🩸 MOONBOUND HEARTS
Chapter Three — The Blood Moon Pact
By chizzy
Morning came pale and uncertain. Mist rolled off the forest like smoke, clinging to the edges of the small town. Mara barely slept—every time she closed her eyes, the echo of that lonely howl filled her head.
By dawn, she had decided two things.
First: she wasn't crazy.
Second: she needed answers from Luca.
She found him where she least expected—by the old mechanic's shed near the river, hands stained with oil, fixing a generator that belonged to no one. His head lifted before she even spoke, as if he had felt her coming.
"You shouldn't be here," he said.
"You always say that," Mara shot back, folding her arms. "Maybe you should try something new, like an explanation."
He sighed, wiping his hands on a rag. "You think you want the truth. You don't."
"Try me."
For a moment, the world went still. Only the drip of water from the roof filled the silence. Then Luca looked up, his gaze dark and unflinching.
"The mark on your wrist," he said, "it's not a wound. It's a call. You were marked by the Moon itself—the way we are when we turn for the first time."
Her laugh came out shaky. "Turn? You mean—"
"Yes," he interrupted softly. "Werewolf. Lycan. Call it what you want. The forest binds us under the Blood Moon. That's the pact. We guard the line between what's human and what isn't."
Mara stared at him, waiting for the punchline. None came. "That's insane."
"Is it?" he said, stepping closer. "You saw one last night. You heard them."
She wanted to deny it, but the memory of those eyes in the trees burned too sharp to ignore. "Then what am I?" she whispered.
Luca's jaw tightened. "You're caught between worlds. The mark means the Moon's chosen you, but the change isn't complete. You still have a choice—if you run now, maybe it fades."
"And if I stay?"
"Then the forest will finish what it started."
Their eyes met—hers trembling, his unreadable. Rain began again, light and steady, dotting the space between them like falling glass.
"Why me?" she asked.
He didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached out and touched the air near her wrist, careful not to make contact. "Because you saw me the night of the hunt. And because you didn't run."
Something electric passed through the air. For a heartbeat, she thought the mark shimmered beneath her skin, glowing faintly silver.
"Luca," she said quietly, "what are you afraid of?"
His voice was almost a growl. "Losing control. And you becoming the reason I do."
That night, Mara couldn't keep still. The town slept soundly while her mind replayed his words. The Blood Moon was in three days—she'd overheard that much from a group of locals who avoided her eyes when she passed.
The forest hummed outside, alive with a pulse she could almost feel through the floorboards. She opened the window and the night air hit her—cool, wild, and full of sound. Somewhere deep in the dark, she heard it again: not a howl this time, but a low chant. Rhythmic. Ancient.
She followed it.
Barefoot, she walked into the mist, through the trees, until the sound grew clearer. A circle of figures stood in the clearing, cloaked and kneeling. Their voices rose together like smoke.
Mara hid behind a fallen log, heart slamming in her chest.
Then she saw him—Luca—standing at the center, shirtless, marked with silver lines across his shoulders. The light of the rising moon bled into his eyes, turning them molten gold.
He spoke a single phrase in a language she didn't know. The forest answered with a gust of wind so strong it tore leaves from branches.
Something vast stirred in the darkness beyond them.
Mara's mark flared hot. Pain lanced through her arm. She bit down a cry, clutching her wrist—but the sound escaped her anyway.
Every head in the clearing turned.
Luca's gaze found hers instantly. His eyes widened in alarm. "Run," he mouthed.
But she couldn't. Her body wouldn't move. The air thickened around her, heavy with power and the scent of iron and fur.
From the shadows behind the circle, a shape emerged—taller than any man, its silhouette wreathed in mist, claws glinting in the moonlight.
It looked at her—and smiled.
Then the world went black.
To be continued...