All Chapters of Moonbound: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The silver light spread with astonishing speed.It raced through every carved groove in the circular platform before climbing the stone columns one after another.One.Two.Three.Until all twelve columns surrounding the chamber glowed with the same soft, silvery radiance.The light wasn't blinding.It was...Alive.It pulsed slowly, almost like a heartbeat.The mountain answered.A deep vibration rolled beneath their feet.Dust drifted from the ceiling.Tiny pebbles danced across the floor.Noah instinctively reached for the nearest column to steady himself."What is happening?"Adrian never took his eyes off the glowing platform."I don't know."Kael looked sharply at him."You've been here before.""Many times.""And you've never seen this?"Adrian slowly shook his head."Never."His voice was barely above a whisper."I've spent years trying to understand this place.""I've searched every carving.""Every tunnel.""Every chamber.""It has never..."He stared at the glowing pendant

Adrian ran.Not toward the town.Away from it.His boots pounded across the gravel shoulder before disappearing into the tree line west of Black Hollow.He didn't look back.He didn't slow down.Because he recognized the sound.The birds hadn't taken flight because of a bear.Or a mountain lion.Something much older had entered the valley.Inside the diner, Emily looked toward the window."Did you see that?"Kael followed her gaze.The sky above the western forest had suddenly filled with birds.Hundreds of them.They circled frantically before scattering in every direction.His stomach tightened.No...Not here.Not tonight.Emily frowned."That's strange.""It happens sometimes," Kael answered, though even he knew the explanation sounded weak.She looked at him carefully."You don't believe that."Kael didn't answer.Instead, he glanced toward the clock.6:42 p.m.The sun was already slipping behind Granite Ridge.Darkness would come quickly beneath the trees.His phone vibrated.On

The forest vanished beneath Kael's paws.He ran faster than he ever had before.Branches whipped past him in silver-gray blurs.Creeks became single leaps.Fallen trees barely slowed him.Every heartbeat echoed through his body with one thought.Emily.Her scent still rode the wind.Fear.Confusion.Adrenaline.She wasn't injured.If she had been...He would have smelled blood.That realization gave him only the smallest measure of relief.Whatever had frightened her had wanted exactly that.To frighten her.To make him leave the mountains.Behind him, Noah and Lena exchanged worried glances before changing direction to follow.He's going to the cabin, Noah sent through the silent communication of the pack.I know, Lena answered.This was planned.Several miles away...The three rogue wolves remained on the ridge overlooking the ravine.The black Alpha watched the silver wolf disappear into the distance.A younger gray wolf looked confused."He's leaving."The Alpha nodded."Exactly."

Neither of them moved.The meadow stretched quietly beneath the moonlight.Mist drifted across the tall grass where the rain had settled, giving the open field an almost dreamlike appearance.Emily wrapped her arms around herself."I don't see anyone."Kael continued scanning the tree line.Every instinct he possessed remained on edge.His senses searched beyond what human eyes could perceive.The rain had washed away most scents, but not all of them.He caught traces of wet pine.Fresh earth.Fox.Rabbit.And...There.A scent so faint it almost disappeared beneath the smell of rain.Unknown.Not one of his pack.Not one of the rogues.Not Adrian.Not Magnus.Something else.Something that seemed to vanish almost as quickly as he found it.He frowned."It left."Emily looked at him."You can tell that?"He realized what he'd said.He quickly corrected himself."I've spent most of my life tracking wildlife.""It becomes instinct after a while."Emily accepted the explanation with a no

Kael didn't sleep.After walking Margaret back to her bookstore, he drove to the Crescent Moon Lodge with the image of the woman in white replaying in his mind over and over again.She hadn't looked dangerous.She hadn't looked angry.She had looked...Heartbroken.And Margaret's words echoed louder than anything else.You kept your promise.A promise made twenty-five years ago.A promise connected to Emily.A promise that somehow had survived an entire generation.The lodge was unusually quiet.Only a single lamp burned in the common room.Noah looked up from the couch the moment Kael walked through the door."You're late."Kael tossed his truck keys onto the coffee table."I know.""You stayed with Emily.""Yes."Noah studied him."You look worse than when you came back from Hawthorne Falls."Kael didn't answer.Instead, he walked to the fireplace and stared into the dying embers.Lena came downstairs carrying two mugs of coffee."I figured neither of you would be sleeping."She han