Bond

Bond
The storm hadn’t fully passed when the rogues came.

Lightning flashed across the mountains, slicing the sky in half, and for one suspended heartbeat, I saw them — shadows racing through the trees, eyes glowing red in the darkness. Then the thunder rolled, swallowing the sight, but not the sound: a chorus of low snarls, moving closer.

I gripped the edge of the windowsill, watching Kevin and Kelvin disappear into the treeline. Every instinct screamed at me to follow, but I knew I couldn’t. Not with the twins. Not when the air around me pulsed with the strange, humming energy that had only grown stronger since the eclipse.

The pack warriors moved swiftly below, forming ranks near the courtyard gates. Their movements were precise, rehearsed, but I could feel the tremor beneath their discipline — fear. The rogues weren’t ordinary wolves anymore. They’d been touched by something darker, their minds twisted by hunger for power.

And I was the prize.

I pressed a hand to my stomach. You’re safe, I whispered to my unborn children, though my heart was racing. I’ll keep you safe.

A sudden crack echoed outside — the sound of claws meeting bone. Then a roar. Kevin’s roar.

Before I could think, I was running.

The corridors of Mount Pleasant blurred as I sprinted down the stairs, the scent of rain and blood growing stronger. I reached the back doors just as a warrior fell, his chest slashed open. Another rogue leapt through the breach, landing in front of me, his eyes gleaming like embers.

“Found her,” he hissed. “The moon’s vessel.”

Fear clawed at my throat. I stumbled back, hand reaching for the dagger at my belt — the one Kelvin had insisted I carry, even though I rarely needed it.

The rogue lunged.

And something inside me snapped.

A surge of energy burst from my chest — blinding white, pure and violent. It threw the rogue backward with a scream, slamming him into the courtyard wall. The ground trembled beneath us, the storm seeming to respond to my pulse.

I gasped, falling to my knees. My skin glowed faintly, veins alight like silver fire.

“Molly!”

Kevin appeared, covered in blood, eyes wide. He took in the sight of me, then the rogue sprawled and twitching. “What the hell was that?”

“I—I don’t know,” I stammered, shaking. “It just… happened.”

Before he could answer, another roar cut through the rain — deeper, angrier, familiar.

Kelvin.

Kevin’s expression darkened. “Stay here.”

He ran before I could stop him.

But I didn’t stay. I couldn’t. Something deep inside me pulled toward Kelvin, an invisible thread tightening in my chest. The mate bond — faint but alive — thrummed with panic, fear, and determination.

I followed it.

Branches tore at my arms as I stumbled into the woods. The rain had turned to mist, thick and silver under the moonlight. Through it, I saw flashes of movement — bodies colliding, snarls, the metallic scent of blood thick in the air.

Then I saw him.

Kelvin stood surrounded, three rogues circling him, moving with deadly precision. He was bleeding — his arm slashed, his cheek torn — but he fought like a storm, every motion controlled fury.

For a moment, I simply watched. Even without his memories, his body remembered how to protect me.

One rogue lunged. Kelvin spun, claws out, and ripped into its throat. Another came from behind, but before Kelvin could react, I screamed his name.

“Kelvin!”

The rogue froze mid-lunge, its head snapping toward me. Kelvin turned too — and something in his eyes changed.

For one heartbeat, the fog over his mind cracked.

“Molly—”

The rogue slashed across his chest, sending him to the ground.

I didn’t think. I ran.

Power flared from my hands again, raw and wild, sending the remaining rogues flying back. The light spread from me in rippling waves, humming through the forest, burning through the mist. My vision blurred, and for a moment, I wasn’t standing on solid ground anymore.

I was somewhere else — a vast white void, the moon above me and two glowing forms beside it. Twin lights. My children.

“Save him,” a voice whispered. “Your bond can still reach him.”

I gasped, stumbling forward in both worlds — my body collapsing beside Kelvin’s. His breathing was shallow, blood soaking into the earth.

“Don’t you dare leave me,” I whispered, pressing my hands over the wound. My magic sparked again, silvery veins of light spreading beneath my palms. “You promised you’d protect me. It’s my turn now.”

His hand twitched.

“Molly…” His voice was barely audible. “I remember…”

Tears blurred my vision. “Please—”

He opened his eyes, and this time, I saw it. Recognition. Emotion. Love.

“I remember,” he breathed. “You were the first thing I saw after my wolf came back… the only thing that ever felt real.”

The bond snapped back into place, fierce and blazing. The pulse of it nearly knocked me backward — an explosion of warmth and light threading between our souls.

All around us, the rogues screamed. Some dropped to the ground; others fled, their shadows breaking apart as the light consumed them.

When it faded, silence fell.

Kelvin was still bleeding, but his grip on my hand was strong. Kevin appeared a few moments later, limping but alive. His expression softened when he saw us.

“Looks like the moon decided to give you a second chance,” he muttered.

Kelvin managed a weak smirk. “Guess she doesn’t like being forgotten.”

Kevin snorted, then turned to me. “You just wiped out half a rogue pack with moonfire, Luna. You all right?”

I looked down at my hands. The glow had faded, but the warmth lingered. “I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

Kelvin squeezed my hand. “Whatever it is, it saved us.”

Kevin glanced toward the dark treeline. “Not all of them ran. The rest will come back once they regroup.”

Kelvin sat up slowly, wincing. “Then we’ll be ready.”

Kevin’s gaze flicked between us. “You sure you’re back, brother?”

Kelvin’s hand tightened on mine. His voice was steady, certain. “Completely.”

When we returned to Mount Pleasant, the pack gathered silently at the gates. Many bowed as we passed, eyes wide with awe. The stories would spread before dawn — about the Luna who glowed like moonlight and the Alpha who rose from blood and fire to stand beside her.

But as we crossed the threshold of the packhouse, all I could think about was how close I’d come to losing him.

Later, when the healers had patched his wounds and Kevin had gone to oversee the borders, I sat beside Kelvin in the quiet of our room. The rain had stopped, and the moonlight spilled gently across the floor.

He reached for my hand. “I don’t remember everything,” he admitted softly. “Some pieces are still missing. But I remember enough. Enough to know that you’re my mate. That this—” he placed a hand over my stomach “—is ours.”

Emotion clogged my throat. “You came back to me.”

“I never really left,” he whispered, leaning closer. “I just had to find my way home.”

Our foreheads touched, and for a moment, everything was still. No war. No fear. Just us — the bond humming steady, whole again.

But deep down, I knew peace wouldn’t last. Kael’s warning still echoed in my mind. Power always demands a price.

And whatever that price was… it hadn’t been paid yet.