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POV: LunaProfessor Cael's mandatory lecture on mate bonds happened two days after the portal surge. Two days of pretending everything was fine. Two days of managing Liam's jealousy and Caleb's presence and portal energy that kept building despite our efforts at emotional stability.The classroom was packed. Every student required to attend. Every year level present. Understanding that mate bond education wasn't just academic. Was practical. Was necessary for navigating relationships that divine design created whether people were prepared or not.I sat with my pack. Liam on one side. Caleb carefully positioned several seats away. Physical distance that did nothing to eliminate magical connection. That failed to reduce synchronization. That proved separation was illusion when bonds transcended physical proximity.Professor Cael stood at front of classroom. Ancient. Powerful. Understanding mate bonds through lifetimes of study and personal experience that made him uniquely qualified to
POV: LunaI ran toward the princess's collapsed form. Eclipse power already flowing. Trying to purify the death curse. Trying to reverse forbidden magic that was designed to be irreversible. Trying to save someone who'd sacrificed herself for love despite knowing sacrifice might be permanent.But I couldn't focus completely. Couldn't give the princess all my attention. Because through the mate bond with Liam, I felt him breaking. Felt jealousy and fear and watching Caleb and me work together creating agony he was barely containing.Caleb knelt beside me. His hands joining mine over the princess's chest. Miguel's knowledge of death curses guiding our combined effort. Our magic merging instinctively. Perfectly. Creating purification wave that might be sufficient where individual power would fail.Through the mate bond, Liam's pain intensified. Watching us synchronize. Watching our connection flow effortlessly. Watching what he and I struggled to achieve happening naturally between Caleb
POV: LunaThe Great Hall had become a battleground. Not physical. Social. Political. The kind of warfare that destroyed reputations instead of bodies. That killed futures instead of people.The rival female group had launched a coordinated campaign. Posters appeared overnight. Rumors spread through every year. Social media accounts that shouldn't exist at magical academy somehow proliferated anyway. All targeting the princess and Selene. All designed to destroy their relationship through public pressure instead of direct confrontation."Unnatural bond.""Perversion of divine design.""Princess betraying kingdom through selfish choices.""Corrupting influence on impressionable students."The messages were everywhere. Inescapable. Poisoning social atmosphere that had briefly supported their relationship after bonding ceremony demonstration.I found the princess in her chambers. Selene beside her. Both looking exhausted. Both appearing ready to surrender. Both understanding that social w
POV: LunaThe portal never fully closed. Professor Thorne's training session had been three days of false peace. Three days of pretending the crisis was over. Three days of recovery that was interrupted too soon by reality refusing to cooperate with our need for rest.The alarms sounded at dawn. Not practice. Not drill. Real threat. Portal destabilizing again. Otherworld energy building. Everything we'd survived threatening to resume with renewed intensity.I ran from my dorm still half-dressed. Both mates beside me. Pack mobilizing behind us. Everyone understanding that portal chaos wasn't finished. Wasn't resolved. Wasn't going to allow comfortable recovery before demanding attention again.The portal had shifted location. No longer eastern forest. Now it was pulling energy toward Silverwood's heart. Toward central wards. Toward everything protecting academy from external threats."How is it moving?" I demanded. "Portals don't relocate. They're anchored. They're fixed. They're stati
POV: LunaThree days after the portal crisis, Professor Thorne called mandatory combat training. Every student who'd fought. Every pack member who'd survived. Everyone needed to process trauma through physical activity instead of letting it fester into psychological damage.The training grounds were packed. Students gathering in groups. Whispers about hybrid creatures. About portal explosions. About Luna Eclipse defeating impossible threats through dual mate bonds and Eclipse power that seemed unlimited.I stood with my pack. Trying to appear normal. Trying to pretend exhaustion wasn't bone-deep. Trying to ignore how both Liam and Caleb hovered protectively despite knowing their presence created complications.Professor Thorne surveyed assembled students with practiced military assessment. Her eyes cataloged injuries. Evaluated readiness. Determined who could train and who needed additional recovery time."Today we address what happened," she announced. Voice carrying across training
POV: LunaThe decision crystallized in my mind. I couldn't reach through the portal for Hunter. Not now. Not when doing so might doom everyone else. Not when Cole's bargain was obviously trap disguised as rescue opportunity."We defend," I said. Voice breaking. "We hold the line. We trust that if Hunter's really in there, we'll find another way. A safer way. A way that doesn't require walking into obvious manipulation."Through the portal, Hunter's voice screamed. Rage. Betrayal. Accusation that cut deeper than any physical wound.Real or illusion? Truth or Cole's perfect torture?No way to know. No certainty. Just choice made and consequences beginning.The portal pulsed violently. Rejecting my decision. Punishing my refusal. Energy spiking in ways that suggested Cole's shadow was furious. That refusing bargain meant facing wrath instead of receiving cooperation.Then they attacked.Not through portal. From behind our defensive line. The rival female group that had been harassing the
POV: LUNAThe council meeting was shorter than I expected. Twenty minutes of questions about what I'd found in the forbidden zone. What the carvings showed me. What powers had awakened.I told them everything. Mostly. Left out a few details about the figure who'd blocked my path. About the spy. Abou
POV: LunaI can't sleep.The charm bracelet has stopped glowing, but I can still feel it. That pull. That desperate connection to Miguel.He's dying.And I'm sitting here doing nothing.I slip out of bed as quietly as I can and move to the window. The moon is full tonight, bright enough to cast shad
POV: MiguelI haven't slept properly in three weeks.Not since Luna left.My mom thinks it's heartbreak. My friends think I'm being dramatic. My guidance counselor suggested I "explore healthy coping mechanisms for relationship changes."None of them understand.This isn't about missing my girlfrien
POV: Luna I wait until everyone else is asleep. Or at least pretending to sleep. Then I slip out of the Great Hall and head toward the library. It's the only place I can think of that might be empty this late. I'm wrong. Nova is already there, sitting at one of the tables near the back. And bes







