All Chapters of Bound by Moonfire: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The first thing Cael noticed was the silence.Not the comfortable quiet he had mastered over years of leading Shadowclaw, but something heavier—like a river frozen mid-current. It settled over Crescent’s main yard in the hours after sunrise, muting even the sound of training.Wolves still moved, still spoke, but their words were careful. Too careful.And every so often, eyes cut toward Liora.She was in the sparring ring with Kade, her movements sharp and precise. The bond pulsed with every strike she landed, a rhythm his wolf followed as though tethered to her heartbeat.She fought well—better than he’d seen her in weeks—and the wolves around them noticed.That, in itself, should have been a victory.But the air told a different story.Some Crescent warriors nodded faintly, a sign of approval. Others whispered behind half-raised hands. Shadowclaw scouts on the perimeter stood like sentinels, scanning every angle of the ring, their attention just a little too fixed.Cael’s wolf bristl

The council chamber smelled of rain-soaked stone and firewood.Liora had been in this room hundreds of times, but it had never felt smaller. The round table in the center, carved from Crescent’s oldest oak, was meant to symbolize unity—every seat equal, every voice heard. Today, that felt like a cruel joke.The elders sat stiff-backed, their gazes heavy. Warriors lined the walls, their postures rigid but their eyes moving, watching her almost as much as they watched Cael.Maren caught her eye from across the table, her expression unreadable but her presence a lifeline. Kade sat two seats down from Cael, silent but alert, like he could sense the air itself was a weapon.Elias cleared his throat. “We’ll begin. Reports from last night’s patrols.”A scout stepped forward. “No rogue crossings along the northern or western borders. Eastern held steady. South…” He hesitated.The pause was deliberate.Cael leaned forward, his tone flat. “South had contact.”The murmur started immediately.“Co

The wind had changed.Liora could smell it before she could name it—an edge to the air that didn’t belong to Crescent. It wasn’t just the damp of the morning fog or the tang of pine. This scent was sharper, threaded with the faint metallic bite of danger.She told herself it was just the season turning. That she was imagining the way her wolf shifted under her skin, uneasy. But the feeling had started two nights ago, and it hadn’t left.She stood at the edge of the western training field, bow in hand, watching the younger scouts finish their drills. Maren was on the far side, correcting stances, her voice carrying just enough to keep the group focused. The sight of her—solid, unshakable—was grounding, but it didn’t soothe the restlessness clawing at Liora’s ribs.Her arrow hit the center of the target. The next one, too. Precision had never been her problem.It was everything else.“Your mind’s not here,” Maren said when the scouts were dismissed.“It is,” Liora replied automatically,

Liora didn’t remember falling asleep.She only remembered the dream.Running through the forest, the moon a silver slash above, the sound of something—someone—following her. Her wolf moved in perfect sync with her body, paws striking the earth, breath coming sharp and fast. But when she looked over her shoulder, it wasn’t rogues that chased her. It was a shadow. Tall, lean, wearing the faint smirk of someone who already knew they’d win.When she turned forward again, the forest had changed. The trees were taller, older, the air heavier. The ground beneath her paws shifted, slick with rain, and she realized she was heading toward the river.Only—when she reached it, the water wasn’t water at all. It was black, still, and in it she saw not her reflection… but someone else’s.Her eyes. But not her face.And then she woke.The light spilling through her window told her it was already mid-morning. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, rubbing her face with both hands. Her wolf was u

The river carried the morning mist like a shroud, soft and silver against the jagged banks. Hale liked it this way—when the world was half-hidden, secrets felt closer to the surface.He didn’t move when Risa emerged from the trees on the opposite bank. She approached without hurry, her boots barely making a sound on the damp ground. The girl had learned well. He’d trained her himself in those first months after she defected.She didn’t need to speak for him to know she’d brought what he wanted. He caught the faint glint of rolled parchment in her hand, the ribbon dark with river dew.“East wall,” she said simply, handing it over.Hale unrolled the map, scanning the marks she’d made—guard rotations, weak points in the watchtower coverage, supply storage locations. Her handwriting was small and neat, her angles precise. It was almost art, the way she could take in a fortified structure and dismantle it on paper.“Good,” Hale murmured. His voice was calm, but inside, the wolf in him prow