LOGINShare
Chapter Three
publish date:
2025-08-14 19:22:09The plane landed at a village so small it didn’t even have a tower. Just a stretch of runway, a leaning building that was also an airport and a gas stop, and a blue sky that hurt to look at.
I was met by a woman in a parka with a sign with my name on it. She didn’t smile. Sebastian Vega? "That’s what my passport says." She gave no smile. Simply moved and walked toward the waiting SUV. "Is this place always like that? Friendly?" I remarked as I packed my duffel into the trunk.
"Duskpine honors privacy," she replied matter-of-factly. "You will fit in." It was supposed to be, but that wasn't comforting.
We traveled in silence. Pine trees blurred by, tall and seemingly endless. Mountains loomed ahead, their snow-crowned peaks shining brightly and shadows streaming long along the road.
Somewhere around twenty minutes later, she spoke again. "There’s a team doctor. You’ll see her every week. There’s also a local therapist. Highly, highly recommended." I laughed. "Does she do exorcisms, too?" The driver remained silent.
Eventually, we rode down a long gravel road, lined with trees. At the end of it, there was a cabin. Or maybe a lodge. It was larger than I had anticipated and remote too. It had wooden beams, a wraparound porch, and a snowy roof.
"This is yours," she said, parking the car. "All mine?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Until later. The shopping is in. Your training timetable will be out by tomorrow."
I grabbed my bag from the boot and turned. She didn’t wait for me to head into the house first, she just drove off, the tires squealing on gravel.
The front door creaked open when I pushed it. The house smelled of cedar and something sweetly herbal. There was a fire already lit and the inside was warm and shadowy. It had a kitchen, a den, and a staircase disappearing upstairs.
I dropped the duffel and walked towards the window.
All I could see were trees. Trees as far as I could see. And silence. Not a car. Not a voice. Just the soft creak of wind through pine and the smell of fire. I should have been calm. But all I sensed was pressure. Like something was observing. Like something knew I was there. I shook off the feeling and headed upstairs.
The bedroom was spacious, too spacious for one person. There was a window overlooking the woods. I stood there for a great while, staring into the trees, trying to get myself to believe that I was safe. But I failed woefully. Eventually, I climbed into bed.
But I didn’t sleep. Not really. Although I drifted and dreamed.
And this time, I saw eyes in the woods. Glowing. Watching and approaching. I woke up with a start just before sunrise.
Sweating again. Gasping like I had just run a marathon. I sat up and went to the bathroom, splashing water on my face. When I looked in the mirror, I was expecting the typical mess. But something was different.
My eyes. Just for a moment or less than that, they looked gold. I jumped back, my heart racing. I blinked again but it was back to being normal. But I could still feel it. That warmth in my veins, that pull under my skin, like something was inside me, trying to get out. And for the first time, I said it out loud.
"What the hell are you?"
Latest chapter
Moon Bound With You Fifty-three
SebastianI don’t sleep right away.Not because I’m wired. Because my thoughts won’t settle into anything shapeless.“Anchor.” The word keeps circling back.Not a weapon. Not the door. Not a mistake. Something built to hold. I lie on my back, one arm thrown over my eyes, listening to the quiet movements of the cabin. Rowan is in the other room. The faint creak of the walls. Wind brushes the roof like fingers. The bond hums faintly, steady as a second pulse.It doesn’t tell me anything.It doesn’t need to. Rowan’s words don’t feel like a revelation. They feel like something being named that was already shaping me.I sit up, swing my legs over the edge of the bed, and stand. The cold floor grounds me. I move quietly through the cabin, stopping in the doorway of the small room Rowan uses. He’s at the desk, jacket off, sleeves rolled, a book open in front of him. He doesn’t look surprised when he senses me there.“You’re not asleep,” he says.“Neither are you.”“No.” I step inside and lea
Moon Bound With You Fifty-two
RowanFrom the outside, it looks like he’s just standing there. He had his hands in his jacket pockets. Breathe steady. Eyes closed against the cold.If I didn’t know what was under his skin now, I might have believed that.But the air around Sebastian isn’t still.It hasn’t been since we stepped off the porch.There’s a pressure to it, not heavy, not violent. Organized. Like invisible lines being drawn and redrawn, settling into new places. The bond hums faintly in my chest, responding to whatever is unfolding in his.I don’t interrupt. I’ve made that mistake before.I stay close enough to intervene if I have to, far enough not to intrude. The trees stand silent around us. The town is quiet in the way that only comes before the weather.Sebastian exhales slowly.The pressure shifts.Not outward.Down. I feel a subtle tightening along the wards I helped anchor when I first arrived in Duskpine—not breaking. Adjusting.That alone tells me more than I want to know.The wards were never d
Moon Bound With You Fifty-one
SebastianRowan doesn’t say anything else after that.Neither do I. We stand by the window for a while, watching the trees as they might blink first. Nothing happens. No movement. No sound that doesn’t belong.That doesn’t make it better.The feeling doesn’t go away when we step back from the glass. It settles instead, low and watchful, like the start of a headache you know is going to get worse later.“I’m hungry,” I say eventually.It’s half an excuse. Halfway to making the world smaller. Rowan nods once. “I’ll make something.”I move into the kitchen, mostly so I don’t keep standing there thinking about what he said. About what he didn’t.Older. Reactive. Choice.Those words don’t leave you alone once they get in. Rowan cooks like everything is measured even when he isn’t measuring. It’s one of the first things I noticed about him back when all he was to me was the guy who kept pushing my limits in the gym. Nothing wasted. Nothing rushed.I lean against the counter, watching him wi
Moon Bound With You Fifty
RowanSebastian walks a half step ahead of me back to the cabin. He always does when he’s thinking.The path is narrow, packed with snow crunching under our boots. The trees on either side are still, heavy with frost. Nothing moves except us. Even the wind seems to be waiting.I let him have the silence. He needs it more than conversation right now. Inside, the cabin is cold. I shrug out of my jacket and hang it by the door, watching him do the same. He moves with the loose precision of someone who’s lived in his body his whole life and only recently realized it might not belong solely to him.“Sit,” I say.Not like an order. Like a suggestion.He does, dropping onto the edge of the couch, forearms resting on his thighs. His focus is inward. I can feel it faintly through the bond, his attention turning back on himself, testing the edges.I move to the shelves along the far wall.Most of what’s there doesn’t look dangerous. Old books. A cracked wooden box. A few jars of dried plants th
Moon Bound With You Forty-nine
SebastianI don’t dream. That’s the first thing I notice when I wake up. No running. No blood. No heat under my skin like something trying to tear its way out. Just dark, quiet sleep and the steady awareness of my own breathing.It unsettles me more than the nightmares ever did. I lie there for a while, staring at the ceiling of the cabin, listening to the low creak of the wood as the wind moves outside. My body feels heavy, not wrong. Sore in familiar places. Thighs. Shoulders. Lower back. The kind of ache I’ve lived with since I was a teenager.Human aches.The bond hums faintly in my chest, distant but present. Rowan is awake. Not in the room. Somewhere nearby. The sensation isn’t distracting anymore. It’s just… information.I sit up slowly, running a hand over my face.Last night doesn’t rush back at me the way the ruins did. No surge of panic. No spike of heat. Just memory. Conversation. The way Rowan’s voice had gone quieter when he told me what the Order was doing beyond Duskpi
Moon Bound With You Forty-eight
POV: SebastianThe rink smells of fresh ice and anticipation. It’s early, just past dawn, and the stands are empty except for the cleaning crew and a few stragglers setting up the boards. I tie my skates slowly, methodically, letting the familiar rhythm calm the edge in my chest. The bond hums faintly in my chest. Rowan is nearby, somewhere beyond the glass, watching as he always does. I can feel him steady, tethered. It’s comforting and distracting all at once.Connor jogs past, smirking. “Early bird catches the puck, huh?” I glance up. “Or avoid getting yelled at by you.” He laughs, tossing a puck toward me. I catch it easily, spin it on my stick, feeling the cool metal and hard rubber grounding me. The familiar weight, the familiar routine. I’d forgotten how much I needed that. Routine. Normalcy, as close as I can get to it.Rowan’s voice cuts through my thoughts, calm but firm. “Stretch first. Don’t rush.”I glance toward the glass, catching his form leaning slightly, mug in hand.
You may also like
Fated to My Brother in-law, The Lycan King
Del_ art24.9K viewsCastillo Del Angel: Marked By Vengeance.
AlphaKelly18.7K viewsThe Alpha In My Sheets
Cameo22.2K viewsChasing my Bestfriend × Lover
YomWrites17.1K viewsThe mafia and his hit man
Author J3.5K viewsNever Mine To Love
StarsTouch pen10.4K viewsTHE HEIR AND HIS TUTOR
Yasmin390 viewsMore than a substitute
Rosey🌹546 views
