Chapter 5 The moon without mercy

The sky was still hours from dark, but my bones had already started to crack.

It was subtle at first-the ache in my spine, the tightness in my jaw, the heat crawling under my skin like wildfire with no wind. I'd felt it before. Always in the hours before the shift, right before I lost myself to teeth and fury.

But this time... the moon wasn't full.

That scared the hell out of me.

I was splitting early.

Eira was working at the table in my garage-turned-safehouse, quietly crushing herbs into a stone bowl. The way she moved-deliberate, focused, distant-made it hard to look away. Not because she was beautiful, though she was, but because she was dangerous in a way I didn't yet understand.

She hadn't said much since we got back from the forest. Not since I'd torn apart that rogue in front of her.

Not since she'd seen the truth of what I am.

I thought she might run.

She didn't.

Instead, she stayed. And that terrified me even more.

"You're shaking again," she said without looking up.

I blinked. My hand was clenched so tight around the wrench I'd bent it. Steel groaned as I forced my fingers to relax.

"It's early," I muttered. "I've never felt it this soon."

She finally looked at me.

"How bad is it?"

"Bad."

"How long do we have?"

I hesitated.

"Maybe an hour. Maybe less."

Her expression didn't change, but I saw something flicker behind her eyes.

Not fear.

Resignation.

She stood, walked to the cupboard, and retrieved a small leather pouch-the same one she used the night she stitched me up with magic and murmured words that shouldn't exist in this world.

"You're going to lose control," she said.

I didn't argue.

Because we both knew it was true.

"Will you chain me again?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

She paused.

"No."

I raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"Last time we tried that, you broke iron."

"And almost killed you."

Her gaze didn't flinch. "But you didn't."

"That doesn't mean I won't next time."

"No," she said, stepping closer. "It means you chose not to. Even in the worst of it, something in you still knew who I was. You fought it."

I looked away.

"You shouldn't bet your life on that."

She touched my arm. "I already am."

We made for the woods.

The cellar wasn't enough anymore. Too close to town. Too many things I could destroy if the shift came on hard. The forest gave me room to run, to scream, to fall apart without dragging anyone down with me.

Except Eira insisted on coming.

She said she needed to see it. All of it. Said she couldn't protect me from something she only half understood.

She packed runes and salt. Charms made of bone and crow feather. Her blade.

I packed silence and dread.

And together, we climbed toward the ridge where the world turned wild.

The light was falling fast by the time we reached the clearing.

I dropped to my knees, panting, sweat pooling down my neck. Every muscle burned. My chest felt like it was caving in on itself.

I could hear the wolf in my blood, clawing at the edges of my skin.

"Too soon," I whispered. "It's never been this soon."

"It's the bond," she said, kneeling beside me. "It's accelerating."

"Bond?"

She hesitated. "Something links you to what attacked you. Whoever turned you. It's not just blood-it's spiritual. Magical. And it's growing stronger."

"Then cut it out," I growled. "Whatever spell you used last time, use it now."

She shook her head.

"It won't hold. Not unless I break you."

I stared at her.

"What does that mean?"

Her voice softened. "Your body's resisting the infection, but your soul... it's bound to something else. If I try to sever it completely without your consent, it could destroy what's left of your humanity."

I laughed bitterly.

"You think there's anything left of that?"

Eira didn't answer.

She just pressed her forehead to mine.

And whispered, "Yes."

The first crack echoed through the trees like gunfire.

My hands split.

Fur rippled across my arms.

My jaw snapped forward, bone shifting, teeth sharpening.

I screamed through clenched teeth.

"Get away from me!"

Eira didn't move.

"I said GO!"

She raised her hand, murmured something in that ancient tongue of hers-and suddenly, a ring of blue flame erupted around me.

A circle of protection.

She stood just outside it.

Watching.

Waiting.

Refusing to leave.

The pain took me whole.

I fell to all fours.

Snarled. Shook.

The fire didn't burn me-but it held me like invisible hands, grounding me, anchoring me.

The wolf wanted to leap. Wanted to run. Wanted to tear.

But it couldn't.

And neither could I.

All I could do was scream.

When I opened my eyes again, the moon was overhead.

The clearing was silent.

My body was sore and spent, steam rising off my skin.

I was... human.

Still naked, still wrecked, but human.

Eira knelt beside me, pressing a damp cloth to my forehead.

"You didn't turn fully," she whispered. "You stopped it."

I tried to sit up. Failed.

"What happened?"

"You fought it," she said. "Harder than I've ever seen."

I blinked at her.

"You didn't chain me."

She shook her head.

"I trusted you."

And for the first time in a long time...

I didn't feel like a monster.

I felt like a man.

Later that night, as we sat beneath the stars, she told me the rest.

About the prophecy.

About the bloodline.

About the Moonbound.

She told me she thought I was part of something older than either of us could name. That Alaric wasn't just a monster-he was a key.

And I might be the lock.

Or the gate.

Or the curse.

None of it made sense.

But when she looked at me with those storm-lit eyes, I believed her.

Because whatever was coming...

I could feel it, too.