BLOOD MOON

Chapter 13

Haliya

Kieran saved me from his guards. Pulled them off me before they could finish what they started. He saved me from death. But I wasn't grateful. I didn’t feel relief. I didn’t feel safe.

If anything, I would’ve preferred they killed me—at least then I wouldn’t have to be stuck in this place again, trapped in his silence, his half-truths, his so-called protection.

“Why can’t you just trust me and stay put?” he snapped, frustrated.

I glared at him, still panting, my side burning where their fangs had torn into me. My body ached from wounds and scratches painting my skin but nothing compared to the fire inside my chest.

“I want to see my family,” I spat. “To know if they’re okay. If they’re surviving.”

He didn’t answer right away, jaw clenched, eyes dark.

“You told me they’re alive… but barely. What does that mean, Kieran?” My voice cracked. “Where are they?”

“I don’t know, Hali.”

Bullshit.

I narrowed my eyes at him, fury bubbling in my chest. He knows. He has to. Why else would he say they were struggling? You don’t just throw words like that around unless you’re sure.

“Liar!”

My voice echoed down the sterile hallway.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught one of the nurses glaring at me. Right. I almost forgot... we were in the pack’s hospital. My wounds from the wolf attack had dragged us here, the scent of antiseptic now stinging my nose more than the actual pain.

The nurse looked at me like I’d just screamed at a king. Maybe I had. Kieran might as well be one. He could be their Alpha for all I know.

And here I was, yelling at him like he wasn’t the one in charge.

But I didn’t care.

"Kieran, I swear to the heavens. I will not accept a liar of a mate. I reject our bond. I reject you!" I hissed once the nurse left us alone.

His eyes flickered with something... pain, maybe... but I didn’t flinch. Let him hurt. He’s been toying with me all this time. Manipulating my reality, gaslighting me into swallowing every half-truth he drops like breadcrumbs.

“Hali,” he said firmly, almost pleading, “you can’t say that. Rejecting a mate is a violation of the laws set by the Moon Goddess.”

I scoffed. “I don’t care. Let the Moon Goddess punish me if she wants. I don’t care! I hate you. I hate you!”

The words came out louder than I meant, but I didn’t take them back. My chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, my body shaking with more than just pain. It was rage. Despair. Grief.

I hated that I was stuck here. Hated that he saved me. Hated that some part of me still felt something when he looked at me like that.

"I won’t let you reject our bond. Not a chance, little flame.”

Kieran’s eyes turned a fierce gold, glowing with barely contained fury. Before I could move, he crossed the room in a flash, and suddenly both of my wrists were pinned above my head, trapped against the cold bed frame.

“You’re forcing me to mark you!” he growled.

My heart slammed in my chest. My eyes widened in horror.

What is he planning to do?

“No!” I gasped, struggling beneath his grip. “You can’t—no one can force-mark a mate! That’s against every law!”

He didn’t budge.

I know Kieran isn’t entirely bad but he’s not entirely good either. Still, this? This is something I didn’t think he was capable of. Force-marking me?

My chest tightened, eyes stinging with tears. How could I have been so wrong about him?He’s not saving me… he’s trying to own me.

"You can't mark me! I’ve already rejected you!" I shouted, voice cracking.

But… nothing happened. I didn’t feel the bond sever. No pain. No break. Then it hit me.

A rejection doesn’t work unless both mates agree. It has to be mutual. That’s why nothing happened. That’s why I’m still bound to him.

My voice trembled, but I forced myself to speak. "Please, Kieran. Just reject the bond. Let me go. We’ll live our lives separately. I don’t want this. I don’t want you. Can't you see that?"

Kieran’s jaw clenched, muscles twitching with restraint. His eyes burned gold, but this time, I didn’t just see fury. I saw pain too. Real, raw pain. But even that didn’t stop him.

"No," he growled. "I won’t reject you, Haliya. I don’t care how much you say you hate me. I don’t care if you think I’m the villain in your story."

He stepped closer, his presence overpowering, swallowing the space between us like a storm.

"You are mine. Chosen by the Moon Goddess, bound by blood and fate. I’ll burn the world before I let you walk away."

My heart thundered in my chest, fear and confusion twisting inside me like a vice.

"You will come to understand why I did what I did," he continued, tone softer this time. "But rejecting you? Never. So scream, hate me, curse my name but I’ll never let you go."

He released my wrists slowly, but his eyes never left mine, locking me in place with the sheer force of his will.

"You can try to run again, little flame. But know this... wherever you go, I’ll be right behind you."

My chest heaved, lungs straining like I’d been holding my breath since the moment he pinned me down. I couldn’t look away from him... those golden eyes, once so unreadable, now brimming with something I couldn’t name. Rage. Hurt. Possession. All tangled into one.

But then... he backed away.

Slow. Controlled. As if pulling himself from something he deeply wanted but knew he shouldn’t touch.

My hands dropped from the bedframe, fingers trembling. My heart raced inside my chest, a war drum of fear and disbelief. But when he stepped back fully, putting space between us, a small sigh of relief escaped me.

He didn’t mark me.

Not yet.

Not like that.

He turned his back, running a hand through his hair, and for a second, he looked anything but powerful. He looked… tired.

“I won’t mark you like this,” he muttered, almost more to himself than to me. “Not while you hate me.”

My throat felt raw, and I blinked away the tears clouding my vision. A part of me wanted to yell again—to curse him, to spit every bitter word. But nothing came out. I just sat there, breathing hard, the pressure in my chest slowly easing.

I don’t trust him. I might never. But at least… for now… he didn’t cross that line.

Still, I couldn’t help the shiver that passed through me. Because that line? It’s getting thinner every time.

"I will hate you forever!"

That was all I could say. My voice cracked, barely louder than a whisper, but it carried all the weight I felt in my chest.

I thought he'd snap again. Maybe lash out, rage like he did before, or threaten me with more of that Alpha force. But instead… he nodded. Just once.

"I'll check if you're okay to be released," he murmured. "Please don’t run away again."

Then he turned, his broad shoulders somehow slumped, his steps slower than I’d ever seen them. No growls. No commands. No forced smiles or cryptic lines. Just… silence.

I watched him go, uncertain how to feel. I didn’t forgive him. Not even close. But something in me paused.

Maybe he’s guilty. Maybe he’s sad. Or maybe he’s just tired of trying to hold someone who refuses to be kept. Still, it’s too late. He already ruined whatever chance we had.

I curled up on the bed, pulling the thin blanket tighter around me, wishing it could shield me from this twisted bond.

If he’s trying to understand me, trying to be better… Why does it still hurt so much to look at him?