Bound by the Moon

Chapter 33

The rain had stopped by the time Astrid and Lucien made it back to the compound. The air was heavy, thick with moisture and the scent of damp earth, but it did nothing to quell the restlessness within Astrid. Her clothes clung to her skin, her hair still dripping, but all of it faded into the background, overshadowed by the weight of what lay ahead.

Lucien hadn't spoken much since their conversation in the woods. His presence was solid and reassuring as ever, but she could feel the tension in him, the silent unease that mirrored her own. He would never admit it, but the weight of her revelation was already settling on his shoulders.

Unbinding her wolf.

She had been suppressing the idea for years, telling herself she wasn't ready. That the wolf inside her—wild and fierce—was too dangerous to set free. But now there was no choice. It had outgrown the bindings she and her father had placed on it as a child, breaking through the cracks and stretching its claws against the cage. The question wasn't if she could keep it bound anymore; the question was how long before it broke free on its own, unleashing chaos in the process.

Yet, unbinding it wasn't the true source of her fear.

She knew deep down the wolf was part of her. She could tame it, learn to wield its power, control its rage. But the other force inside her—that was something else entirely. Dark and raw, unpredictable, a power she didn't understand. It whispered to her, calling from deep within, its pull like the steady tug of a current beneath the surface of the ocean. It was no coincidence that it had begun to awaken around the time of Kael's appearance.

Kael.

Just thinking of his name sent a shiver down her spine, a blend of unease and something she didn't want to acknowledge. She could still see the way his dark eyes had locked onto hers, how he'd spoken to her like he knew her, as if they were connected somehow. She hadn't told Lucien about Kael's cryptic warnings, about the things he had said during their brief encounter. How could she? The implications were too unsettling, and there were too many unanswered questions.

Kael had stirred something inside her. Something dangerous. And the worst part was, she wasn't sure if it was a danger to her, or if she was the danger.

the rain had stopped by the time Astrid and Lucien made it back to the compound. The air was thick with moisture, but the restlessness inside her refused to subside. She felt a sense of inevitability, as if everything in her life had led to this moment—the unbinding of the wolf within her. Her soaked clothes and the damp earth beneath her feet were a distant concern compared to the storm raging inside her.

Lucien walked beside her, silent but tense. She could feel the weight of her decision pressing down on him, even though he hadn't voiced his concerns. His eyes, dark with worry, flitted to her every so often, but there was nothing to say. They both knew this was unavoidable.

Astrid had always feared this moment. She had spent years convincing herself that the wolf inside her was too dangerous to unbind, that it was something to be caged, restrained. But now, after the recent surge in her power, the wolf had begun to tear at the bindings on its own. If she didn't act, it would break free violently, and the consequences would be disastrous—not just for her, but for everyone around her.

It wasn't only the wolf that worried her, though. The darker power that had been stirring within her since Kael's arrival had grown alongside the wolf, an unfamiliar force that whispered to her from the shadows of her mind. It was darker, more primal, and unlike the wolf, it didn't feel like a part of her. It felt foreign, invasive, and it scared her in a way that the wolf never had.