Chapter 2 Shadows Beneath the Moonlight

The forest was quieter now.

The Moonfire Festival had dwindled to embers and echoes. Lanterns still floated in the sky like silent prayers, but most of the pack had retreated to their dens, lulled by celebration and wine.

But Aria couldn't sleep.

The bond still pulsed under her skin-an ache that refused to dull, no matter how tightly she wrapped herself in blankets or silence. It wasn't just heartbreak; it was a haunting. A ghost of something meant to be, now denied.

She pushed open the cabin door and stepped barefoot onto the dewy grass. The night air was crisp, laced with the lingering scent of smoke, wildflowers, and pine. Somewhere, an owl hooted, distant and indifferent.

Her wolf stirred, restless.

It didn't understand rejection. Wolves didn't choose their mates-it was felt, burned into the soul like a sacred mark. Kael had felt it. She'd seen it in his eyes, even if only for a breath.

So why?

She moved toward the trees, drawn by instinct more than intention. The woods had always been her refuge-when the pack ignored her, when whispers filled the air like poison, when loneliness gnawed at her bones. Here, among the branches and shadows, she was free.

Her feet found the old path automatically-the one that curved along the ridge above the river. As a child, she used to run this trail barefoot, daring herself to leap from stone to stone, pretending she was a warrior of legend.

Tonight, she didn't feel like a warrior.

She felt like a wound.

But walking helped. Breathing helped.

And then she smelled him.

The scent hit her like a punch: cedarwood and cold steel, threaded with something darker. Kael. Her heart surged, body tensing before she even saw him.

He was leaning against a tree, arms crossed, gaze fixed on the moon. His coat was gone, sleeves rolled to the elbows, and the raw edge of his presence made the air heavier. Her wolf snarled and surged forward in recognition, hope rising unbidden.

But Aria stopped herself.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, voice quiet but steady.

Kael didn't flinch. "I could ask you the same."

She shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

"Neither could I."

A silence stretched between them, thick with the things they weren't saying. Aria crossed her arms, mirroring him. "You followed me."

"I didn't."

"Coincidence then?"

He exhaled slowly. "The bond doesn't exactly make it easy to avoid you."

Her chest tightened. "You're the one trying to."

Kael finally looked at her, and in the moonlight, his silver eyes gleamed with something close to anguish. "I'm not trying to hurt you."

"You did," she said simply. "You are."

His jaw clenched. "I had no choice."

"There's always a choice."

"Not for me."

Aria stepped closer, anger igniting in her chest. "You think I wanted this? That I asked for it? The Moon Goddess chose us, Kael. You're not the only one fighting it."

He stared at her for a long time, unreadable. "You don't know what you're walking into."

"Then tell me," she challenged. "Let me in."

But Kael only shook his head, voice a whisper of iron. "You're better off staying away."

With that, he turned and disappeared into the trees, faster than she could follow.

The next morning dawned grey and cold.

Aria stood by the training fields before the sun crested the hills. She hadn't slept, not really. Her body moved through familiar motions-stretch, stance, strike-but her mind was far away, tangled in Kael's voice and the shadow behind his rejection.

"You're early," came a voice behind her.

She turned to find Selene approaching, hair pulled into a messy braid, a staff in one hand. Her gaze swept over Aria's face.

"You didn't sleep," Selene observed.

"Didn't want to."

Selene nodded, then held out the staff. "Then train. Hit something."

Aria accepted it without a word.

They moved through drills silently at first-strikes, blocks, footwork. But Aria was distracted, her blows weak, unfocused.

Selene didn't hold back. Her staff cracked against Aria's shoulder. "Focus."

Aria gritted her teeth. "I'm trying."

"No, you're sulking. There's a difference."

Anger sparked in her chest, sharp and sudden. She lunged forward with a flurry of strikes, her body snapping into rhythm. Selene blocked each one, but her eyes gleamed with approval.

"Better."

They clashed for several minutes, wood against wood, until Aria stumbled back, breathing hard.

"I don't get it," she muttered. "He felt the bond. I know he did."

Selene lowered her staff. "Some people run from what they want most. Especially if it scares them."

"Kael doesn't seem scared of anything."

"He's the Alpha's heir, Aria. He's spent his whole life being told what he can't want."

Aria stared at her. "What do you mean?"

Selene hesitated, then glanced around to make sure no one was nearby. "You know the rumors, right? That Kael's mother didn't die in childbirth. That she left."

Aria frowned. "I thought she was sick."

"That's what the elders say. But my aunt-she was a healer then-said the Luna vanished one night. Left a note. No one talks about it. The Alpha covered it up."

"So you think Kael's afraid... of becoming like her?"

Selene nodded. "Or of hurting someone the way she hurt him. Or worse-of caring so much he loses control."

Aria looked down at her hands. "That doesn't make it okay."

"No. But it might make it easier to understand."

They trained until sweat soaked their clothes and muscles burned. And though the pain in her chest didn't fade, Aria felt steadier, grounded in the weight of her own body.

Later, she sat by the stream alone, feet in the water, letting it cool her aching limbs. Her thoughts drifted to Kael again-to the glimpse of sorrow in his eyes. To the quiet fear she hadn't understood until now.

She still didn't know what he was hiding. But she knew herself.

And she wasn't afraid of the bond. Not anymore.