Bound By The Moon: The Eternal Bond - Chapter 45: Chapter 45

The manor halls were quiet, but not in peace. The kind of quiet that came after blood had been spilled, heavy and cautious. Julia walked beside Valen, her fingers brushing his as they made their way toward the room where Aiden was resting.
As they neared the room, the door creaked open ahead, and Ryker stepped out, bloodstained and silent. His shirt was torn, his hands wrapped in gauze. He gave a short nod to Valen and Julia, his eyes shadowed with exhaustion.
“He’s okay now,” Ryker muttered. Valen gave him a brief nod, signaling him to follow. He Julia a small pat on her shoulder . Julia watched as they walk along the hallway, disappearing down the stairs.
She sighed then pushed open the door, Aiden sat shirtless on the edge of the bed, a thick bandage wrapped around his side. Jessy sat beside him, assessing his wounds .
“How’s your leg?” Julia asked gently as she stepped in.
Jessy answered without looking at her. “He’s mostly healed. Still being annoying about it.”
“I’m okay,” Aiden added with a half-smile. “Honestly. Just a few scratches. Besides I started healing already. See?"
Julia let out a breath, nodding as she looked over his leg that was now healed halfway ,but the tension in her shoulders didn’t ease. She knew werewolves healed faster but she couldn't ignore the guilt that he was almost killed protecting her.
The room fell silent except for Aiden occasional hiss as Jessy keeps touching his injured leg.
Miles away, a cold wind howled across a lonely hill but tonight, it wasn't lonely at all. Damon stood tall beneath the stars, the ends of his dark coat dancing with the breeze. Behind him, dozens of armored guards stood still, and farther back, the rattling of metal echoed like distant thunder.
Trucks lined the ridge. Caged inside them were monsters—once human, now mutated beyond recognition. Their eyes glowed with madness, their limbs contorted into unnatural shapes. They were puppets, twisted and mindless, made for destruction.
At Damon’s side stood Alpha Reymond, arms crossed and expression unreadable.
“They went quiet too fast,” Damon said, voice filled with bored annoyance. “Didn’t even get a decent show with my two puppets.”
Reymond smirked. “Then maybe we should give them more.”
He gestured toward the nearest cage with a nod.
“Let’s see if Valen can kill all these monsters too without being exhausted.”
Damon gave a slow, cruel smile. “Where’s the fun in that? If the monsters kill everyone, whose screams will keep me company?”
"Why don't we change the game and leave the beasts for future use." He raised his hand lazily , the warriors stood still waiting for the long waited order.
“Attack.”
They quickly shifted into about a thousand wolves as they stormed down the hill like a plague, for the Southern Pack, ready to hunt.
Back at the manor, julia stood and went to the window, looking down around the pack. It was quiet and still, only a single smoke rose from afar from the smashed infirmary, thanks to the monster.
She suddenly flinched and leaned toward outside the window. “Did you hear that?”
Jessy stepped beside her, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the darkness.
"Hear what?" She asked.
Aiden, who had already dozed off, opened his eyes and stared at the ladies, his eyebrows furrowing.
“Great,” she muttered. “We’re under attack… again.” Jessy voiced out.
A single howl broke the deadly silence and Julia felt weary. Another attack after just dealing with some strange beasts!
A guard slammed the door open, his breathing ragged.
“It's an order, stay indoors don't get out!”
“What’s going on?” Aiden demanded, already rising to his feet.
“The Alpha’s orders,” the guard repeated. “We’re under attack. Stay indoors the three of you, and the Luna to stay safe.”
Then he was gone in an instant, leaving the three confused.
Outside, the sounds of chaos exploded—screams, fire, shattering wood, and roaring wolves. The pack was under siege.
“I can’t stay here,” Aiden said, already shifting, his wolf form still bearing the bruises of the last fight.
Jessy stepped forward. “Aiden, no—you’re not fully healed.”
“I’ll manage.”
And with a snarl, he ran out the door. Jessy cursed under her breath and bolted after him.
Julia was left alone in the quiet again, but it wasn’t the kind of quiet that brought calm. It pressed on her chest. Smothering.
She paced, staring at the door, then at the small knife resting on a nearby table, lying on an untouched plate of fried meat. Her hand moved before she even realized, wrapping around the knife’s handle.
She opened the door slowly and slipped into the corridor.
It was eerily still. Not a single soul in sight. The light was bright , reflecting on the white walls and marble floor. Although it was once just dim or no light at night, the changes were made after she moved to the manor in her favour for having 'bad' eyesight.
She held the knife tight and moved forward , bracing for any sudden attack but it was suddenly very quiet, not even a single maiden on sight.
Far above, Damon stood atop a tall building, watching the bloodshed below like a god amused by chaos. His lips curved into a smile as screams rose again, and buildings burned beneath him.
“You really have some nerve.”
He didn't turn around, but his smirk grew wider. "Look how the Southern pack crumble down so fast I couldn't even have a long show." He said as he finally turned to look at him.
“I was getting bored again, but seeing you really lifts my spirit. Long time no see.”
Valen’s eyes glowed gold. His fists clenched at his sides.
“I’m going to kill you.”
Damon’s smirk deepened. “That's the spirit. Let’s have a duel. No shifting. Just hands. Like the good old days.”
Valen didn’t answer, his control breaking away, he moved at a terrible speed but Damon matched him with terrifying ease. Fist met flesh. They fought across the rooftop, fists slamming, grunting, blocking and dodging.
Damon laughed mid-swing. “Come on, Valen. That all you got? You are as worthless as your dad.”
Valen heaved angrily"what's worthless is you making the same mistakes as your dad." He drove a fist into Damon’s ribs, but Damon twisted and shoved him back. They crashed through a ledge, tumbling down a floor, then another. Stone shattered beneath them as they fought through stairwells, smashed into walls, crashed into rooms.
Blood streaked the broken floorboards. Damon’s face was bruised. Valen’s lip bled. Still, they kept fighting.
Then Valen roared—raw, unchained fury—and slammed Damon through a wall.
The older male coughed, collapsing in the dust.
Valen stood over him, chest heaving, eyes blazing.
“You should’ve stayed dead,” he growled. "What now, Damon?, can't finish what you started?"
Somewhere nearby, Julia stepped into the open air of the broken courtyard, blending into the shadows, looking around frantically as she moved.
She heard the sound before she saw them—flesh hitting flesh, the low rumble of growls. Then she saw him.
Valen. Standing above Damon, his raised hand changing into long sharp claws ready to end him.
But Damon’s smirk returned and in an instant, he vanished and reappeared behind Valen.
He plunged his hand into Valen’s back and then withdrew his hand, laughing as he stared at his now bloody hand.
Julia froze. Her eyes widened as valen stumbled forward, then glared back at Damon, his golden eyes changing to normal black color, then he slowly fell—hard and still.
“Valen!” she tried to scream—
But a hand clamped over her mouth and she knew immediately it was Jessy.
She pulled Julia back with feral strength, whispering sharply in her ear.
“We have to go. Now.”
Julia’s eyes filled with tears as she looked back one last time.
Valen didn’t move, laying down on the dust, his eyes lifeless.
The chaos dimmed as the pack was quickly subdued.
Fires still burned, bodies lay still, and screams faded into nothing.
Damon climbed back to the rooftop, standing tall over the ruins of the South.
Below, the surviving wolves and humans were gathered—wounded, silent, broken, sorrounded by Damon's army.
He raised his voice, loud and clear.
“Listen now,” he called. “Your Alpha is dead. I am your new Alpha. Your king. Your chains.”
He gestured to the monsters behind him. They snarled like caged storms.
“Defy me, and you’ll be fed to my puppets. Obey me, and maybe you’ll live to serve another day.”
As he spoke, a cloaked figure stepped from the smoke, moving with practiced silence. In one motion, she knelt, lifted Valen’s broken body, and slipped into the shadows—before Damon ever turned around.