Chapter 7 The bond I never chose
Luna's Pov
Every eye was on me.
The woman who had spoken first tilted her head, studying me like I was something half-interesting, half-disappointing. Her dark hair was pulled back tight, and her posture was sharp and commanding. She radiated control in a way that made my skin itch.
“You have spirit,” she said coolly. “I’ll give you that.”
Kai stepped forward again, placing himself between us. “She said no.”
A low murmur rippled through the pack.
The woman smiled. “You don’t speak for her, Kai. Not anymore.”
My chest tightened at that.
“What does that mean?” I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.
Her gaze slid back to me, it looked cold and assessing. “It means he forfeited that right the moment he chose you.”
I frowned. “I didn’t choose anyone.”
“Yet,” she replied.
Kai’s jaw clenched. “Enough!”
The word carried weight, authority, and instinctively, several of the wolves went quiet immediately.
The woman’s eyes flashed. “Careful. You’re already on thin ice.”
I glanced at Kai. “Who is she?”
He hesitated, just a fraction of a second, before answering. “Selene. She's the Alpha’s enforcer.”
Alpha.
The word landed like a blow.
My stomach twisted. “There’s… more of you.”
Selene chuckled. “Oh, sweetheart. You have no idea.”
Something inside me recoiled. “You said they came to take me.”
“Yes,” she said plainly. “You don’t belong unguarded. Not with a power like yours.”
“I don’t belong to anyone,” I snapped.
Her smile sharpened. “That’s where you’re wrong.”
The ground under my feet pulsed faintly, as if it were answering my anger. A few wolves shifted uneasily.
Kai noticed.
His voice dropped. “Luna. Don’t.”
“Why?” I demanded. “You keep telling me to hold back, but no one’s telling me why.”
Selene’s gaze flicked between us, like something calculating sparking behind her eyes. “He hasn’t told you?”
Told me what?
Kai exhaled slowly, as if bracing himself. “Not here.”
“That’s not fair,” I said. “Everyone else gets to know what I am except me?”
Selene stepped closer.
“You are a convergence,” she said. “A rarity, in fact a catalyst. Your power doesn’t just exist… it reacts.”
“To what?” I asked.
Her eyes gleamed. “To wolves.”
The word sent a chill down my spine.
“Your presence amplifies instinct,” she continued. “Strength, aggression, loyalty, and desire.”
I swallowed hard. Kai went rigid.
“That’s enough,” he growled.
Selene laughed softly. “You see? Already affected.”
My pulse raced. “So what… you’re afraid of me?”
“No,” she said honestly. “We want you controlled.”
The word made my stomach twist.
“Under pack law,” she went on, “unclaimed power must be brought in. Trained and bound.”
Bound?
“I won’t let that happen,” Kai said fiercely.
Selene’s smile vanished. “You don’t get a vote.”
Her gaze hardened. “You were exiled for less.”
Exiled.
I turned to Kai. “Is that true?”
His silence was an answer enough.
Anger surged through me, hot and fast. “You lied to me.”
“I protected you,” he said.
“By keeping me ignorant?”
“Yes,” he snapped. “Because once they know what you are, they won’t stop.”
Selene sighed. “This is getting tedious.”
She raised her hand.
The forest shifted.
Wolves stepped forward in unison, closing the circle. My breath hitched as fear clawed its way up my throat. I backed up instinctively, and then straight into Kai.
His hand brushed mine.
The contact sent a shock through me; it felt sharp and electric. Power flared under my skin, it was bright and wild. Kai sucked in a breath as he felt it too.
Selene’s eyes widened slightly.
“Oh,” she murmured. “So it’s already started.”
“Started what?” I demanded.
She smiled slowly. “The bond.”
Kai swore under his breath.
My heart slammed painfully. “What bond?”
He turned to me, his eyes were dark and conflicted. “Luna…”
Selene interrupted, her voice was sharp. “He’s your anchor.”
“What?” I whispered.
“Your power is unstable alone,” she explained. “It seeks balance, and it found him.”
Kai shook his head. “It’s not that simple.”
“It never is,” Selene replied. “But it is inevitable.”
Panic surged. “I didn’t choose this.”
“No,” she agreed. “But neither did he.”
Her gaze hardened. “Which makes you dangerous.”
Before I could react, she lunged.
Not at me, but at Kai.
Everything happened at once.
I screamed his name as she struck, claws flashing. Kai shifted in mid-motion, his bones were cracking, his form blurring into something massive and lethal.
The force of their collision sent shockwaves through the forest.
Wolves surged forward, and instinct took over.
I threw my hands out, screaming, and the ground answered.
A violent tremor ripped through the ground, knocking wolves off their feet, and trees shuddered violently. The power burned,.fierce, raw, and uncontrollable.
“Luna!” Kai roared. “Stop!”
But I couldn’t.
Fear, anger, and betrayal, it all poured out of me in a blinding surge.
The forest exploded with sound.
When it finally stopped. Everything around me was ruined. Trees scorched. Wolves battered and groaning. Selene lay half-buried against a fallen tree trunk, and blood was gushing out of her forehead.
Silence followed.
Horrified, I stared at my hands.
“I didn’t mean to,” I whispered.
Kai shifted back, his breath ragged, and his eyes locked on me with a mixture of awe and fear.
Selene laughed weakly. “You see now?”
I backed away, shaking. “I don’t want this.”
She pushed herself upright painfully. “Too late.”
Her gaze burned into mine. “You’ve just declared war.”
My blood ran cold.
“On who?” I asked.
She smiled cruelly. “On every pack that will come for you now.”
Kai stepped to my side, protective despite everything.
“I won’t let them touch her.”
Selene’s eyes flicked between us. “Then you’ll f
all together.”
The forest seemed to close in around us.
And I knew…with terrifying clarity, that my life had just shattered into something far bigger, and far darker, than I was ever prepared to face.