MOONBOUND: Love, War and Destiny

Lena

The night air was cold against my skin, but it did little to stop the fire burning in my chest. I knew I shouldn't be here. Every warning, every whispered tale of the cursed forest, echoed in my mind. And yet, my feet carried me forward, deeper into the shadows where the trees loomed like silent sentinels.

A gust of wind rustled the leaves, sending a chill through me. My breath was uneven, my heart hammering as I fought the urge to turn back. But I couldn't. Not now.

Not when something was calling me.

It wasn't a voice, not exactly. More like a pull, a force that twisted in my gut, urging me onward. I should have ignored it. I should have run home and locked my doors like every other night.

But I didn't.

I can't.

I can't run away from it my whole life. I have a feeling that it wants to tell me something or it want me somewhere. So here I am inside the forbidden forest, where no one dares to go.

The forest looks beautiful in the moonlight. The cold air, the sound of crickets, the pleasant smell of damp soil, the quietness of night, it makes the environment calming and dangerous at the same time.

The crunch of twigs beneath my boots sounded deafening in the silence. I wrapped my arms around myself, straining to see beyond the thick mist curling between the trees.

As I goes deeper into the forest, there was this feeling in the back of my mind that I can't shake off. It's as if something or perhaps someone was watching me, following me. But when I looked around my surrounding I can't find anyone, not a single soul. So I ignored that feeling and continued my journey.

Then—

A snap.

I heard it loud and clear and it froze me on my track.

The sound came from behind me. Slow, deliberate. Someone—something—was there. My pulse thundered in my ears as I turned, my breath catching in my throat.

A figure stepped into the moonlight.

Tall. Broad. A presence that sucked the air from my lungs.

His silver eyes glowed, sharp as a blade, cutting through the darkness. He looked human, but something about him was… wrong. Or maybe too right, too perfectly chiseled, too powerful.

A predator.

"You shouldn't be here." His voice was deep, smooth, yet laced with something that sent a shiver down my spine.

I swallowed hard, my instincts screaming at me to run. But my feet wouldn't move.

The air between us pulsed with an unseen energy, something wild and ancient. My skin prickled with awareness, and a strange heat unfurled in my chest.

Then, as the clouds shifted, moonlight spilled over him, illuminating every sharp angle of his face.

And that's when I saw it.

Not a man. Not just a man.

Something more. Something impossible.

A monster. A legend.

A werewolf.