Bound by the moon

Alternate POV) – Lucien

Lucien could scent her before she stepped through the doors—nervous, yes. But not afraid. Not truly. There was a difference. Fear made a submissive shake. Rhea shimmered.

He stood at the center of the stone circle, fists clenched at his sides. Every part of him was straining—his wolf howled beneath the surface, pushing hard against the walls of his control.

She was his.

Even if he hadn’t bitten her yet, even if the Rite hadn’t begun, even if she was still technically free.

She was his.

He heard Kael’s voice behind the doors. Quiet. Soothing. That man had always known how to calm others.

Lucien hated how much it worked on her.

When the doors opened and Rhea stepped through the threshold, time buckled.

She wore only a thin robe. Her skin glowed in the moonlight, flushed and alive, and her eyes—those brave, wide eyes—locked onto his with a certainty that made something inside him snap.

She was going to kneel for him.

Let him mark her. Bind her. Claim her in front of everyone.

And yet… the thought didn’t soothe his instincts. It provoked them.

He wanted to pull her close and sink his teeth into her throat. To take her down, fast and hard, like an animal. But that wasn’t the Rite. That wasn’t what she deserved.

She deserved a ceremony. A promise. A choice.

So he asked for it—her consent in triplicate. The words were ancient, older than any written vow.

And when she answered yes all three times, something deeper than dominance surged inside him.

Devotion.

She knelt.

And the wolf inside him dropped to its knees, too.

Lucien stepped behind her, brushing her hair over one shoulder. Her scent was intoxicating—citrus and heat and something he couldn’t name yet. Something… more.

“You’re not just mine,” he whispered against her skin. “You’re meant.”

His hand hovered over the ritual blade. Just one shallow cut. Just one drop of blood, and she would feel it—the way her soul would call out for his.

But gods help him… once he began, he might not be able to stop.

Because tonight wasn’t just a ritual.

It was the beginning of his undoing.