All Chapters of Bound to the moon: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

I didn’t have an answer.Not when part of me wanted to claw its way free.Not when part of me wanted to burn everything just to stop feeling so helpless.Later That Night,The fortress was too quiet.Even the wind felt like it was listening.I sat alone in my room, staring at the moonlight slicing across the floor. My hands shook. Mymark pulsed like a heartbeat that wasn’t mine.“Why fight it?” the shadow whispered.“We’re the same blood. The same teeth. Let me help you.”I squeezed my eyes shut. “You’re not me.”Her laugh curled around my spine.“I am. You just don’t like what you see when you look at me.”The door creaked open.Riven stepped inside, silent as ever.“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked.I shook my head.He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, studying me with that unreadable look.“You’re scaring them,” he said softly.“I’m scaring myself,” I admitted.Riven walked over, crouched so we were eye-level.“Then stop hiding from her,” he said. “Meet her head-on.”“I tried.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “If that’s what it takes—”“Shut up!” Thorne growled, stepping between us. “She’s not killing herself for your fear.”Kael glared at him. “You’re too soft for her. That’s why this is happening—”“Say that again,” Thorne snarled, shifting fully into his wolf form, fur bristling.“Enough!” I roared, my voice breaking like thunder. My mark flared bright white, sending a pulse of heat through the air that knocked both of them back.Celeste laughed, even as she bled from a slash across her face.“You see? She can’t even control her mates anymore. How long until she burns you all?”Riven staggered into the courtyard then, his chest still bleeding but his eyes locked on me.“Rory,” he said, voice low and commanding. “Call her back.”“I can’t.”“Yes, you can,” he said, stepping closer despite his wounds. “She’s you. She’s everything you’ve been trying to bury—your rage, your hunger, your wolf. If you don’t call her, she’ll take control.”“I’m scared,” I admitted, my voic

I ran forward, white fire bursting from my hands. The beast screeched as my flames tore through it, dissolving its body into ash.But Kael… Kael was looking at me differently. Like he’d seen something in that fire that terrified him.The wolf prowled closer, its voice like molten iron.“You feel it, don’t you? That power isn’t theirs. It isn’t the Gate’s. It’s mine. Yours. And if you want to protect them, you need to stop pretending you can do it without me.”Thorne shifted back to human, blood smeared down his side, and grabbed my arm. “Rory, don’t.Don’t listen to her. Whatever she’s offering—”“I’m not offering,” the wolf interrupted, flames flickering hotter around its paws. “I’m telling her the truth. The triplets can’t protect her. Celeste will kill them one by one. The only way Rory survives is if she becomes what she was born to be.”“What does that even mean?” I demanded.The wolf’s eyes burned into mine.“It means the prophecy isn’t about your mates. It’s about you. Three th

Kael’s hand tightened around his sword hilt. “What’s going on is she’s burning us all, and Riven’s letting her.”“Kael, stop,” I said, stepping forward. “This isn’t—”“Isn’t what?” His gaze was cold fire. “You kissed him. You let him in. And you wonder why I’m pulling away?”Riven’s jaw tightened. He stepped between us, his eyes locked on Kael. “Don’t do this.”Kael’s laugh was bitter. “Don’t do this? You’ve wanted her since the moment she walked into our lives. You think I didn’t see it? You think I didn’t feel it every time you looked at her like she was already yours?”“Kael!” Thorne barked, but Kael ignored him.“You’re a coward,” Kael said, his voice like steel, “waiting for me to fall apart so you can take what’s mine.”Riven’s lips curved in a sharp, dangerous smile. “Maybe she’s not yours to take. Maybe she never was.”The tension snapped.Kael moved first, swinging his sword, not to kill, but to prove something. Riven blocked the strike with the flat of his blade, sparks flyi

Kael didn’t look back.The moment he walked into the shadows of the courtyard, I felt it—the bond was stretching, cracking, and bleeding. The pain hit so hard I doubled over, clutching my chest.“Rory!” Thorne caught me before I fell, his strong arms steady even as his face was pale with worry.“He’s breaking the bond,” I gasped. “I can feel it—”Thorne’s jaw clenched. “Kael’s stubborn, but he’s not that stupid. He’ll come back. He just needs—”“He’s hurt,” I whispered. My voice trembled, tears stinging my eyes. “Not just from the shadow… from me.”A low groan pulled me from my thoughts.Riven.He was lying on the ground, his skin slick with sweat, his mark glowing faintly like an ember about to die out.“Riven!” I crawled to him, grabbing his hand. “I’m here. I’m right here.”His dark eyes fluttered open, heavy-lidded but sharp even in pain. “You… pulled too much,” he rasped.“You told me to,” I shot back, my voice breaking. “I thought I lost you—”He smirked faintly, even now. “Woul