Bound By The Moon: The Eternal Bond - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Julia paced along the wooden floor of the cabin, each step echoing in the silence like a ticking clock. It had been over an hour now, and every passing second felt like punishment. Valen had asked her to remain here while he “cleared up a few things.” He’d called it protection. To her, it felt like a cage. Like she was being labeled weak—and nothing enraged her more.
A soft knock broke through the stillness. The door creaked open, and Aiden stepped inside, his gaze scanning the cozy but suffocating cabin.
“Hi, Luna,” he said casually, though his tone held a trace of concern. “How are you doing?”
She didn’t bother returning the greeting. “Valen sent you?”
“Nope,” he replied, shaking his head. “Just checking on you. How are you holding up?”
Letting out a weary sigh, Julia sank onto a stool, her eyes distant and guarded. “I’m fine,” she said, the lie heavy on her tongue. The truth was far more hollow—she felt weighted down with guilt and questions she didn’t want to face.
“How’s the situation?” she asked, shifting the focus. “With the humans?”
“Still no clue,” Aiden said. “But I’m heading out again tonight to investigate. You in?”
She rose quickly, tension stiffening her spine. “Why not? Do you think it’s magic? Something like... soul stealing?”
Aiden considered that for a beat, drumming his fingers thoughtfully against his chin. “Nah. I don't think so.”
She gave a small nod, although the details still swam in ambiguity. Two humans had been found dead—no wounds, no poison, no visible struggle. But Julia had seen enough to know this bore Damon’s signature. Whatever game he was playing, it wasn’t over.
Jessy moved through the tall pines, her pace unhurried as she hummed softly to herself. A woven basket of berries swung gently at her side. Werewolves didn’t particularly crave fruit—they were creatures of meat—but humans loved them. And Julia, she knew, had a taste for sweet things.
Her steps slowed as her nose caught a scent—sharp, fresh, and unmistakably familiar. Sandalwood and pine.
Aiden.
He was nearby. In fact, judging by the direction... he was in the cabin. Alone. With Julia.
A quiet growl vibrated in her chest as irritation rippled through her. She had tried to suppress the nagging jealousy in the past few days, to ignore the strange pangs in her chest, but now it all rushed back with venom. Her fingers tightened around the handle of the basket. Something clenched inside her—sharp, possessive, and unspoken.
He’s mine.
The thought rose from somewhere deep and primal, and in a breath, she surrendered to instinct.
Her skin split as her form shifted. Bones twisted, muscles reshaped, and fur bloomed over her body. Her clothing tore away as her limbs reformed into a lithe, muscular wolf. The brown of her coat shimmered under filtered sunlight as her senses heightened tenfold. She could hear everything now. Every word.
And she heard his voice.
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
Jessy halted mid-step, ears twitching. Her heart dropped, heavy with hurt.
Why did he always sound so gentle when he spoke to Julia? Why not her—his mate?
Without thinking, she turned away, the basket of berries forgotten on the forest floor. Rage burned beneath her fur, fueling her stride as she tore through the woods. When she reached the riverbank, she began to dig furiously, flinging dirt behind her as if she could bury the feelings clawing up her throat.
A shift in the underbrush drew her attention. Her head snapped to the side as a rabbit hopped into view, unaware of the storm it had wandered into. Jessy sprang. Her jaws clamped down on its neck, warm blood filling her mouth. The rabbit gave a weak twitch—then stilled.
“What are you doing?”
Startled, Jessy whipped around, the limp rabbit still hanging from her jaws. Aiden stood beneath the trees, arms folded, gaze unreadable.
What does it look like I’m doing? she mindlinked, her tone sharp.
“I can see that you're hunting,” he said coolly. “The pack isn’t starving. Stop acting like a rogue.”
She dropped the rabbit with a huff and shifted, her fur rippling as it melted into skin. Now naked beneath the trees, she refused to meet his eyes. Aiden, without a word, removed his cloak and handed it to her.
She took it and wrapped it around herself, fumbling with the fastenings.
“Still jealous?” His voice was quiet now, barely above a whisper.
Her hands stilled. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re thinking is loud,” he said, stepping closer. “You were so lost in your own thoughts you forgot to guard them.”
A flicker of realization crossed her face, followed by a flush of red that crept up her neck. Shame coiled in her stomach. Had anyone else heard?
“She’s my Luna,” Aiden added, his voice soft but firm. “And my friend. That’s all. Don’t twist it into something it’s not.”
Jessy looked up, but the words caught in her throat. Before she could speak, he cut in again.
“We’re heading to the infirmary tonight. You coming?”
She turned away, brushing past him. “No.”
Aiden watched her for a long moment, then bent to pick up the dead rabbit. “Who still hunts in this era…”
Julia stood stiffly at the infirmary doors, her arms wrapped around herself against the bite of the wind. A guard loomed behind her—a condition of her temporary freedom. Valen’s compromise. The sound of a weeping woman by the infirmary ...a family to one of the men, her cries the only sound in the night and the usual occasional howls from somewhere within the pack.
When Aiden finally appeared, she nearly stormed toward him.
“What took you so long? I’ve been standing here forever.”
He scratched at the back of his neck with an awkward shrug. “Nothing. Let’s go.”
She waved the guard off and pushed the door open.
Inside, the air was colder than it should have been. Still and dimly lit.
Two human bodies lay side by side under white sheets, untouched since the morning. They moved closer, their boots echoing on the cold floor.
Julia approached and peeled back the first cover. The man’s face was unsettlingly peaceful. His skin, still warm.
“They look like they’re sleeping,” she whispered. “Still fresh. But they’re not breathing. How?”
“I don’t know,” Aiden murmured. “Humans are just... weird.”
She leaned in closer, holding a hand over the man’s nose.
“We decompose the same as your kind. That’s not hard to understand.”
Aiden didn’t reply. His focus was already on the man’s head, nose twitching. Julia raised an eyebrow as he began sniffing around the head.
“I smell blood,” he said suddenly.
He moved quickly, parting the thick hair. “Here,” he pointed. “Look.”
Julia flicked on a flashlight, the beam settling over a tiny puncture mark at the base of the scalp. Dried blood clung around the edges.
“A dart?” she whispered. “An injector? That pierced the skull... that’s not normal.”
Aiden shifted to the second body and found the same wound. “They were injected with something,” he muttered. “I’ll mindlink the Alpha.”
As his eyes glazed over in concentration, Julia took a step back and folded her arms, still watching the corpses.
She didn’t notice the faint twitch of a finger. Then another.
A sudden jerk snapped her attention back to the first body.
The skin grayed—then blackened. The fingers twisted and thinned into something skeletal and feral. Fingernails split, curling into jagged claws. Bones cracked audibly as knuckles dislocated and reshaped.
Julia staggered back in horror as the body began to convulse. The spine arched, splitting through flesh as sharpened bones erupted from the back. The man's shirt tore apart as his ribs pushed outward in unnatural, weapon-like angles.
A guttural growl escaped his lips.
Then his eyes flew open—bloodshot, glassy, monstrous.
Beside him, the second corpse convulsed violently. Skin bubbled, then ruptured. Flesh tore away as if peeled by invisible claws. Muscles twisted like rope, snapping and re-knitting in impossible shapes. Limbs lengthened and broke and healed again in a grotesque loop.
One head jerked back with a sharp crack as a jagged horn erupted from the top of its skull.
Their mouths opened wide—revealing rows of serrated, identical fangs, shark-like and gleaming, made for tearing flesh.
A sickening snarl reverberated from their throats—wet, guttural, and hungry.
Julia’s scream tore through the silence.
“Aiden!”