Luna’s Rebellion

They say the mate bond is sacred—an unbreakable thread spun by the Moon Goddess herself. But they never talk about what happens when that thread feels like a noose.

I stood by the window of the Alpha’s estate, staring at the forest beyond the gates. Trees swayed like they were trying to whisper secrets I’d long forgotten how to hear. My wolf stirred, weak and buried so deep inside me she barely made a sound. She used to howl at the moon with fire in her lungs. Now, she was silent.

Just like me.

“Elara.” His voice snapped through the quiet like a whip.

I flinched. My spine straightened instinctively, my hands clasping tighter in front of me. Damon didn’t like when I looked small. He said it made him look weak.

I turned. “Yes, Alpha?”

He hated when I called him that too, but it was better than saying his name. Names carried meaning, and I refused to give him that power.

His icy eyes flicked over me like he was assessing livestock, not his so-called mate. “The council dinner is tomorrow night. You’ll wear the silver dress. The one that doesn’t make you look sickly.”

Because the bruises wouldn’t show under that one. Because I’d learned how to paint over damage with a practiced smile.

“Yes, Alpha.”

He stepped closer, fingers tilting my chin up. “Smile for me.”

I did. The kind of smile that didn’t reach my eyes, the one that made my cheekbones ache. His gaze lingered, satisfied—for now.

He turned and walked out, leaving the room cold even with the fire burning.

When the door clicked shut, I let my breath out slowly. One. Two. Three.

Still alive.

Still pretending.

Night fell like a shroud, thick and oppressive. I curled on the window seat, my silver dress hanging from the wardrobe across the room, mocking me. I didn’t want to be the Luna of this pack. I didn’t want to be his.

I wanted freedom. Even if it was only in dreams.

So I closed my eyes. And I dreamed.

But this time… it wasn’t the usual void.

This time, I saw him.

Dark hair, wind-tossed. Eyes like stormclouds and sunlight all at once. His presence stirred something deep inside me—a memory, a promise.

Kael.

My heart lurched.

We hadn’t seen each other in years. He was my fated mate, the one I used to believe would love me for who I was. Before everything. Before Damon. Before the bond was forged against my will.

Before Kael left.

In the dream, he looked straight at me.

“I’m coming back,” he said.

And I wanted to scream. Don’t. It’s too late.

But my wolf stirred for the first time in months. She rose, trembling, as if waking from a long winter sleep.

Kael.

Even now, the bond knew him.

Even now, it wanted him.

I woke to a knock at the door. Soft. Hesitant.

Not Damon’s.

I opened it to find Mara, one of the housekeepers, holding a tray of tea and fresh bread.

She wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Alpha said you skipped dinner again.”

“I wasn’t hungry.”

Her lips pressed together. She looked at me, really looked this time. At the fading bruise on my collarbone. At the hollow ache under my eyes.

“Elara,” she whispered, “something’s changing in the forest. Rogues have been seen. And… someone crossed the border tonight.”

I froze. “Who?”

She hesitated. “I don’t know. But the guards said he wasn’t a threat. Said he smelled like home.”

Home.

My heart stuttered.

Kael.

That night, I didn’t sleep.

I sat by the window and stared into the trees, waiting for a ghost from my past to step out of the shadows and become real again.

But minutes turned to hours. The wind picked up. Branches scratched the glass like claws. And still—nothing.

Until a sound broke the stillness.

Not from inside the estate—but from beyond it.

I slipped from my room, barefoot and silent. Years of surviving in Damon’s house had taught me how to walk like a ghost. I moved past the guards stationed at the eastern hallway, my scent cloaked, my aura pulled in so tight even the wolves wouldn’t notice unless they were looking straight at me.

The back garden door creaked as I opened it. The wind slapped against my skin, biting cold, but I kept moving. Past the hedge maze. Through the wrought-iron gate Damon kept chained at night. I knew where the weak link was—I’d marked it years ago when escape was still a fantasy I let myself have.

I broke into a run the moment I was in the trees. Not because I was being chased.

But because I felt him.

Kael.

The bond sparked like a current in my veins. Faint but real. Like a heartbeat I hadn’t heard in years.

I slowed near the edge of the border. This part of the forest was ancient—untouched by the Alpha’s reach. Moss curled up the trunks, and moonlight poured through the branches in silver streaks.

And there he was.

Standing at the edge like he belonged to the wild.

Kael.

Older. Broader. His dark hair was longer, windblown. His eyes—those stormy eyes—locked onto mine the second I stepped into view.

He didn’t move.

Neither did I.

For a long, trembling breath, the world went still.

“Elara,” he said softly, like the name hurt his throat.

My breath caught. I wanted to run to him. I wanted to slap him for leaving. I wanted—

But something was wrong.

His gaze flicked behind me.

“Elara,” he said again, sharper now. “You need to run.”

Confused, I turned—

And that’s when I saw them.

Red eyes in the darkness.

A growl. Not wolf. Not rogue. Something older. Something… wrong.

Kael stepped forward, half-shifted already. His voice turned into a command that echoed in my bones.

“Run!”