Chapter 49 THE MOONS' CRUEL REPLY.
Jake's POV:
I clenched my hand around the glass, the ice clinking softly against the sides.
This bar was quieter than the last one.
Smaller. Dimmer. The kind of place people only came to when they didn’t want to be seen - or heard. I was alone in it, aside from the waitress.
She lingered too long whenever she passed my table. Her eyes kept drifting back to me, slow and obvious.
She bit her lower lip, leaned just enough to show more cleavage than necessary - an invitation that would’ve worked on me any other night.
Tonight, it just felt… obnoxious.
I tore my eyes away from her and fixed them on the glass in my hand.
Half empty now.
I hadn’t noticed when that happened.
I took another swallow, the burn finally registering as it slid down my throat, sharp and unforgiving.
For a second, my chest tightened, breath catching like it might actually work this time.
It didn’t.
Didn’t help.
Didn’t quiet my head.
Didn’t drown him out.
“You’re standing at the edge of something you don’t understand.”
My jaw tightened as the words surfaced again, uninvited.
I swallowed once more, slower this time, my grip tightening around the glass. The man’s voice hadn’t followed me out of that building - but it might as well have.
I’d been sitting here for hours now, long enough for the bartender to stop checking on me, long enough for the waitress to start hovering instead.
His words clung to me, settling into the spaces between my thoughts, looping over and over.
Not because I was scared.
That wasn’t it.
It was because, somewhere in the middle of his warnings, I’d expected something else entirely.
I’d expected him to tell me how.
To give in.
To give me a path.
To lead me straight to what I wanted.
Instead, he’d shut me out.
Not with fear. Not with threats. But with something that felt dangerously close to concern.
Like he was looking out for me.
That realization unsettled me more than his refusal ever could.
I’m never wrong about fate.
I huffed quietly, shaking my head.
Cocky bastard.
And yet—
My wolf hadn’t stopped trembling since I left that place.
Not the restless kind. Not the eager, coiled energy that usually urged me forward when things got messy.
This was different. Uneven. Uneasy.
He wasn’t growling in approval.
Wasn’t pushing me to act.
Wasn’t standing beside me at all.
This time, somewhere at the back of my mind, I knew he meant it when he’d said he didn’t want to be part of this.
And that bothered me more than anything else tonight.
The old man’s words kept ringing, overlapping with my own thoughts, and every time they did, my wolf didn’t argue.
Didn’t protest.
He just… agreed.
Silently.
That wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
He’d always been possessive—just like me. Protective. Territorial.
He’d paced and snarled and surged every time Clara crossed my mind. I’d expected him to be in sync with me now more than ever.
Instead, it felt like everyone - and everything - had stepped back.
Like the universe itself had folded its arms and decided to watch me fall.
For the first time in my life, I wanted something desperately. Wanted it selfishly.
Wanted it enough to burn.
And nothing was standing with me.
Not fate.
Not the Moon.
Not even my wolf - who should’ve been on my side no matter what.
I stared down at the glass again, watching the ice melt, listening to it crack softly in the silence.
Just then, the bar’s door thudded shut, the sound dull and heavy in the quiet space.
Someone had walked in.
I didn’t bother turning around.
I flicked my gaze toward the window instead, eyes narrowing slightly as I took in the darkness outside.
Somewhere along the line, I’d lost track of time.
The sky had deepened into that thick shade of night that only came when the world was supposed to be asleep.
And that was when I saw it.
The moon.
Bright. Full. Unapologetic.
It hung there in the sky, pouring pale light straight through the bar’s grimy window - so perfectly positioned it almost felt intentional. Like it was watching me.
Like it had been waiting.
A sharp laugh escaped me, humorless and bitter.
“So,” I muttered under my breath, lifting my glass slightly in mock acknowledgment.
“You finally managed to mess with my head.”
I shifted in my seat, angling my body toward the window now, eyes locked onto that glowing disk.
“Or should I say… fate?” My lips curled.
“Since that’s what everyone loves to call it.”
The ice clinked again as my fingers tightened.
“Of all people,” I went on, my voice dropping, rough with disbelief, “Of everyone walking this damn earth… you chose Clara Bennett?”
My chest tightened at her name.
“Why now?” I demanded quietly. “I mean—” I scoffed, shaking my head.
“You could’ve done this earlier. When she was still with that Dylan… whatever-the-hell-his-name-was.”
My jaw clenched.
“At least then,” I continued, bitterness seeping into every word, “I wouldn’t have thought I stood a chance. Wouldn’t have let myself fall this deep. Wouldn’t have gone and done something stupid like loving her.”
I lifted my hand, pointing straight at the moon, arm rigid, accusing.
And for some weird, annoying reason, it felt like it was staring right back at me.
“Funny, isn’t it?” I said, my voice rising now, frustration cracking through. “How you’re prayed to. Worshipped. Revered.”
I let out a harsh breath.
“If you’re really as kind and merciful as everyone claims you are,” I went on, eyes burning, “If you really care about everyone’s best interests like they say—”
I slammed my glass lightly against the table.
“Then tell me,” I snapped, “Why you can’t give me the one thing I want. The one thing I’ve ever wanted this badly.”
The words tasted raw in my mouth.
I leaned back slightly, shaking my head again. “I know I haven’t prayed to you. Haven’t bowed or whispered your name into the night like the others.”
A bitter smirk tugged at my lips.
“Not like I’m about to start now.”
My voice softened then, just a little—but it hurt more that way.
“But why the twist?” I asked. “Why mark the woman I’m in love with? Why bind her to someone else when she was finally… finally within reach?”
My hand dropped to the table, fingers curling into a fist.
“Is this punishment?” I demanded.
“Some kind of karma? Or is the universe just having a laugh at my expense?”
I leaned forward, eyes blazing, voice low and sharp.
“Tell me,” I growled.
“Goddamn it—tell me!”
The bar stayed silent.
No answer. No sign. Just the soft hum of electricity and the faint clink of ice melting in my glass.
I didn’t care if the waitress saw me talking to thin air. Didn’t care how unhinged I looked right now. The place was nearly empty anyway—and even if it wasn’t?
I wouldn’t have stopped.
Because I needed answers.
I needed to understand what kind of cruel game this deity - this fate - was playing with my life.
And until I did, the ache in my chest wasn’t going anywhere.
My wolf writhed suddenly, sharp and restless beneath my skin.
Not pain.
Not hunger.
But, recognition.
I stiffened, jaw tightening.
Fuck off, I snapped internally, shoving the sensation down hard. I wasn’t in the mood for instincts tonight. Not after everything.
I turned back to my drink.
The glass was still cold in my hand, the ice nearly gone now, diluted and useless — fitting.
That was when my gaze snagged on something it shouldn’t have.
A man.
Sitting across the bar.
He hadn’t been there before. Or maybe he had, and I just hadn’t noticed — either way, something about him pulled my attention like a hook in my ribs.
He was staring down at his drink, lost in thought, shoulders relaxed, expression unreadable.
For half a second, our eyes met.
And something hit.
Hard.
My heart thudded violently against my chest.
I tore my gaze away immediately, lifting the glass to my lips and taking a swallow — and froze mid-sip.
Because my wrist felt… wrong.
Bare.
Empty.
My breath left me in a slow, uneasy exhale as I lowered the glass and stared down.
The mark was gone.
Completely gone.
My frown deepened as I turned my wrist slightly, checking again, then again — nothing but skin.
“What the hell…” I muttered under my breath.
Had I finally cracked?
Was this what too many sleepless nights and too much alcohol did to a man?
I shook my head once, sharply, and brought both hands up, pressing my palms against my temples, eyes squeezing shut as I rubbed hard.
Get it together Jake!
When I opened my eyes—
My breath punched out of me.
My heart started pounding so violently I could hear it in my ears.
The mark.
It was back.
No — not back.
Brighter. Deeper. Alive.
Silver light pulsed faintly beneath my skin, etched directly into my wrist like it had always belonged there — ancient, unmistakable, undeniable.
“Fucking hell,” I breathed.
My mouth fell open as I stared at it, disbelief crashing into me all at once. I lifted my arm slightly, turning it under the dim bar lights, hoping — stupidly — that it would disappear again.
It didn’t.
My gaze snapped to the window, straight to the moon.
Bright. Watching.
Waiting.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered, shaking my head slowly.
“No. No, no, no.”
This wasn’t what I’d asked for.
This wasn’t what I wanted.
My chest tightened painfully as understanding began to crawl in - slow, inevitable, unwelcome.
No no no… you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
I thought desperately, refusing to let the realization settle.
Inside me, my wolf stirred again — stronger this time.
Satisfied.
Finally, he sighed, relief washing through him like a deep exhale. This is it. The Moon Goddess heard you.
“Shut the fuck up!” I snapped internally, panic edging into my thoughts.
“This isn’t what I wanted.”
It’s what you needed, he replied calmly.
Too calmly. Look again.
I clenched my jaw.
Don’t.
Don’t walk away without looking at the one in front of you.
I paused.
Confusion flickered through me as I lifted my head slowly, expecting — I didn’t even know what I was expecting anymore.
Certainly not—
Honey-brown eyes.
Warm. Steady. Fixed on me.
The man from the bar was standing directly in front of my table now, close enough that I could feel the pull — unmistakable, magnetic, terrifying.
Just like me.
My stomach dropped.
Oh.
Oh hell no.
My eyes darted down without my permission — straight to his wrist.
The glow answered mine instantly.
Perfectly.
My chest constricted so hard it hurt.
“You have got to be fucking joking,” I breathed, horror and disbelief tangling together as I looked back up at him.
The Moon was silent.
Smug.
My wolf, on the other hand, sounded damn near pleased.
Mate, he said simply.
I leaned back in my chair like the distance might help, like space could undo fate.
“This is so not happening,” I muttered.
“Absolutely not.”
Denial won’t break the bond.
My wolf replied, amused now.
But this?
He hummed. This is going to be interesting.
I glared at the man — my supposed mate — as if he were personally responsible for the universe’s cruelty.
“Oh, hell no,” I thought flatly.
The Moon had answers, alright.
Just not the kind I’d ever asked for.