Moonbound desire

The moon hung high in the sky, casting an eerie glow over the dense Blackwood forest. The annual Blood Moon Hunt had begun, and every young wolf in the pack was out proving their strength. Selene Rivers should have been among them, chasing down prey, testing her abilities. Instead, she was running not as a predator, but as a girl desperate to escape the fate that had been carved out for her since birth.

Her father, Alpha Gideon Rivers, had made it clear she was to be mated to Damon Hale, the strongest warrior in the pack, a union meant to solidify Blackwood’s power. But Selene didn’t want power. She didn’t want Damon. She wanted choice.

The chilly wind whipped through her long raven hair as she sprinted deeper into the forbidden parts of the forest, where even the bravest wolves dared not tread. The stories spoke of cursed rogues, wolves without packs, exiled for crimes too terrible to name. But she didn’t believe in fairy tales meant to keep children in line.

That was until she saw him.

Collapsed against the base of a giant oak, his body was covered in deep gashes, blood staining his torn clothes and the dirt around him. His chest rose and fell in slow, painful movements. A rogue.

Selene’s breath caught in her throat. Every instinct screamed at her to turn and run, to alert the patrols, to let him die as punishment for whatever crime had made him an outcast. And yet… she didn’t move.

His scent hit her then something wild and forbidden, like frost on midnight roses. It sent a shiver down her spine, a feeling that had nothing to do with fear.

And then, as if sensing her presence, his eyes snapped open.

Silver. Pure, molten silver.

Selene had seen many wolves in her life, but none had eyes like his. They held a story of pain, of hunger, of something far darker than she could name.

“You should have let me die,” he rasped, his voice rough as if he hadn’t spoken in days. “Because when they find out who I am… they’ll kill you too.”

Selene hesitated. “Who are you?”

A weak chuckle escaped his lips. “A ghost. A mistake.” His eyes met hers, and something inside her shifted. A pull. A bond. An impossible connection.

Mate.

The word slammed into her mind like a thunderclap, stealing the breath from her lungs.

No. No, this wasn’t possible. The Moon Goddess didn’t bind wolves to rogues. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel.

But the longer she stared into those silver eyes, the harder it became to deny the truth burning beneath her skin.

A twig snapped behind her.

Selene’s head whipped around, heart pounding. Voices low, sharp, getting closer. The patrols. If they found him, they wouldn’t ask questions. They would kill first, and she would be forced to stand there and watch.

Her fingers curled into fists.

She should let them take him. It was the right thing to do.

But when she turned back to him, his breathing was shallower, his body trembling. Dying.

She couldn’t walk away.

With a deep breath, Selene did the one thing that would change her life forever.

She grabbed his arm and hoisted him onto her shoulders.

The weight of him nearly knocked her over, but she pushed forward, dragging him toward the only place she knew they wouldn’t be found the abandoned ruins deep in the heart of Blackwood Forest.

As she moved, her pulse thundered with one dangerous thought.

What have I done?

Three Hours Later The Ruins

The small fire crackled, its dim glow flickering across the cracked stone walls of the ruined temple. Selene sat across from the rogue, watching as his wounds slowly healed. His wolf was strong, stronger than most, but it was clear he had been running for too long without rest.

His silver eyes flicked up to meet hers.

“You should have left me.”

Selene crossed her arms. “You keep saying that. Maybe I don’t like being told what to do.”

A ghost of a smirk touched his lips, but it faded quickly. He shifted, wincing as his wounds stitched themselves together. “What’s your name?”

She hesitated, knowing that giving her name to a rogue was dangerous. But the bond between them pulsed, demanding truth.

“Selene,” she finally said.

Something flickered in his gaze. Recognition. Surprise. Pain.

Before she could question it, he exhaled, staring into the fire. “My name is Killian.”

The way he said it, like it was both a curse and a confession, made something tighten in her chest.

Killian. She had never heard that name before. And yet, when she whispered it in her mind, it felt… familiar.

The fire crackled between them, heavy with unsaid words.

“You’re hiding from something,” she finally said. “Something worse than patrols.”

Killian’s jaw clenched, his silver eyes darkening. “You have no idea.”

Selene frowned. “Then tell me.”

For a moment, he didn’t respond. But then, so quietly she almost didn’t hear it, he murmured:

“I am the last of the Moonfallen”

Selene froze. Her blood turned to ice.

The Moonfallen were a legend. A pack wiped out ten years ago by the High Council, accused of crimes so terrible their name was erased from history. No survivors.

Except… there was.

Killian.

She had saved a ghost.

And if anyone found out, she would burn with him.

But Selene didn’t move. Didn’t run.

Because against all reason, against everything she had ever known, she couldn’t let him go.

And somehow, she knew… her life would never be the same again.

Killian sat across from her, his silver eyes flickering in the firelight. He hadn’t said much since revealing his identity—the last of the Moonfallen—but the tension between them was suffocating. She had heard whispers of his kind, of wolves so powerful the High Council had deemed them a threat to the balance of their world. They were erased, their names stricken from history.

And yet, he lived.

“How did you survive?” she asked softly, breaking the silence.

Killian’s jaw tightened. “Survival isn’t the same as living.” His voice was rough, tired. “I was a child when the slaughter happened. I ran, and I never stopped running.”

Selene swallowed hard, the weight of his words settling deep in her bones. The thought of a young boy, alone, hunted like an animal… it made something in her chest tighten painfully.

The fire crackled between them, its warmth doing little to ease the chill settling over her skin.

“What happens now?” she asked.

Killian’s gaze lifted to hers, unreadable. “You tell me, princess.” His voice was low, taunting. “You saved a rogue. A dead man. Are you willing to suffer for that mistake?”

Selene should have said yes.

She should have told him she had made a mistake.

But when she met his eyes, she knew she couldn’t.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I do know this—you’re not dying tonight.”

A shadow of something flickered across Killian’s face, but it was gone too fast for her to name.

He let out a slow breath, leaning back against the stone wall, exhaustion tugging at his features.

“Then you just made an enemy of your own kind,” he murmured.

Selene clenched her fists, her heart pounding in her ears.

Maybe she had.

But something told her… this was only the beginning.