His Forbidden Luna

CHAPTER THREE: Whispers Of The Bond

The days after the Blood Moon were filled with unease. The village thrummed with fear as whispers spread about the killings at the northern ridge. Patrols doubled, scouts sent further into the woods, yet no trace of the killer was found. The unknown lingered over them like a suffocating cloud, heavy and unshakable.

Lyra tried to go about her daily duties, but her mind was consumed by the man in black—Darius. His name echoed in her chest like a forbidden melody, his face haunting every quiet moment. She had sworn to herself to resist, to bury the bond deep where no one could see. But her wolf betrayed her at every turn, restless, hungry, yearning for the one fate had bound her to.

She woke each night drenched in sweat, dreams tangled with shadows and fire. Sometimes she saw Darius’s face, other times she saw herself drowning in endless darkness while her pack turned their backs on her.

It was becoming unbearable.

Kael noticed the change.

They sat by the stream one afternoon, the water trickling gently between them as sunlight shimmered on its surface. Kael skipped stones with easy grace, but his eyes flicked toward Lyra every so often, sharp with suspicion.

“You’ve been different,” he said finally. “Ever since the Blood Moon.”

Lyra stiffened. “We’ve all been different. The patrols, the killings’’

“No.” His voice cut through her excuses, steady and sure. “Not the pack. You.”

She looked away, fingers knotting in her lap. “You’re imagining things.”

Kael leaned closer, lowering his voice. “I’ve known you my whole life. I can tell when you’re hiding something. Whatever it is, Lyra… don’t keep it from me. Secrets will only eat you alive.”

Her throat tightened. If only he knew how right he was. But she couldn’t tell him. Not about Darius. Not about the bond that threatened to destroy everything.

“I’m fine,” she whispered, though the lie tasted bitter.

Kael’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t push further. He only tossed another stone into the stream, the ripples spreading wide, as though reflecting the unease between them.

That evening, the Alpha summoned the pack to the gathering hall. The vast wooden structure pulsed with heat from the torches, shadows dancing along the walls as wolves filled the space. The air buzzed with anticipation, fear, and tension.

Alpha Theron stood tall at the center, his presence commanding silence. His silver hair caught the firelight, his eyes burning like steel.

“The northern ridge remains stained with blood,” he announced. “But our enemy hides like a coward, cloaked in darkness. We do not cower. We strike.”

The wolves growled in unison, their voices rising in agreement.

Theron’s gaze swept the crowd. “Tomorrow at dawn, we hunt. No shadow will escape our claws.”

The hall erupted in howls, the sound echoing off the wooden beams. But Lyra felt only dread. A hunt meant they would sweep the forests, ridges, valleys everywhere. And if they found Darius…

Her wolf whimpered inside her chest.

Grandmother’s hand gripped hers suddenly, frail but firm. The old woman’s milky eyes did not waver as she whispered, “It has already begun. The bond is awake, and the Alpha’s wrath will soon find its way to him. Choose wisely, child. Your silence or your truth.”

Lyra’s heart pounded. Silence would protect her secret, but it would doom Darius. Truth might save him, but at what cost? The pack would never forgive her.

That night, she couldn’t bear it any longer. She slipped once more into the forest, feet carrying her with desperate urgency. The patrols had grown, but her wolf knew how to move unseen, silent as the night.

She reached the northern ridge, breath ragged, and prayed he would be there.

And he was.

Darius emerged from the mist like a phantom, his dark cloak brushing the ground, his eyes glowing faintly under the moonlight.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said, voice low but sharp.

“You said the bond can’t be broken,” she shot back, her words trembling with equal parts anger and longing. “So tell me, Darius. What am I supposed to do? Pretend this doesn’t exist while my Alpha hunts you down?”

He stepped closer, shadows curling at his heels. “If you stay away, if you let them hunt, maybe they’ll never find me.”

Her laugh cracked, bitter. “You expect me to stay away when every part of me screams to come to you? When my wolf—” Her voice broke, and she pressed a hand to her chest. “She won’t stop howling for you.”

For the first time, his mask of cold detachment faltered. Pain flashed in his eyes, raw and unguarded.

“I know,” he murmured, his voice almost a whisper. “Every step I take away from you feels like tearing my own soul apart.”

The confession hung between them, heavy with unspoken truth.

Lyra’s breath trembled. “Then why fight it? Why run from me?”

His expression hardened again, his gaze cutting into hers like a blade. “Because if I don’t… you’ll die. The curse I carry, it destroys everything it touches. And fate, cruel as she is, has chosen you to be bound to me. If I claim you, your pack will turn on you. Your Alpha will burn you alive before he lets you stand at my side.”

The weight of his words pressed into her chest, but still her wolf howled in defiance.

“I don’t care what fate says,” Lyra whispered fiercely. “I’ll fight it. I’ll fight them. I won’t let them take this bond from me.”

Darius stared at her, torn between fury and longing, his fists clenched at his sides.

“You’re playing with fire, little wolf,” he growled. “And fire always burns.”

Before she could respond, a howl ripped through the night—close, too close. Patrols.

Darius’s head snapped toward the sound, his eyes narrowing. “They’re near.”

Lyra panicked, her heart leaping to her throat. “If they find you—”

“They won’t,” he cut her off, stepping back into the shadows that curled hungrily around him. His form began to fade, consumed by the mist. “Go. Before they scent you with me.”

“Darius!” she hissed, reaching toward him. But the night swallowed him whole once again.

Moments later, Kael burst into the clearing, his wolf form prowling at her side, golden eyes blazing. He shifted back swiftly, breath steaming in the cold air.

“Lyra—what are you doing out here?” His voice shook with disbelief. His gaze darted around, sharp, searching. “I caught your scent and thought—” He stopped short, nostrils flaring as he caught something else. His face hardened. “You weren’t alone.”

Lyra’s blood ran cold.