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Todos los capítulos de MOONBOUND: Capítulo 31 - Capítulo 40

57 Capítulos

31.

HAYLEYLike a contagious flu, the anger Shane exudes infects me. My chest tightens as I watch Axel and Ivy work together seamlessly, moving materials along their table as they converse in low voices. They make a great team. And I hate it. For Christsakes, why can't I let go of Axel? I had always thought lovesick characters from silly rom-coms who pined for a love interest were unbearably naive. But isn't that what I've become right now? Jesus, Hayley. You need to stop. Right this moment. No more reckless feelings. No more fanciful ideas. No more—shit. Axel lifts his gaze to mine, and my brain practically fries along with whatever resolutions I was making seconds ago. Heat races up my lab coat and all the way to my face, singeing my cheeks. Look away. I say the words in my head, but my brain doesn’t seem to register any of it. Right. Totally fried. Axel's gaze moves from myself to Shane, and the shift in demeanor is almost instantaneous. His brows furrow as he glares at the boy

32.

AXELThe closing bell comes as a relief for what has been an exhausting day—made worse by Ivy's gaze trailing me all afternoon. True to her warning at the party, she's stuck to me like Velcro, demanding answers for the murder case, like I'm the damned Sheriff. Cornering me during Chem was her endgame, and in-between mixing substances, she made sure to reinforce her threat yet again. “I'm telling you Ax, I genuinely think she's into me and—dude, are you even listening?” Lucas asks next to me, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, buddy. I'm with you,” I mutter quickly, pulling my attention back to our conversation. We head out of the hallways and make our way to the garage. Brown leaves crunch under our feet as we walk, the air carrying the sweet scent of apples from the trees in the parking lot. “Tell you what—I think there's a seventy percent chance that Rox likes me too.” I glance at my cousin. “Seventy percent?” “Alright. Say, sixty five percent.” I lift a

33.

AXELMy blood runs cold as those glowing, amber gaze pins me in place. I know these eyes. I force my legs to take a step backward, and the creature in the bushes moves with me, like it's mimicking my actions. Fear snakes around my insides, twisting my senses with panic. I know this creature. I shuffle backward until I'm standing directly under a ray of sunlight streaking down. The creature moves forward, then hesitates and steps back, like it's afraid of the light. When it moves across the dark areas of the forests again, I catch a glimpse of its form: It's a wolf made entirely of shadows. I watch its body break apart and come back together in seconds, like smoke without form. Goosebumps ripple across my skin. It's the creature from the night of my parents murder. The shadowy wolf lets out a deadly growl, and the sound reverberates through the forests. Feral golden eyes blaze as the creature steps forward, turning the forest grounds into ash with every step it takes. Petrifie

34.

AXEL“Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock—” DRRRRRING!!The bell shrills to interrupt Mrs Cooper's Lit reading, signaling the end of class. Grateful to finally escape her dull, monotonous rendition of Othello, I join the multitude of students around me to stuff my books into my bag. As I rise from my seat, my eyes fall on Hayley who's seated ahead, smiling at something Corey's said. My stomach does a flip-flop at the mere sight of her. There's students shuffling hurriedly all around me, with chairs scraping noisily, but all of it is background noise as I stare at her. My thoughts pull back to yesterday, and how infuriating it felt watching her partner with Shane, while I paired with Ivy. As I watch her join the other students to trudge out of class, the overwhelming need to set things straight between us consumes me. I quickly move past the small crowd ahead as I push forward in the hallways. I'm seconds away from calling out to her, wh

35.

HAYLEY“Who would have thought Shakespeare could sound so lethargic?” Corey says as we walk out of Lit class. I'm already snickering when Mrs Cooper steps out just behind us. Her eyes rake over myself and Corey as we both fold our lips inside, biting back our fit of laughter. The woman lets out a small, dismissive sound in our direction, before continuing down the hallway. Yep, she definitely heard Corey's jab at her reading session. Stifling a laugh, I turn to my best friend. “Your big mouth will be the end of you someday, trust me.” “More like the end of us,” she grins. I shake my head, laughing, as we start towards the cafeteria for lunch. “So…” Corey drags out, before turning to face me. “How did your lab date yesterday go?” My brows knit. “What lab date are you talking ab—ugh.” Recalling the awkward pairing at Chem yesterday, I blow a raspberry. “That was not a date by any stretch of the imagination.” “Oh, it definitely was,” Corey teases. “Absolutely not,” I laugh. “An

36.

AXELA cold breeze stirs around us, sending a chill skittering over my skin. Silver Creek. The name feels foreboding on my lips as my thoughts peel back to the mention of these grounds from yesterday. Dreadborn, The Lycan of Silver Creek. We're in the home of the golden-eyed wolf. Rakim and Miles move towards the jungle by the edge, and I stride to meet Shane by the mouth of the cliff where he stands. We both watch in silence as the waves tousle loudly, crashing onto the rocks below. High-pitched cries sound above us, where a flight of mountain eagles soar in a circle in the clouds. “Here,” Shane says, offering me a small rock. He takes one glance at the water below, then nods. “Go for it.” Tossing the stone into the ocean, I count four seconds before the rock hits the water with a small splash. My brows shoot up. “That’s a serious drop.” “It's quite the fall,” Shane agrees as he settles onto the ledge of the cliff. When I don't join him, he flashes a wicked smirk at me. “Don't

37.

AXEL “That's impossible,” I breathe. A creature killed two hundred years ago should be nowhere near our school grounds. Hell, it shouldn't exist. “I said the same thing when we first tracked the beast's presence to Oakville, just south of here.” Shane shakes his head, like even he can't grasp the possibility of what he's saying. “Then it showed up in Ridgeclaw. And Cedar Falls. And Ashbrae.” My parents. Agony clamps my chest for a moment, and I drag in a breath, shelving those thoughts to the back of my mind. “That's when we noticed a pattern.” Shane continues, turning to me with furrowed brows. “Wolves, just like you and I, are turning up dead in every town within a six mile radius from here. And Dreadborn has been present at every death scene.” Fuck. For the first time, the reality of just how much of a threat the creature is settles in my bones. My thoughts instinctively circle back to that night in Ashbrae. “My parents weren't wolves. If this thing is after wolves, why go af

38.

HAYLEYNo. No. No. My chest slams against my ribcage as I bolt down the hallways, every molecule in my body refusing to accept the words of Ivy. Axel isn't a killer. The thought hardens in my mind like it's being cauterized by fire. I turn the same corner Ivy went down, my sneakers slapping against the floor of the halls until I stumble out in the backyard. As is common during lunch break, students pack the entire area, hanging around in groups. I walk past a cluster of boys, carefully scanning the faces nearby, until I sight her again. Ivy is seated on a bench with Lucas, right under one of the apple trees by the edge of the yard. I don't bother contemplating the unusual sight of them together before I stride forward to where they sit. “Listen, Ivy. You owe me a lot more than a few suspicious—” The raven haired girl turns to face me, and I find myself staring at Roxanne. Oh, shit. “Hey,” she greets with a small smile. “Uh, hi.” My throat instantly goes dry. “I was uh, just, y

39.

HAYLEY Panic takes root in my stomach as I stare at the ripped iron fencing. The sight is eerily reminiscent of the night at Lucas's backyard a month ago. I trace a finger around the shredded edges of the barrier, and when my gaze shifts ahead, my muscles go stiff. Footprints stretch from where I stand, all the way into the woods ahead. Shit. I glance at the students laughing in the yard, completely oblivious to the gaping hole carved in the gates, before pulling my gaze back to the dense forests right in front of me.Where the hell have you gone, Ax? My every instinct screams to head out after him as the bell shrills to signal the end of lunch break. Slowly, students start to head back into the building. Anxiety gnaws at me as I watch two security staff walk into the yard to ensure that no one loiters around past recess hours. Their gaze moves to where I stand and nerves roil underneath my skin. Make up your damn mind, Hayley. Resigning myself to an earful from Corey when I get

40.

HAYLEYAxel is dead. My body is a weightless lump of muscle as my legs carry me all the way home. I can't tell how far I've walked or how I navigated my way out of the cliffs, but every part of me feels drained of life as I stand at the door of my house. Axel is dead. Mechanically, I twist the doorknob open and trudge all the way upstairs. But the minute I step into my room, what little strength I have left gives and I collapse to the floor. With my knees pressed to my chest, I wait for the ground to open up and swallow me whole. God, this can't be real. Despair clogs my throat as tears drizzle down my cheeks, my body shaking with every sob. Axel was tossed off a cliff to his death, and all I did was watch. You could have yelled out to warn him. You could have called out for help. You could have done something, Hayley. Guilt is a restless voice in my head as I wrap my arms across my body to keep from trembling. Shane is a murderer. The realization burns a mix of fear and ange

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