Chapter 12: Running From the Moon
722 Words
Dawn arrived without warmth.
A pale mist drifted through the forest, wrapping the trees in silence.
Selene had not slept.
She sat beneath the same ancient oak where she had hidden countless times as a child.
Its roots had always been her refuge.
When the village whispered.
When children refused to play with her.
When loneliness became too heavy to carry home.
She rested one hand against its weathered bark.
"I won't be back."
The words barely reached the air.
For the first time...
The forest offered no comfort.
She rose slowly.
There was nothing left to pack.
No home to return to.
No family waiting.
Everything she owned could be carried in a small satchel slung across her shoulder.
It wasn't much.
But neither had her life been.
Her fingers brushed the cloak still wrapped around her.
Lucian's.
She closed her eyes.
"I should leave this."
Instead...
She pulled it tighter around herself.
Just for a little longer.
Back at the Moon Temple, Lucian stood alone in the courtyard.
The village had begun to wake.
Smoke curled from chimneys.
Children's voices echoed faintly in the distance.
Life was trying to continue.
As though the previous night had never happened.
Only the c***k running across the temple floor insisted otherwise.
The High Priestess approached quietly.
"You're searching for answers."
"I'm searching for her."
She nodded.
"I know."
Lucian looked toward the forest.
"She thinks leaving will save me."
"It is what love often believes."
He frowned.
"And what does wisdom believe?"
The old woman smiled sadly.
"That love rarely listens to wisdom."
Selene reached the old boundary stone marking the edge of Ashwood's territory.
She had crossed it only once before.
She had been twelve.
The villagers found her before sunset and brought her back.
Not because they wanted her home.
Because they didn't want their curse wandering into someone else's land.
She had never forgotten that.
She placed one hand against the cold stone.
"So this is goodbye."
She stepped across.
Nothing happened.
Another step.
Still nothing.
Hope stirred inside her.
Maybe...
Maybe distance really could save him.
She took a third step.
Pain tore through her chest.
It was so sudden she cried out.
She dropped to one knee, gasping.
The silver thread stretched farther than she thought possible.
It had become almost invisible.
Yet it remained.
She forced herself to stand.
"If this is what it takes..."
Another step.
The pain returned.
Sharper.
Crueler.
Tears filled her eyes.
She kept walking.
Not because she was strong.
Because she loved him enough to keep hurting.
At that same moment...
Lucian stopped mid-stride.
His breath caught.
A sharp ache spread through his chest.
Not enough to weaken him.
Enough to warn him.
He closed his eyes.
The bond.
He could feel it.
Not its direction.
Its desperation.
He looked toward the eastern forest.
"She's leaving."
Elder Rowan had just entered the courtyard.
"My Alpha?"
Lucian opened his eyes.
"I don't know how."
"But I know."
The High Priestess lowered her gaze.
"The farther apart two true mates become..."
She hesitated.
"...the more the bond suffers."
Lucian's expression hardened.
"And if they keep going?"
"I have never seen anyone find out."
Silence settled between them.
Not because there was nothing to say.
Because neither of them wanted to imagine the answer.
Lucian reached for the cloak hanging across his shoulders.
His hand met empty air.
A faint smile touched his face.
"She still has it."
The High Priestess noticed.
"You're smiling."
"She intended to leave it behind."
"You know that?"
"I do."
"But she couldn't."
For the first time since the bells had rung...
Hope appeared in his eyes.
Not because the curse had weakened.
Because she had carried a piece of him with her.
He turned toward the forest.
"I'm bringing her home."
The High Priestess didn't stop him.
She only watched as he disappeared between the trees.
Then she lifted her face toward the fading moon.
"Great Moon..."
she whispered,
"If this is the path You have chosen..."
Her voice broke.
"...please let love be enough."
Far beyond Ashwood...
Selene took another painful step.
The silver thread shimmered beneath the morning sun.
Neither wolf could see it.
Yet both carried its weight.
And somewhere...
Beyond the reach of either of them...
Someone smiled.
As though the game had finally begun.
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