Chapter 6: Chapter Six
Chapter 6:
Lia’s POV
The forest air was thick with the scent of damp earth, pressing against my skin as I sat on the porch of my cabin, staring into the dark expanse of Duskwood’s trees. My heart thudded too loud, an unnatural rhythm that echoed in my ears like a drum. It had been two days since Quinn’s revelation in that dim, hidden room at the bookstore, words that still burned in my mind, ‘moonbound’ ‘tied to a werewolf,’ ‘irreversible’. My fingers traced the strange mark on my shoulder, the one I’d found while bathing, its lines glowing faintly under my touch. It wasn’t there a month ago. I wasn’t ‘this’ a month ago.
The night was too quiet, the kind of quiet that felt like it was hiding something. I pulled my knees to my chest, my amber hair spilling over my shoulders, catching the moonlight. Edgar’s words from earlier haunted me. “You’re my mate, Lia. Tell no one, or they’ll come for you.” His voice had been low, urgent, his dark eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made my stomach twist. Mate. The word felt foreign, heavy, like a chain I hadn’t agreed to wear. Yet, standing there in the forest with him, something in me had stirred, a pull I couldn’t explain, like my blood knew him before I did.
I shivered, not from the cold but from the weight of it all. Duskwood wasn’t the fresh start I’d hoped for after Mama’s death. Her warnings about the woods rang in my head: “Stay out of the forest, Lia. The wolves will take you.” I’d thought she meant animals, not… this. Not werewolves. Not me being something other than human. My fingers tightened around the edge of the porch step. I wanted to scream, to demand answers from the stars above, but all I got was silence.
A rustle in the trees snapped my head up. Golden eyes watching from the shadows, unblinking, watching me. My breath caught, but I didn’t move. I’d seen those eyes before, night after night, since I moved here. They weren’t human, but they weren’t entirely animal either. My skin prickled, the mark on my shoulder pulsing faintly. “Go into the forest”, something whispered inside me, a voice that wasn’t mine. I stood, my bare feet brushing the rough wood of the porch, my nightgown moving with the wave of the breeze. I shouldn’t. Edgar had warned me to stay put, to stay safe. But when had I ever listened to warnings?
The forest swallowed me as I stepped past the tree line. My heartbeat grew louder, drowning out the crunch of leaves underfoot. I didn’t know where I was going, only that I needed to move, to follow that pull tugging at my chest. The air grew heavier, charged, like a storm was brewing inside me. My skin tingled, and for a moment, I swore I heard a low growl, not from the woods, but from ‘me’.
“Lia.” Edgar’s voice cut through the darkness, sharp and commanding. I frozeed as he stepped into a sliver of moonlight. His broad shoulders filled the space, his dark hair mussed, his eyes glinting with something between anger and concern. “What the hell are you doing out here?”
I crossed my arms, defiance flaring despite the way my pulse raced at his presence. “I could ask you the same thing. Stalking me now?”
“You don’t listen, do you?” He stepped closer, towering over me, his voice dropping to a growl. “I told you to stay out of the woods. You’re not ready for this.”
“For what?” I snapped, my sharp tongue getting the better of me. “For whatever’s happening to me? For this moonbound nonsense? You can’t just drop that on me and expect me to sit still, Edgar. I deserve answers.”
He ran a hand through his hair, frustration etching lines into his face. “You’re not just moonbound, Lia. You’re tied to me. That mark on your shoulder? It’s proof. But if the wrong people find out, my clan, the Frostclad Knight, they’ll tear you apart before you even understand what you are.”
I swallowed, my throat tight. “And what am I, exactly? Quinn said I’m not human anymore. But I don’t feel like a wolf. I feel…” I hesitated, the words catching. “I feel like I’m losing myself.”
Edgar’s expression softened, just for a moment, and I saw that delicate side he kept buried under his alpha facade.
“You’re not losing yourself,” he said quietly. “You’re becoming what you were always meant to be. But it’s dangerous, Lia. You’re not ready to shift, not yet. If you try too soon, it could kill you.”
My hands curled into fists. “Then help me understand! Stop talking in riddles and tell me why I’m dreaming of wolves, why my heart feels like it’s going to burst, why I feel you even when you’re not here.” My voice cracked, and I hated how vulnerable it made me sound.
He stepped closer, so close I could feel the heat radiating from him, smell the faint musk of earth and pine on his skin. “Because you’re mine,” he said, his voice low, almost a whisper. “And I’m yours. The bond doesn’t ask permission. It just… is.”
My breath hitched, my body betraying me as that pull in my chest tightened, urging me closer to him. I wanted to push him away, to run from whatever this was, but my feet stayed rooted. “And if I don’t want it?” I challenged, though my voice wavered.
His eyes darkened, a flicker of pain crossing his face before he masked it. “You don’t get a choice. Neither do I. But I’ll protect you, Lia. Even if you hate me for it.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but a sharp howl pierced the night, chilling my blood. Edgar’s head snapped toward the sound, his body tensing like a predator ready to strike. “Go back to your cabin,” he ordered, his voice all alpha now. “Now.”
“No,” I said, planting my feet. “I’m not some damsel you can order around. If something’s out there, I want to know what it is.”
“Lia, for once, just…” He cut off, his eyes narrowing as another howl echoed, closer this time. He grabbed my arm, his grip firm but not painful, and pulled me behind him. “Stay close. And don’t do anything stupid.”