Blood Moon Bound

Waking To The Monster

Sera's POV

I woke to warmth.

That was the first thing I noticed—how warm I was, wrapped in something soft and smelling of cedar and smoke and him. The second thing I noticed was that I had no idea where I was.

My eyes flew open.

I was in a bed. A massive bed, with fur blankets and silk sheets and pillows so soft I wanted to cry. The room around me was equally absurd—stone walls hung with tapestries, a fire roaring in a hearth big enough to stand in, windows that looked out on darkness and trees.

A den. I was in a wolf's den.

I sat up so fast my head spun. My clothes were gone, replaced by a thin shift that left nothing to the imagination. My dagger was missing. My boots, my coat, my weapons—all gone.

"Good. You're awake."

The voice came from the shadows by the fire, and my blood turned to ice.

He stepped forward, and the firelight caught him, and I forgot how to breathe.

He was even more terrifying up close. Taller than I'd thought—easily six-four, with shoulders that blocked out the light. His hair was black, loose around his face, and his features were so sharp they looked carved. But it was his eyes that held me. Amber, still, but warming to gold as he watched me, and the hunger in them made my stomach flip.

"Where am I?" My voice came out rough. "What did you do to me?"

He moved closer, and every instinct screamed at me to run. I stayed still. Running hadn't worked last time.

"My territory. My den. My bed." Each word was a brand. He stopped at the edge of the bed, looking down at me, and something flickered in his eyes. "You fainted. I carried you here."

"I didn't ask to be carried anywhere."

"Didn't need to ask." His head tilted, and I felt the weight of his gaze like a physical touch. "You're mine now. Your safety is my responsibility."

That word again. Mine.

"I'm not yours." I scrambled backward on the bed, putting as much distance between us as possible. "I'm not anyone's. I don't know who you think I am, but—"

"I know exactly who you are." He sat on the edge of the bed—casual, intimate, like he had every right to be there. "Sera Blackwood. Orphaned at twelve. Survived the vampire m******e at Raven's Hollow. Been running ever since, killing rogues for coin and sleeping with one eye open."

I stared at him, horrified. "How do you—"

"My name is Draven." He said it like I should recognize it. Like the name meant something. "Alpha of the Shadowmoon pack. And you, little hunter, are my fated mate."

The words hung in the air between us.

Fated mate.

I'd heard stories, of course. Every wolf-born child grew up on tales of the bond—the one person the moon chose for you, the one soul who would complete you, the one love that could never be broken. I'd never believed them. Never imagined they could apply to me.

"I'm not a wolf," I said. "I'm human. You've made a mistake."

Something shifted in his eyes. "You're not human."

"I've been human my whole life—"

"You're not." He leaned closer, and I caught that scent again—cedar and smoke and something darker. "I can smell it in your blood. The power sleeping there. You're Lunaris. The last of a line thought extinct."

Lunaris. The word meant nothing to me.

"You're wrong."

"I'm never wrong." His hand reached out, and before I could flinch, his fingers brushed my cheek. The touch sent lightning through my veins—heat and longing and terror all tangled together. "The bond doesn't lie. You felt it too, in the clearing. Felt me."

I had. Gods help me, I had. The moment he appeared, something in my chest had recognized him. Had reached for him even as my mind screamed danger.

"That doesn't mean anything."

"It means everything." His thumb traced my jaw, and I hated how my skin tingled under his touch. "It means you're mine to protect. Mine to keep. Mine to claim."

The word sent a shiver through me that I couldn't hide.

His eyes darkened. "You feel it. The pull. The need."

"No."

"Liar." He leaned closer, and his breath ghosted across my lips. "I can smell your arousal, little wolf. Can hear your heart racing. Can feel how much you want me to close this distance."

I should have pushed him away. Should have slapped him, stabbed him, run. Instead, I sat frozen, watching his mouth descend toward mine, every nerve in my body screaming for a touch I'd die to admit I wanted.

His lips were an inch away when a knock shattered the moment.

Draven's jaw tightened. "What?"

The door opened, and a young wolf appeared—barely nineteen, with bright eyes and a nervous smile. "Alpha, sorry to interrupt, but Caelan's back from the border patrol and—"

He stopped, finally noticing me in the bed. His eyes went wide.

"Oh. Oh, wow. Is that—is she—"

"Get out." Draven's voice was ice.

The boy fled.

I used the distraction to scramble off the bed, putting the entire room between us. My heart was pounding, my skin was burning, and I had never been more confused in my life.

"This changes nothing," I said. "I don't care about fate or mates or any of it. I'm leaving."

Draven rose slowly, and the power in the room seemed to thicken. "You can try."

"Try?" I laughed, though it came out shaky. "You think you can keep me here?"

"I think you'll find the bond won't let you leave." He moved toward me, and I backed away, circling the bed. "Every step you take away from me will feel like knives in your chest. Every mile will weaken you. Every day apart will be agony."

"You're lying."

"I'm not." His eyes caught mine, and for a moment, I saw something beneath the hunger—something almost like pain. "I've waited three centuries for you, Sera. I know exactly what the bond feels like. And I know that running from it will destroy us both."

Three centuries.

The number should have been impossible. Should have terrified me. Instead, it just made me sad.

"You don't know me," I whispered. "You can't love someone you just met."

"I've loved you for three hundred years." He stopped a few feet away, close enough to touch but not touching. "I just didn't know your name until now."

The words hit me like a blow.

And gods help me, part of me wanted to believe them.