Luna's curse

Chapter 3 - mate

The forest was quiet, but something in the air had shifted.

I’d been wandering for hours, the weight of too many rules falling off my shoulders with every step I took deeper into the woods. But now… I could barely breathe. My chest was tight. My skin prickled. My wolf, Lyra, stirred restlessly inside me, her senses flaring with warning or was it wonder?

I didn’t know what it was, only that it was close.

I turned around slowly, heart pounding, eyes darting between the trees.

And then I felt it.

That pull.

It slammed into me like a shockwave like heat in my blood, like lightning across my skin. I staggered, grabbing at the nearest tree, the bark biting into my palm.

Something was coming.

Someone.

The scent found me next deep, wild, powerful. My lungs locked around it.

No. I shouldn’t be here. I wasn’t supposed to be here. If they found me if he found me

I turned

And I saw him.

Just beyond the trees, a figure emerged, tall and silent, eyes locked on mine like he’d walked through a thousand storms just to find me. His chest was rising fast. His lips parted slightly like he couldn’t believe I was real.

And in that moment, I knew.

He was my mate.

But instincts were faster than understanding.

I spun, shifting mid-motion, the bones in my body breaking and reshaping until Lyra took over. My white coat shimmered in the dark, bright against the trees, and without a second thought, we ran.

I didn’t look back.

Branches whipped past me. My paws pounded the ground like my heart pounded my ribs. But I could hear him behind me feel him his wolf right on my trail.Why was he chasing me?

Why couldn’t I stop running?

He was faster than I expected.

Too fast.

He caught up.

A blur of silver muscle slammed into me from the side, sending us tumbling across the forest floor in a whirlwind of snarling breath and tangled limbs. His weight pinned me down strong, unyielding but the moment his body met mine, he jerked back like he’d been scorched.

The wolfsbane.

His reaction was instant, visceral a shudder through his entire frame, a growl caught between pain and confusion.

And in that moment, something ancient and buried inside me fractured.

The bond flared like fire in my blood, but it didn’t settle it splintered. Cracked. As if fate itself had hesitated..

My skin burned as Lyra slipped away. And suddenly I was human again, kneeling in the dirt.

Naked.

I turned slightly, trying to hide myself, my hair falling in long waves over my shoulders, shielding most of my chest, but my back was bare. I crossed my arms, trying not to look at him. But I could feel his eyes on me.

“I’ve looked for you,” he said, his voice raw. “I’ve been looking for you.”

I swallowed hard.

“You shouldn’t have,” I whispered.

A sound snapped through the trees.

Footsteps.

Voices.

I stiffened.

No. No no no.

He turned toward the sound, but I was already backing away. My heart pounded again, this time with panic. I couldn’t be seen. Not here. Not like this.

I ran.

My body moved before my mind could scream at it to stop. I ducked beneath branches, leapt over roots, until I found cover behind a thick tree trunk. I turned, breathing hard and then I saw her.

The girl in the white ceremonial dress.

Mud on her hem. Leaves tangled in her hair. Her lips parted in a gasp, her eyes locked on him.

I didn’t need to hear what she said.

I could see it in her face.

Pain.

I looked at him one last time.

And I promised myse

lf right then I wouldn’t come back.

I ran.

And I didn’t stop until the forest swallowed me whole.