The moon hung high, cold and watchful but Zaria couldn't sleep.
Not with the words repeating in her mind:
"One bond will save your life.
One will break your soul.
But both… will demand your blood."
She needed answers. Quietly, she slipped from the healer's hut and followed an old, overgrown path leading to the forbidden archives (a crumbling stone building swallowed by vines.) The place even the bravest wolves avoided. Because it held the truth.
---
The Archives
Dust clung to everything. Ancient tomes sat heavy on rotting shelves, whispering long-forgotten secrets.
Her fingers stopped on one title: "Cursed Mates." She opened it, breath catching as she read:
"In rare bloodlines, the Moon binds one soul to two.
These are the Moonbound, a cursed blessing.
Two mates. One heart. One fate."
Another entry made her blood run cold:
"The last Moonbound female was burned during the Blood Trials.
Two Alphas fought for her. Both died.
The packs never recovered."
Zaria's hands trembled. It was happening again.
"You shouldn't be here," a voice rasped.
Zaria spun, claws raised until she saw the silver eyes of Elder Mal, the blind wolf who spoke only on full moons.
"I need the truth," she said.
"You already carry it," he murmured, stepping closer. "You were born under the Hollow Moon. A child of chaos. Of broken bonds." Her throat tightened. "Will the bond kill them?" He touched her, "The bond is not your curse to control. It is your burden to survive." He handed her a cold, bone pendant. "A relic from the last Moonbound. When it warms... the curse awakens."
---
At the Alpha's cabin, Kael stood shirtless on the porch, fists wrapped from training, eyes dark with thoughts.
"You're watching her again," he said flatly as Leon approached.
"She's not safe," Leon replied.
Kael's tone sharpened. "Not with you either."
"The Moon chose us both."
"That's not how it works," Kael growled.
Leon met his eyes. "Maybe the mistake wasn't the Moon. Maybe it was you."
Tension crackled between the Alpha and Beta, twin and rival.
---
Zaria sat by the river, clutching the bone pendant.
It had grown warm.
Her thoughts tangled, Kael's rejection, Leon's protection, the prophecy. How could she choose between two bonds… when both could break her?
"I never asked for this," she whispered to the moon.
"You've been avoiding me," a voice said behind her.
She turned. It was Kael.
"You rejected me," she said, standing.
"I know," he said hoarsely. "But I still feel it."
His hand hovered near her cheek.
"The bond… it never left."
Zaria's breath caught. "But you said..."
"I lied."
---
Back at the Seer's Fire…
Flames danced wildly as the old seer whispered spells. In the smoke, three figures appeared:
Zaria, cloaked in white.
Kael, glowing with red fire.
Leon, wrapped in silver moonlight.
They circled each other. The ground beneath them cracked.
"The bond is breaking the laws of the Moon," she whispered.
"And broken laws… demand blood."
---
To be continued...