The Forgotten Luna

9 - The Bond, Nearly Broken

[Atlas P.O.V.]

The pack grounds were vibrant with activity. Beneath the moonlit sky, softened by strands of fairy lights and delicate silver lanterns strung across the clearing, the world shimmered like a dream. But I wasn’t at ease. Every step I took through the pack, surrounded by warriors, Elders, and allies, had me feeling detached. It was as if my soul hovered just behind me.

Tonight, Astrid would be named Luna.

It should have felt like the pinnacle of my life. And yet, something gnawed at me, an unease I couldn’t shake.

She’s close, Bane muttered while pacing. Too quiet, though. Juno isn’t stirring.

I adjusted the cuffs of my suit jacket, custom made for the occasion. My eyes scanned the crowd, catching sight of my father, looking proud. My sisters giggled nearby, dressed in matching white dresses. Liliana stood off to the side, eyes narrowed.

Everything was perfect, too perfect.

“Where is she?” I asked Michael quietly.

“In the prep room with the seamstress,” Michael answered immediately. “Rhea is with her.”

“Good.”

Still, Bane growled. Not with words this time, just a low warning.

Then the wind shifted and I caught her scent, wild honey and ashes. My heart surged. A moment later, the doors of the pack hall opened, and Astrid stepped out, walking towards the altar.

She was breathtaking. Her silver gown shimmered like stardust in the moonlight, hugging her curves, trailing behind her. Her dark hair fell in waves, adorned with delicate pins, and her eyes found mine and didn’t look away.

Time stopped, just like my father said it would on my Luna’s ceremony day.

The mate bond pulsed through me with a euphoric feeling. Our breathing synced, aligned, and for a heartbeat, there was no crowd, no ceremony, only her.

Then her foot faltered.

Her hand gripped the railing. I moved instinctively, rushing forward just as her skin lost its flush. Her lips parted to speak, but no sound came.

“Astrid?” I called out, but she didn’t answer.

Her body convulsed once, then again, then she collapsed in my arms. The crowd around me screamed.

Bane howled, vicious and panicked. She’s dying!

“No,” I growled, holding her tighter to my chest. “No, no no… someone get Doctor Voss!”

Astrid’s dress, beautiful as it was, radiated heat like a furnace. The fabric seared against my arms as if doused in acid. I tore at it, exposing her skin while shielding her from the curious eyes of the pack. Underneath, her pale skin was mottled red and violet, as though something inside her was tearing her apart.

“Astrid… look at me,” I whispered, pleading. Her eyes fluttered open, barely. “Stay awake, stay with me…”

Her lips trembled. “Atlas…”

And then she went still.

“Move!” Doctor Voss, a woman in her late twenties with sharp gray eyes and silvered blond hair, shoved her way through the crowd, two nurses from the clinic at her side. “Clear a path and stop gawking at your Luna!”

I laid Astrid gently on the grass, trembling. “She was fine. She was…”

“Poison,” Voss said instantly as her eyes fell on Astrid’s form. Her gloved hand moved quickly, checking her pulse. “Some kind of contact toxin.”

“Can you save her?” I demanded, hearing my own voice crack.

Voss didn’t answer. She was already injecting something into her and shouting orders. “Get her to the clinic, now! I need a full toxicology team on this. Clear the clinic, no one goes in or out.”

“I’m coming with her.”

“Of course you are. She’s your mate.”

The bond was still there, still intact, still pulsing. She wasn’t dead, but her body was cold and limp.

I picked up Astrid and followed the doctor. Behind me, the pack erupted into chaos, guards forming lines, Elders demanding explanations, and guests whispering. I ignored them all. Rhea was close behind me with tears staining her cheeks as we carried her to the pack hospital.

“This isn’t natural,” Rhea whispered as we reached the sterile environment of the hospital. “This was planned.”

“I know,” My voice was grim. “And I am going to find out who planned it.”

Hours passed like centuries.

I stood outside the medical wing, arms crossed, pacing the hall. Michael hadn’t left my side, neither had my father or Rhea. The entire pack was on high alert. Patrols had doubled. Every entrance and guest had been searched.

Inside, Doctor Voss was working to stabilize Astrid. I had heard the machine that read her vitals flatline, twice.

“I don’t understand,” Michael said as he rubbed his temples. “The poison was in her dress?”

“She started seizing after it soaked into her skin,” I muttered. “I didn’t feel it. Not until it was too late.”

“How is she alive?”

That was the question.

Bane had gone silent, too afraid and angry to speak to me. I could feel his pain, his desperation for Astrid to survive clawing at the inside of my mind.

“She shouldn’t be alive.” The voice came from behind us.

I turned. Doctor Voss stood in the doorway, her complexion pale, and she looked exhausted.

“What do you mean?”

Voss stepped forward, clipboard in hand. She didn’t read from it, probably didn’t need to anymore. “The toxin that was in the dress was designed to kill. Fast. Something in her blood slowed the spread, burned through it. It’s almost as if the poisoned was neutralized by… magic.”

I froze, Doctor Voss knew she was a hybrid. “Magic?”

Voss nodded grimly. “She’s a hybrid, isn’t she? Witch and wolf?”

None of us said anything at first, but Rhea stepped forward first. “She’s what is called an Eclipse Wolf.”

“That explains everything.”

“Can you keep her alive?” I interrupted, asking the question I almost dreaded the answer to.

“I can,” Voss replied. “But she’s in a coma. Her body is healing, but it’s going to take time. Days, weeks… we don’t know. Her vitals are stable now, but I’ve never seen a case like this.”

My footsteps lead me to the door. “I want to see her.”

Doctor Voss gave me a warning look, but stepped aside, allowing me to enter.

Inside, the room was dimly lit. Astrid lay beneath the white sheets, her skin pale but peaceful, her long lashes casting shadows across her cheeks. Her hands were cold when I took one in mine.

“You stayed,” I whispered, feeling my heart break all over again.

“I was supposed to protect you,” I brushed her hair from her forehead. “I promised I would.”

I could still feel the bond, but it was faint and flickering. I could feel it just beneath the surface. “Come back to me, please.” I begged softly.