Semua Bab Bound by the moon: Bab 11 - Bab 13

The bond cracked open in me like a fault line. I fought the urge to reach for him. Every muscle in my body screamed to move, to touch, to scent-mark, to kneel and press my forehead to his stomach in ancient submission. But I didn’t. Not yet. He was looking at me, eyes wide, lips parted, as if he too had been dropped into a dream he couldn’t wake from. And gods..... he was beautiful. But it wasn’t just his beauty. It was his presence. His truth. The kind that makes you want to fall to your knees and beg the universe for another chance to be whole. I had thought I was past this. Past believing in fate, or mercy, or miracles. But then he stepped into the cleansing ground And my world began again. He stood before me now. Closer than I ever dreamed he’d be. Close enough that I could hear the way his breath hitched, see the pulse fluttering at the base of his throat. His scent was everywhere woven into the air, clinging to my skin, settling into my lungs like it belonged there. A

CAELThe shadows closed in before I could even run. Faces blurred, voices sharp.“What is this thing doing here?” one sneered, though their mouth stretched too wide, teeth glinting.“Maybe he thinks this place belongs to his kind,” another hissed.Hands like iron clamped me down. No matter how hard I struggled, my limbs were useless, heavy, as if sunk in water. Laughter echoed, shrill and endless, circling me. Kicks and blows rained down, yet I couldn’t tell if they were striking flesh or if the ground itself was breaking apart beneath me.I prayed to wake, but then he appeared, his silhouette glowing against the dark. For a heartbeat, I thought he would reach for me. Relief rose in my chest… until he smiled. Not kind, not gentle, cruel. He stepped forward, and with him, the pain grew sharper.There is nothing worse than watching the one you crave hope from become the one to wound you. His eyes, colder than the others, cut deeper than their fists.I tried to call out, but no sound lef