Moonbound

Chapter One

The winding road into Briarmeade Bayou was silent, save for the hum of the SUV’s tires and the occasional croak of frogs echoing from the dense swamp. Trees stretched like arms on either side, their moss-draped branches filtering the sunlight into slanted rays that shimmered over the still, murky waters.

Maya Rivera leaned her forehead against the window of the passenger seat, her breath fogging the glass as she stared at the blur of cypress trees and tangled underbrush.

The deeper they drove, the more the world seemed to fade away behind them. Civilization was a memory now. Here, in this godforsaken place, wolves ruled—and peace was a fragile illusion.

She rubbed her clammy hands over the fabric of her dress, trying to calm the storm inside her. But the anxiety wouldn’t let up. Her stomach twisted itself into knots the closer they got to the meeting site.

She wasn’t just nervous—she was scared. Not for herself. Not exactly. But for what today could mean.

For what it might wake up.

“You don’t have to go in,” Liam said from the driver’s seat, his voice low, unreadable. “You can stay in the car.”

Maya turned her head toward him. Her brother’s profile was rigid—jaw clenched, brows furrowed in thought.

The collar of his black button-up shirt was uncomfortably tight around his neck, the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms, revealing the inked veins of his pack’s crest: the mark of the Rivers bloodline.

One hand on the steering wheel, he dragged his other hand through his mop of messy brown curls, one thing they had in common, and that was where it ended.

Liam had eyes so dark that they drew you in, eyes that held secrets so deep, one would be scared to get drawn in.

She shook her head. “I’m not a kid, Liam. And I’m not fragile.”

“I didn’t say you were,” he replied, eyes never leaving the road.

"But this meeting isn’t just symbolic. It’s personal. It’s dangerous. You don’t know these wolves like I do.”

“No,” she murmured, “but I know you. And if you say peace is possible, then I believe it.”

Liam didn’t respond. Not immediately. A pause stretched between them like fog.

“I believe peace is necessary,” he finally said.

"That doesn’t mean they want it. Especially not him.”

Maya didn’t have to ask who he was.

Lucien Thawne. Alpha of the Lyncs Pack. The man her father tried—and failed—to destroy. The man who lost his parents, his family, his entire bloodline in the fire that Alpha Remus Rivera had started.

The man who, by all accounts, was cold, ruthless, and held onto vengeance like a second skin.

The SUV pulled to a stop in front of a weathered wooden building nestled in the trees. The Lyncs’ meeting hall stood elevated on stilts, its slanted roof casting deep shadows over the mossy steps leading to the entrance.

Two tall wolves flanked the double doors, both dressed in dark tactical gear. Their eyes—wolf-sharp and golden—followed Maya as she stepped out of the car.

Heat wrapped around her like a second skin, thick and smothering. Her hair, which she had carefully straightened that morning, was already beginning to curl in the humidity.

She took a steadying breath and wiped her palms on her dress.

“Okay,” Liam said, straightening the lapels of his coat. “Rules.”

Maya gave him a look. “You rehearsed this?”

“Don’t speak unless you have to. Scratch that. I know you, Mar, so don’t speak unless you are spoken to.”

Maya scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Liam ignored her and continued, “Don’t stare. Stay behind me. And under no circumstances do you react to anything Lucien says or does. He’ll test you. They all will.”

Maya arched a brow. “I thought this was a peace treaty, not a trial.”

Liam’s lips twitched at the corner in humor. “In this world, there’s not much of a difference.”

The third door of the SUV opened as Tyler emerged, Liam’s beta and Maya’s childhood friend. He gave her a reassuring nod, then adjusted the pack of documents in his hands.

“Ready?” Liam asked.

Maya didn’t answer. Her pulse was thundering in her ears.

As they stepped onto the wooden steps of the meeting house, Maya felt it. A pulse—soft, subtle, but impossible to ignore—thrum beneath her feet. Like the heartbeat of the land itself had suddenly woken up.

She stopped. Her breath caught in her throat. Eyes closing.

A sudden heat flared through her chest, coiling down into her stomach. Her skin prickled in awareness, and her ears rang. Her eyes fluttered shut, and her hands trembled at her sides.

Then—

“He’s close.”

The voice came from nowhere.

No, not from nowhere. From inside.

Maya’s eyes flew open. She gasped, clutching Liam’s arm.

He turned immediately. “Maya? What’s wrong?”

She stared at him, barely able to form the words. “I heard her.”

Liam stared blankly. “Heard who?”

“My wolf,” she whispered. She spoke. She said," He’s close.”

Liam stiffened. Tyler paused at the door.

“That’s impossible,” Liam muttered. “You’ve never—”

“I know what I heard.” Maya’s voice cracked. “She’s awake.”

The air seemed to thicken around them. Even the guards at the door exchanged glances. The moment was heavy—too heavy.

Liam swallowed and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “Then stay close. Whatever’s happening… We’ll face it together.”

Together.

They had each other’s backs. It had always been like that ever since Annalise, Liam’s mum, died. The only person who had ever truly shown them selfless love, after that painful death, things took a downturn. Liam’s dad became even worse, a shell of himself, seeing that the only woman who had ever truly loved him was gone.

Did Maya blame him? Yes and No. He started all of this after all.

Maya was scared. Something inside her had just shifted, awakened, and the feelings it had unleashed were just beginning.

The voice—hers, yet not hers—was gone as quickly as it came, but the echo of it clung to Maya’s bones. Her pulse thundered in her ears, her breath hitched, and her wolf—silent for 22 years—stirred again. She wasn’t just awake. She was alert. Watching.

Waiting.

The guards said nothing, but one of them inhaled deeply through his nose and narrowed his eyes at Maya. She felt exposed under his gaze, as if the secrets buried in her blood had just surfaced for all to see.

Liam recovered quickly. He squeezed her hand tighter, grounding her.

“Brace up Mar” he murmured under his breath.

"We’re walking into a room full of wolves who want reasons not to trust us. Don’t give them one.”

Maya nodded mutely, but the storm inside her refused to calm.

They stepped into the meeting hall. It was cooler inside, lit by soft lamplights and tall windows letting in the bayou’s green-gold glow. The long wooden table stretched across the room like a war altar. Elders from both packs sat along either side, their expressions a mask of neutrality.

And there he was.

At the head of the table, like a King.

Lucien Thawne.

The air seemed to pull taut around him, like a bowstring. He was tall—taller than she expected—with broad shoulders and a presence that swallowed the room. He wore a black shirt rolled to the elbows, revealing strong forearms inked with runes she didn’t recognize. His midnight-black hair was swept back from his face, unruly but deliberate, and his jaw was shadowed with stubble that made him look every bit the wild thing he was rumored to be.

But it was his eyes that made Maya’s heart stop.

Emerald green. Sharp, arresting, electric.

They locked onto hers across the room. She felt it—not just a gaze, but a pull. A tether snapped into place between them, violent and instantly. Her knees weakened. Her breath fled her chest.

And then, her wolf spoke again.

“There you are.”

Time slowed. The murmurs at the table fell away. Liam was saying something beside her, but she didn’t hear it. She could only hear the thrum of blood in her ears and the howl building in her soul.

Lucien’s expression shifted—just slightly—but she saw the change. The flare in his nostrils as he caught her scent. The flickers in his eyes.

And then,

“Mate.”

He didn’t say it out loud. But she saw the word form on his lips.

Her lips parted in shock. Her heart leaped into her throat.

Her wolf roared.

She didn’t need confirmation. She already knew.

Maya Rivera—daughter of the man who murdered Lucien’s family—was fated to be his mate.

He moved.

His chair scraped across the wooden floor as he stood. The elders went silent. Naomi, seated on his right, narrowed her eyes and tensed. Lucien stepped out from behind his chair and began walking down the length of the table, toward Maya.

The room held its breath.

Maya couldn’t move. She barely noticed that Tyler had taken a protective step toward her. All she could see was him, and the war in his eyes. Fire and fury. Hunger and horror.

He stopped just a foot away, the heat of his body brushing hers. She tilted her head up to meet his gaze, and the mate bond snapped fully into place. The surrounding air shimmered, alive with energy, ancient and primal.

For one breathless moment, it was just them. Everything else faded.

Lucien raised his hand slightly toward her face, her hair. She didn’t know.

She leaned in, drawn by him.

Desperate to feel him. His touch.

Then Liam stepped forward and said, “Alpha Lucien… meet my sister. Maya.”

Lucien’s eyes widened. His hand froze in the air. His expression shattered into something dark and unreadable. Anger, and frustration filled his eyes.

Then—

“No,” he whispered, stepping back. “No. No. No.”

Maya blinked, stunned.

Lucien backed away from her like she was poison.

“The Moon Goddess would never,” he hissed, his voice low and full of rage. “This is a mistake.”

Naomi stood sharply behind him. “Lucien—”

He ignored her. Spun on his heel.

And walked out.

Maya stared after him, stunned into silence.

Her wolf whimpered inside her. “He doesn’t want us.”

Liam exhaled slowly. “Well. That went well.”

Tyler stares in shock. “What the f**k just happened?”

He asks no one in particular. Meanwhile, Maya, reeling from shock, arousal, and anger, asked no one in particular.

“Did he just reject us?”