BOUND BY THE MOON’s OATH

THE ALPHA’s. WARNING

The council chamber was carved from obsidian stone, lit by floating orbs of fire that hovered near the ceiling. Ten elders sat in a crescent formation, each draped in wolf-hide cloaks. Their eyes tracked Elysia with poorly veiled curiosity—and something colder.

Distrust.

Suspicion.

An omega bondmate to the Alpha? It was unheard of.

Kael stood beside her, unreadable as ever. He hadn’t touched her since entering the chamber, but the bond tethered them tightly. She could feel his tension—like a storm gathering behind his calm mask.

An elder named Varek spoke first. “With all due respect, Alpha, this union… it’s irregular. An outsider. A former rogue.”

Kael’s voice was sharp. “She was chosen by the Moon. Do you dare question Her will?”

Silence.

But Elysia felt the way their eyes burned into her. One elder’s gaze lingered too long—Evald, with scars over his left eye and a predator’s smile.

She recognized him.

He was there. Ten years ago. One of the wolves who tore through her village.

Rage boiled beneath her calm.

“Is there a problem, Luna?” Evald asked, voice like ash and venom.

“Not at all,” Elysia replied sweetly. “Though some scars are hard to forget.”

His smile vanished.

Kael’s eyes flicked between them, sensing the tension.

After the meeting, he led her out without a word. Only once they were alone in the corridor did he speak.

“What did you mean back there?” he asked, stopping abruptly.

“I meant what I said.”

Kael stepped closer. “You’ve seen Evald before.”

Elysia’s breath hitched.

He’s watching too closely.

Before she could lie, Kael murmured, “You came here with more than the bond in mind, didn’t you?”

She met his eyes. “And what if I did?”

Kael’s expression didn’t harden. Instead, something unexpected flickered there.

Regret.

“Then be careful,” he said quietly. “Because the wolves you’re hunting… might be hunting you too.”

And he walked away, leaving her heart thundering—and her mind unraveling.

Because maybe the Alpha wasn’t her enemy after all.

Maybe he was the only one who could save her.