The night was too quiet.Kael sat alone in his study, the fire burning low. The air in the mansion carried her scent wildflowers and rain. Even when she wasn’t near, he could feel her heartbeat inside his chest. The bond had made it that way. Every breath she took echoed inside him.

He pressed his hand against his temple. She’ll never understand.

He’d told himself he was doing the right thing keeping her safe, hiding her from the danger that hunted him but the longer she stayed, the harder it became to keep control. Every time she looked at him with those wide, angry eyes, something inside him softened, then burned.

Clara knocked softly on the door.

“Master Kael, dinner is ready.”

He nodded without looking up. “She isn’t in her room, is she?”

There was silence. Then Clara’s voice came, uneasy. “No, sir. Her door was open.”

Kael’s heart stopped for a beat. The sound of the clock on the wall seemed too loud. He stood quickly, the chair scraping the floor. “When?”

“Just now, sir. We thought she was with you.”

But she wasn’t. And he could feel it now a strange pull in his chest, sharp and cold. The bond was trembling. Something was wrong.

He didn’t wait another second.

---

Luna’s breath came out fast as she ran down the narrow road outside the mansion gates. The moon was high, the air cold against her skin. Her feet hurt, but she didn’t stop. She didn’t care where she went anywhere but there.

He can’t own me, she thought. He can’t.

She’d waited until the house grew silent, slipped out through a side door she’d seen Clara use. For a while, she’d felt free. But now the trees grew thicker, the night darker. The road was empty.

A sound came from behind her footsteps. She turned quickly.

“Who’s there?”

No answer. Only the whisper of the wind through the leaves.

She started walking faster. Then a figure stepped out of the shadows. Another followed. There were three of them men, tall and rough, faces hidden beneath hoods.

“Well, look what we’ve found,” one said with a low laugh. “Pretty thing, wandering alone.”

Luna froze, fear crawling up her spine. “Stay away from me!”

They moved closer. She turned and ran, but one of them grabbed her arm, pulling her back hard. She screamed, kicking, hitting, but another caught her from behind.

“Please don’t—”

“Quiet,” the first man hissed. “We’ve been looking for you.”

“What do you mean?” she gasped.

“She’s marked,” another said. “He’ll come for her.”

And before she could ask who, a howl split the night low, fierce, and close.

The men froze. Luna’s heart leapt.

Then Kael burst through the trees.

He moved like lightning eyes glowing silver, teeth bared, fury in every line of his body. He caught the first man by the throat, throwing him aside like nothing. The others tried to fight, but they never stood a chance. Kael’s movements were fast, animal-like, filled with rage. Within moments, the men were gone running, limping, disappearing into the dark.

When it was over, he turned to her. His chest rose and fell quickly, his hair damp with sweat.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice rough.

She shook her head, still trembling. “How did you find me?”

Kael stepped closer, his hand brushing her cheek gently. “I didn’t have to find you. The mark told me.”

Luna stared at him, confused. “What are you talking about?”

He sighed, his eyes softening. “You wouldn’t have believed me before. But now you need to know the truth.”

He looked up at the moon, its light silvering his face. “The night I saved you in the forest, when your blood touched mine, something ancient awakened. My kind alphas carry a curse passed down for generations. When we mark someone, our souls link. Your pain becomes mine. Your heartbeat calls to me. That’s how I knew you were in danger.”

Luna’s voice shook. “So I’m… what? Your prisoner forever?”

“No,” he said quietly. “My mate.”

The word made her shiver. “Mate?”

He nodded once. “It means you’re bound to me by blood and fate. I didn’t choose it. Neither did you. But once it happens, there’s no undoing it.”

Luna stepped back, shaking her head. “No. No, that can’t be true.”

“I wish it wasn’t,” Kael said. “Because it means that if you die, I die too.”

The world seemed to tilt. She wrapped her arms around herself. “You’re lying.”

He took a step forward. “Look at your wrist, Luna.”

She glanced down. The mark that had once glowed faintly was brighter now, shining like moonlight against her skin. She could feel it pulsing, matching his heartbeat.

Tears filled her eyes. “What did you do to me?”

Kael’s voice softened, almost breaking. “I saved you. But in doing so, I tied you to me.”

She stared at him, trying to breathe, trying to think. “So I can’t leave you?”

“You can try,” he said, his tone low, “but the mark will always bring you back. It pulls us toward each other. The farther you go, the more it hurts.”

She swallowed hard. “That’s not love, Kael. That’s a cage.”

He looked away, his jaw tight. “Maybe. But it’s my cage too.”

For a long moment, they just stood there two people bound by something neither of them asked for. The wind moved through the trees, carrying the scent of rain again.

Finally Kael said quietly, “You can hate me if you want. But I’ll still protect you. Even from the world you think you want to return to.”

Luna’s tears spilled over. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

Kael stepped close enough that his warmth brushed her skin. “Believe this,” he whispered. “As long as you wear that mark, no one will ever hurt you again.”

He lifted her hand, his thumb tracing the faint glow. For a moment, the light dimmed, and the pain in her chest eased.

Luna looked up at him, confused and afraid and something else she didn’t want to name.

“Why me?” she asked softly.

Kael’s eyes darkened. “Because the night I saw you, the curse chose you. And I’ve been fighting it ever since.”

His words hung in the air, heavy and full of meaning she didn’t yet understand.

She looked down at her wrist again, the mark still glowing faintly. Her voice was small when she spoke. “What happens now?”

Kael exhaled slowly, his gaze locked on hers. “Now, Luna… you learn what it truly means to be bound to an alpha.”