Semua Bab Bound By Magic And Moonlight: Bab 21 - Bab 30

Hazel's Point of View The sun is already casting warm light through the curtains when I begin to stir, stretching beneath the soft sheets of my bed. A sense of calm sits in my chest, a rare feeling lately, and I decide to lean into it. I swing my legs over the edge of the bed, a bright smile tugging at the corners of my lips as I walk across the floor and into the bathroom. The water runs warm beneath my fingers as I pour in salts and a generous scoop of bubbles. A soft lavender scent begins to rise in the air, curling around me like a soothing blanket. I slip off my clothes and ease into the bath, letting the heat draw the tension from my body. The moment I sink beneath the water, my mind stills. My eyes fall shut, and I let my head rest back against the tub, letting myself enjoy the peace. But it doesn't last. The quiet is a trap. Unbidden, the images creep in, Aiden standing in my cottage, his face carved with something unreadable, and the words of rejection that followed. It p

Aiden's Point of View We’ve been at it all morning, Mark and I crawling around his living room like oversized toddlers, locking cupboards, anchoring furniture, tucking away sharp corners and stray wires. The place smells faintly of calming lavender and baby lotion. In the nursery, I know, Nicole is finishing her masterpiece, she’s been fussing over it for weeks. She walks out of the room now, a proud glow on her face and that unmistakable joy only soon to be mothers radiate. “Okay, we can go get them now. Everything’s ready, even my surprise in the nursery,” she announces, brushing a loose curl from her face. Mark and I share a quick glance, he’s nervous, I can see it in the way his jaw tightens. “Let’s go,” he says, and we head out together, the three of us descending the wide stairs of the pack house, sunlight catching on the banister as we go. Outside, the day is bright, spring warmth mixed with the crisp edge of leftover mountain air. As we make our way to the hospital, I gla

Aiden's Point of View The air hangs heavy with silence as we stand among the ruins of the training center, dust still clinging to the edges of scorched wood and shattered stone. Julian and Owen step up beside us, both wearing the same grim expression I imagine is mirrored on my own face. There’s nothing left to save here. Just ash, twisted metal, and the lingering echo of something deliberate, targeted. Victoria’s voice breaks the silence. “Let’s head back to my office and figure out where to go from here.” We all nod our heads without a word and fall in behind her as she turns towards the pack house. The path back winds through the trees, the setting sun filtering through the branches above, casting broken shadows across our trail. The forest around us is unnaturally still, no birdsong, no breeze. Just the soft crunch of our boots on the earth. Drake walks beside me, eyes forward, jaw tight. Julian and Owen bring up the rear, saying nothing. I glance back once at the remnants of

Hazel's Point of View The cool breath of the cave greets us the moment we step beneath the overhang, that hush of earth and time settling around us like a veil. I pause just short of the entrance, flashlight in hand, and turn to face my group of students. Their faces are lit with anticipation, flashlights clutched like talismans. “Alright,” I say, my voice low but clear, the sound curling and echoing slightly against the stone. “We’ll be going inside the cave now. Get your flashlights ready, and no one wanders off. Are you ready?” A few excited nods of their heads, some murmurs of “Yes,” and the soft clicks of flashlights coming to life. I nod my head in return, take a steadying breath, and turn into the cave, my own light sweeping across the uneven ground and the damp, textured stone of the narrow tunnel. “We’ll make our way to the back of the cave and then work our way back to the front,” I call over my shoulder, the beam of my flashlight illuminating glimmers in the stone, mine

Hazel's Point of ViewThe hum of the bus engine and the steady rhythm of tires on asphalt blends with the chatter of my students, their voices light and filled with excitement. I sit near the front, the afternoon sun casting golden light through the windows, warming my arm where it rests on the edge of my seat. Valerie is beside me, flipping through photos she took on her phone of the students outside the cave, mostly selfies if I had to guess.My gaze drifts out the window, watching the trees blur past, thinking back to that cave and the creature Serina found etched in stone, the red eyes still vivid in my mind. There was power in that cave. Old, buried, whispering through the cracks in the rock. The moment I stepped inside, I felt it. And Serina’s sketch only confirmed it. That figure wasn’t random. It meant something. It remembers something.Valerie nudges me with her elbow, pulling me from the spiral of thoughts. “What’s on your mind?” she asks, voice casual but laced with curiosi