Bounded By The Moon

Elena Rose stared out the window of the bus as it wound through the forested backroads leading to SilverClaw University. The trees blurred into shades of green and gold as autumn quietly crept into the hills. Leaves fluttered down like little flames, and a soft breeze blew them across the road, as if guiding her somewhere unknown.

She clutched her backpack tighter on her lap. Inside it were a few notebooks, her schedule, and an old photograph folded so many times it had begun to tear at the edges. It was the only thing she kept from her old life. Everything else had been left behind when she escaped the chaos that once consumed her.

SilverClaw was supposed to be her second chance. A quiet campus nestled in the woods, far from the city noise and the haunting memories she had no desire to relive. No one knew her here. No one asked questions. That was all she needed.

The bus finally rolled to a stop at the campus gates. The driver gave her a quick nod as she stepped off. She adjusted the strap of her backpack and looked up at the tall iron gates. Beyond them, she saw the stone buildings and long paths winding through the trees. Students passed by in small groups, some laughing, others focused on their phones. She took a deep breath and stepped through.

Her dorm was small but clean. A single bed, a wooden desk, and a window with a view of the forest behind the building. She unpacked quickly, folding her clothes into the small drawers and placing the photograph inside the top one. She did not want to see it. Not now.

Orientation was already over by the time she arrived, so she had to pick up her student ID and schedule at the admin office. The woman behind the desk gave her a polite smile and handed her a printed list.

"Welcome to SilverClaw," the woman said kindly. "You're in the literature department, right? Your classes are all in the east wing."

Elena nodded and forced a smile. "Thank you."

As she walked across the campus to explore, she caught glimpses of the other students. Some looked like regular people. But some... some had an energy around them. The kind of presence you could not explain. She felt it in her chest like a quiet hum. She did not know what it meant, but it unsettled her.

She was halfway through the quad when she saw him.

Leaning against a sleek black motorcycle, sunglasses pushed up into his golden brown hair, was a man who looked like he stepped straight out of a movie. Tall, sharp jaw, piercing blue eyes that scanned the crowd like he owned the place. He laughed quietly at something a girl said beside him, but there was no warmth in it.

Elena's breath caught. Not because he was handsome, though he was. It was something else. Something under her skin. A feeling she had not felt in years. A pull.

She quickly looked away and kept walking.

She did not know his name. Not yet. But that would change very soon.

---

Adrian Blackwood was used to attention. As the only son of the Blackwood Pack Alpha and the heir to Blackwood Enterprises, he had grown up with expectations on every side. Be strong. Be ruthless. Be in control. That was the only way to survive in both the human world and the werewolf one.

At twenty one, he was already acting CEO of one of the most powerful family owned companies on the East Coast. His weekdays were split between board meetings and college lectures, and his weekends were for training the younger wolves or solving pack disputes.

He had no time for games. Especially not for distractions.

So when his friend Jax elbowed him and said, "Dude, check out the new girl," Adrian barely glanced up. He did not care.

But then he saw her.

Walking across the grass, eyes low, backpack slung carelessly over one shoulder. She moved like she was trying not to be seen. But there was something about her that stood out anyway. Something that tugged at his senses.

He frowned.

She did not smell like the others. Not human. Not quite wolf either. It was confusing.

"Do you know her name?" Adrian asked.

Jax blinked. "What? The new girl? Uh, no. I think she's a transfer."

Adrian said nothing more. But he watched her disappear behind the main building, and the unease settled into his chest.

Something about that girl was going to mess up everything. He just knew it.

---

Elena kept her head down for the first few days. She went to classes, kept to herself, and avoided eye contact. Most people did not bother her. A few tried to chat in passing, but she kept her answers short. She had no interest in making friends.

But the looks from some students were hard to ignore. Like they sensed something different about her. Some girls looked at her with suspicion, others with jealousy. She ignored them all.

Then came her first literature seminar.

The classroom was half full when she entered. She slid into a seat near the back and opened her notebook. A moment later, a few more students filed in, laughing loudly. And then, him.

Adrian.

He walked in like he owned the building. Heads turned. A few girls straightened their posture. But his eyes scanned the room once and landed on her.

Their eyes locked for a moment.

She looked away.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked, motioning to the empty chair beside her.

She hesitated. "No."

He sat down, silent for a few seconds. Then he spoke again.

"You're new."

She nodded. "Yes."

"Name?"

"Elena."

He studied her for a moment. "You don't talk much."

She gave a small shrug. "Not much to say."

He smirked. "I can tell you're not like the others."

She turned to look at him. "And what do you think I am?"

He leaned in slightly, voice low. "That's what I'm trying to figure out."

Before she could answer, the professor walked in and the class began.

But the strange connection between them had already started.

---

Later that night, Elena walked through the woods behind the dorm. She often came here when her thoughts were too loud. The trees made her feel safe. Hidden. Like no one could reach her here.

She sat on a fallen log and closed her eyes.

She remembered the last time she had felt that pull. The last time a man had made her feel something deep inside her bones. Her ex husband. The Alpha who promised her the world, only to abandon her when things got hard. He left her without a word. Left her to pick up the pieces of her shattered life alone.

She had sworn never to trust another Alpha again.

And yet, here she was. Feeling drawn to a man she barely knew. A man who had Alpha written all over him. Power in his voice, strength in the way he walked. She could not go through that again.

She stood and walked back toward the dorm. She would avoid him. Stay focused. No more distractions.

But she knew fate had a cruel sense of humor.

Because Adrian was not just a student.

He was her destined mate.

And he was not going to walk away so easily.