayed me anyway, trembling the way my heart did.

This isn’t just the bond, he said, almost to himself. It’s the beginning of something the moon never intended.

The wind shifted then, carrying with it the scent of pine and something darker —danger. Somewhere in the distance, a howl broke through the silence, followed by another, closer this time. The pack was near.

Panic spiked in my chest. They’re coming.

Yes, he replied, stepping closer, his presence both a shield and a threat. And they’ll kill anyone who stands in their way. Especially you.

He said it like it hurt him to admit it. And yet, beneath the warning, there was a promise one I didn’t understand but could feel in my bones.

I should have fled. I should have begged him to let me go.

Instead, I whispered, Then we run together.

For a moment, the haunted look in his eyes broke replaced by something almost human. Hope, fragile and fleeting. He gave a single nod, the muscles in his jaw tightening.

Then he turned, pulling me with him, deeper into the forest where shadows swallowed the light. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, each step drawing me further from everything I knew… and closer to everything I was destined for.

The trees blurred around us, silvered by moonlight, and the air grew colder, sharper. Yet somehow, with Kael’s hand wrapped around mine, I felt the faintest warmth the kind that could burn or save me.

When we finally stopped, the forest was quiet again, but it wasn’t peace that lingered it was the weight of something binding, pulsing, eternal. Kael looked at me as though he saw not just who I was, but who I could become.

His voice was low when he spoke again. The moon has marked you, Aria. You can’t turn back now.

I swallowed hard, my breath fogging in the cold air. Then I won’t.

A faint, broken smile touched his lips the kind that held both pain and awe. “You have no idea what you’ve just promised.

Maybe not,”I said softly, but neither do you.

The forest trembled around us, and somewhere deep inside, I felt the bond settle a quiet, invisible chain that pulsed in rhythm with the moon above.

Something ancient and unbreakable had indeed awakened between us not love, not yet, but something dangerous enough to become it.

And as the moon’s light poured over us like a silent vow, I knew that whatever tomorrow brought blood, betrayal, or redemption we would face it bound by the same curse.

Bound by the same desire.

Bound by the same fate.

Bound by the moon.