Chapter 3 Secrets in the Moonlight

Night stretched long after Kael left. The silence in the room wasn't peaceful-it pulsed with tension, thick enough that Luna could almost hear the echo of his heartbeat.

She couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, fragments of something-someone-flickered in her mind. Hands tangled in her hair. The sound of a low growl against her skin. A promise whispered beneath a blood-red moon.

Then-pain. And darkness.

She sat up, restless. The IV was gone. So was the fog in her body. She swung her legs off the bed, barefoot, the floor cold beneath her toes.

A faint hum drew her attention to the balcony. The door slid open at her touch. Wind brushed through her hair, carrying the scent of rain and pine. Below, city lights scattered like stars. For a moment, she could almost believe this was an ordinary night.

Almost.

Then the moon rose-massive and silver, heavy with power. The moment the light hit her, a sharp heat flooded through her chest. She gasped, clutching her heart. Her pulse roared in her ears.

And then-a voice.

Remember me, Luna.

Her knees buckled. Images flashed-Kael's hands around hers, their laughter, their bodies moving as one beneath a different moon. Her throat tightened.

The door burst open.

Kael stood there, chest bare, eyes glowing faintly gold. He'd felt it too-the bond awakening.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, voice rough with barely contained emotion.

"I don't know," she panted. "The moon-it's calling me-"

He was at her side in two strides, his hands gripping her arms. "Don't fight it. Just breathe."

Their foreheads touched, the contact sparking like static. Luna's breath hitched as warmth spread from where he held her, steadying the wild rhythm of her heart.

"You remember something," he said quietly.

She looked up at him. "Pieces. Flashes. But it hurts."

"Because whoever cursed you wanted it to." His voice dropped lower. "They wanted you to forget me."

"Why would anyone do that?"

Kael's jaw tensed. "Because together, we were dangerous."

Lightning flared, illuminating the raw emotion in his eyes-love twisted with loss. For the first time, she saw the man behind the Alpha: tired, haunted, still tethered to her by a bond neither of them could break.

Her fingers brushed the scar on his jaw. "Who hurt us, Kael?"

He hesitated, then stepped back as if the touch burned. "Not tonight."

"Then when?"

"When I'm sure you won't run again."

Her lips parted. "You think I'd run from you?"

He gave a humourless smile. "You already did."

Before she could respond, he was gone, leaving only the scent of his cologne and the ghost of what used to be.

Luna sank to the floor, moonlight pooling around her. The mark on her wrist pulsed faintly, glowing brighter with each heartbeat.

She whispered to herself, "What did we do?"

Far below, hidden among the shadows, a pair of amber eyes watched her from the forest edge-eyes that did not belong to Kael.

The curse was unravelling. And someone else had been waiting for that to happen.