Lahat ng Kabanata ng Cursed Luna, Rejected Mate : Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 4

AylaThe aroma of burning sage drifts through the house. It curls like ghostly fingers around the wooden beams, rich and heady it is clinging to my skin, to my hair, weaving itself into my breath. Grandmother always burns sage before ceremonies like this. She says it clears the air and rids it of any bad auras. The smoke rises in lazy spirals, catching the faint light of dawn filtering through the cracks in the shutters. It’s a ritual as old as the pack itself, the scent is both comforting and unnerving.But I don’t need sage to know what my fate is.I wake before the sun, my dreams still pressing against me like a second skin, dreams of him. Lugh. His stormy grey eyes, his earthy and dark scent, spiced with something raw and untamed. Even now, awake and trembling in the dim light, I can still feel the way his presence swallowed me whole, the heat of his body branding mine. The dream lingers, very vivid and unrelenting in my memory, as though the Moon Goddess herself is etching his im

AylaWe slip away from the main grounds, past the edge of the square, down a path that leads toward the old gathering stones. It's quieter here. The trees form a canopy above us, leaves whispering in the breeze. Dappled light dances on the path. I walk behind him, almost breathless.When he stops, I step beside him.“I don’t do this often,” he says, looking at the sky. “I’ve seen what the bond can do to people. It can ruin them. Break them.”His voice is distant, thoughtful. I search his face, but I can’t find warmth there, only restraint.“But… you kissed me.” My voice is small.His gaze flicks to mine. “I did.”There’s a pause. Then he leans forward and presses his lips to mine again.This kiss is not gentle or brief. It's deep, slow, and filled with something I can’t name. The bond snaps fully into place. I feel it in my bones, in my blood. Our wolves reach for each other, twining together in that unseen place only we can feel.When he pulls back, I’m breathless and shaken.“So you