CHAPTER FOUR — THE MOON'S PULL
Declan took a single step inside the house and the air changed.
The temperature.
The pressure.
Even the oxygen.
Everything shifted around him, bending in his direction as if the world itself acknowledged who he was: the future Alpha, the strongest wolf of our generation
And my mate.
My stomach twisted.
My wolf rose inside me instantly, ears pricked, tail lifted in recognition. Every instinct she had went straight toward him wanting to approach, touch, nuzzle, confirm the bond that had nearly ripped me apart in the forest.
I fought her back.
Hard.
My mother's grip tightened on my wrist. Her nails dug into my skin as if she could anchor me physically to stop what fate had already set in motion.
"Owen," Alpha Marcus said quietly, "stay close."
Owen nodded and didn't look away from Declan even once.
Tasha was pressed against the far wall, wide-eyed, torn between curiosity and fear.
Mom stepped between Declan and me like a shield.
"Don't come any closer," she hissed....
For a moment, Declan didn't even register her—his focus was locked entirely on me. But then he blinked, his jaw tightening, and forced his eyes away....
Barely...
"I'm not here to fight," he said, voice rough, like gravel rolling across stone. "I just need to talk to her."
"You can talk from there," Mom snapped.
Declan's gaze flicked to her, calm but sharp. "With respect, Luna Mara"
"I'm not your Luna," my mother said sharply....
"Not yet," Declan said. "Not officially. But you still outrank everyone here, and I am not trying to undermine you."
He said it with restraint controlled, formal, like a leader already trained to handle a volatile room.
Which only made me more aware of how much he had changed...
Mom didn't budge. "She is not speaking with you alone."
"I didn't ask for alone." Declan's voice softened. "I asked to talk to her."
He finally looked at me again.
It was like being struck by lightning...
My chest tightened painfully. My breath caught. The bond roared awake inside me, screaming at the distance between us.
His eyes weren't hostile.
They weren't mocking.
They weren't even cold.
They were
Devastated.
"Aria," he murmured, "please."
My knees almost buckled.
Mom felt me sway and steadied me with a sharp pinch to the arm.
I pulled free. "I'm listening." My voice was barely a whisper.
Declan let out a breath like he'd been holding it for years.
He stepped forward
"Stop," Mom snapped again.
He halted mid-stride. Frustration flared briefly in his eyes, but he didn't push it.
"I won't touch her," he said. "Not unless she wants me to."
My entire body flushed at the implication, and I hated how my wolf practically wagged her tail.
I crossed my arms. "What do you want?"
His throat bobbed as he swallowed.
"To explain."
My chest tightened. "There's nothing to explain. The Moon Goddess screwed up. That's all."
Something fractured in his expression a mix of pain and anger and disbelief.
"You think this is a mistake?" he asked quietly.
"I know it is."
Declan exhaled shakily. His fingers twitched like he physically restrained himself from reaching toward me.
"I didn't know," he said. "Not until tonight. I swear it."
"I didn't ask."
"But you were wondering." His eyes softened. "I could feel it."
That word feel hit too close.
He took another breath. "The bond snapped into place when you shifted. That's why I was there. I didn't even know you were back until—"
"Until you smelled me?" I said bitterly.
His jaw clenched. "Until I felt you."
My mother stiffened like the words physically hurt her.
Alpha Marcus cleared his throat. "Declan. Get to the point."
Declan tore his gaze away from me and straightened, slipping into a colder, more controlled form of himself Alpha mode.
"There's something wrong with the bond."
My heart lurched. "What do you mean?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, and for a moment I saw the boy he used to be the one who hid his nerves behind bullying because he didn't know what to do with real emotion.
"It's… unstable," he said quietly. "It's reacting too strongly. Too fast."
He lifted his hand slightly, turning his palm toward me.
My breath caught.
Faint glowing threads barely visible formed between us like thin wisps of silver smoke. Only for a moment.
Then they vanished.
I stepped back instinctively.
Mom hissed softly and moved in front of me again.
Declan's eyes darkened not with anger, but with something far more dangerous.
Fear.
"See?" he said hoarsely. "It's pulling too hard. Too much. This isn't normal. A mate bond doesn't manifest this aggressively unless"
"Unless what?" Owen asked, tense.
Declan hesitated, looking at his father.
Alpha Marcus sighed. "Unless something or someone is interfering with it."
Mom's face drained of color.
"Oh Goddess…"
My pulse pounded. "Interfering? How is that possible?"
"Dark magic," Marcus said simply. "Old magic. The kind we haven't seen in generations."
My stomach dropped.
"You're saying… someone is manipulating the mate bond?"
"No," Marcus corrected. "They're manipulating him."
Declan didn't deny it.
He stood there, shoulders stiff, jaw clenched, eyes filled with a quiet storm.
"It started a few months ago," he admitted. "Nightmares. Blackouts. A… pressure. Like something was clawing at the edges of my mind."
My breath froze.
I remembered the rumors from school.
Declan Storm getting into fights with no memory afterward.
Declan Storm disappearing into the woods for hours.
Declan Storm waking up covered in mud and blood.
"You never told anyone?" I whispered.
"I did," Declan said. "My father. The healers. The council. Everyone ran tests. They found… traces."
"Of magic," Marcus said. "Old magic. The forbidden kind."
My ears rang. "But what does that have to do with me?"
Declan finally met my eyes.
"When the bond snapped into place," he said quietly, "the magic inside me reacted." He lifted his collar slightly, revealing the faint shimmering mark on his skin. "It reached for you. Hard."
My skin tingled.
The mark.
His mark.
Half formed.
Unstable.
Uncontrolled.
"He doesn't have full control over the bond," Marcus said. "Which means neither do you."
I felt faint.
Declan took a step toward me slowly, cautiously. "Aria… I could've hurt you tonight."
I stared at him, my throat tight. "You didn't."
"I might have."
"You didn't."
"I chased you," he snapped. "I lost control. If you hadn't shifted, if you hadn't run"
His voice cracked.
My breath softened just a little.
"Declan"
"No," he said sharply. "I need you to understand. I don't want to hurt you. I won't. But this bond this magic it's dangerous."
He raked a hand through his hair, frustrated.
"They're using it. Whoever killed my brother they're using the bond to get to me. To weaken me. Or control me. Or kill me."
Silence slammed into the room.
Mom's hand flew to her mouth.
Tasha gulped.
Owen swore under his breath.
My heart thundered.
Marcus nodded grimly. "And if they know who his mate is"
"They'll come for you," Declan finished.
A shiver ran down my spine.
"So what?" I whispered. "You're here to warn me?"
"No," Declan said softly. "I'm here to protect you."
Mom stepped forward instantly, fury blazing in her eyes. "You will not take her from this house."
Declan held her stare. "I'm not asking to take her."
"Good."
"I'm asking her," he said simply. "Not you."
Mom inhaled sharply.
And that was when the bond surged.
Not gently. Not subtly.
Violently.
A jolt of raw energy shot between us like lightning. My knees buckled. Declan snarled in pain. The lights flickered. The windows rattled.
My wolf howled fearful and furious.
Something dark slithered under my skin, cold and wrong, and I clutched my chest.
Declan staggered.
"Aria," he gasped, "don't fight it"
"Get away from her!" Mom shouted.
She lunged forward
But before she reached me, Alpha Marcus yanked her back...
"Marcus!"
"Touching her won't help," he barked. "The surge will only worsen."
Declan was on his knees now, hand pressed to his chest, jaw shaking from the effort to contain his wolf....
The bond pulled harder....
Harder....
Like a hook wedged between my ribs, dragging me toward him....
"Aria," Declan choked out, "look at me"
"I can't"
"Yes," he rasped. "You can."
His voice hit me like a command, not Alpha but mate.
I met his eyes.
And everything stopped.
The surge faded instantly, leaving me gasping, trembling, half-collapsed against the wall.
Declan exhaled shakily, sweat beading on his forehead.
Alpha Marcus looked grim.
"That was only a small surge," he said. "The next one could kill you both."
Mom grabbed my shoulders. "We need to sever the bond."
Declan's head snapped up. "No."
Marcus's voice cut through like thunder. "There is only one way to sever it."
"And I'll do it," Mom said before I could speak.
Declan rose slowly, breathing hard. "You don't know what you're saying."
"I know exactly what I'm saying," Mom hissed. "If the choice is losing the bond or losing my daughter, I'll choose her."
Declan's eyes flashed with panic real, raw panic. "Aria don't let them"
But before he could finish
A sound ripped through the house.
Not a knock.
Not a crash.
A scream.
High-pitched. Ruthless. Echoing from the forest.
Everyone froze.
Owen drew in a sharp breath. "Wraith wolves."
Declan's eyes widened. "They found us."
The windows shattered at once.
Dark shapes lunged inside.
Mom shoved me behind her.
Declan shifted mid air, black fur erupting, snarling with a fury that shook the ground.
Alpha Marcus bellowed a command.
Owen tackled Tasha to the floor.
And through the chaos through the shards of glass, the shadows, the screams
A pale, skeletal wolf lunged straight for me.
I didn't even have time to breathe.
It leapt
Teeth bared
Eyes burning red
Aiming for my throat
And right before it reached me
Declan slammed into it with enough force to make the entire house tremble.
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