Bound By The Moon: The Eternal Bond - Chapter 50: Chapter 50

Julia stood beneath the palace’s crystalline ceiling, the cold light of hovering plasma lanterns brushing over her skin like moonlight filtered through ice. Kaelith stood before her, the silver in his high-collared coat catching the dim glow. His presence was as quiet as it was overwhelming—his posture regal, his eyes unreadable.
“I once believed I’d never see my mate,” Kaelith said, voice low, thoughtful. “Centuries passed. Wars bled nations dry. Kingdoms rose, and I remained alone. I convinced myself the bond was a myth… until you crossed my gates.”
Julia said nothing.
He tilted his head slightly, as if reading her silence. “Strange, isn’t it? How fate hides what we long for until we no longer seek it?”
Still, her heart remained untouched. There was no pull. No fire. Nothing stirred in her veins, no instinct clawed for him. He spoke with a tone that might’ve melted others—but to her, he was just a man in a dark crown, wearing a title she neither respected nor feared.
“Where are my friends?” she asked.
Kaelith’s expression twitched. “Friends?”
“The werewolves I was captured with,” she said flatly.
He gave a breath of amusement. “Those werewolves?” he echoed with faint distaste, like the word itself offended his tongue.
“They’re my friends,” she repeated firmly, locking eyes with him. “I want to see them.”
He stepped closer, lips pressing into a thin line. “You’re standing in a palace of cold marble and cursed blood, bonded to a king—and you ask about mongrel wolves.”
“They are not mongrels to me,” Julia said.
Kaelith stared at her for a long moment. Then, with a tired sigh and a dismissive wave of his hand, he relented. “Very well. You’ll see them.”
The room she was led to was carved from black stone and trimmed with silver veins, minimal but comfortable. It reminded her more of a tomb than a guest chamber, but she didn’t care. What mattered were the two figures inside.
Jessy sat upright the moment the guards unlocked the door. “Julia!”
Samantha rose too, quiet and observant as always.
Julia entered quickly. “Are you both okay?”
Jessy rushed to her. “What the hell happened? Are you seriously—” Her voice dropped. “—mated again?”
“I don’t know,” Julia muttered. “I don’t understand it.”
Samantha remained still, eyes tracking Julia carefully. “But it’s true, isn’t it?”
Julia nodded, slow and hesitant. “He said so. But I feel… nothing.”
“We need to leave,” she added, almost to herself.
Jessy scoffed. “Leave? Where, exactly? We’re trapped in a vampire fortress and the damn king has you marked like a treasure.”
“Samantha—” Julia turned to her. “Corin Merek. Was he real?”
Jessy’s voice cracked sharp. “He wasn’t. We risked everything for a name that doesn’t exist!”
Samantha exhaled quietly. “I can’t argue with you.”
“You better not,” Jessy snapped. “Because Aiden is still out there, and we’re wasting time playing mate-to-the-bloodsucker!”
“Ssh,” Julia said. “Not here.”
Jessy ignored her. “Do you really think we’ll just walk out now? Kaelith has his eyes on you. On us.”
Julia rubbed her arms. “I don’t want him. My heart is still—” She stopped herself. “It’s not with him.”
Samantha stepped forward. “Then maybe we use that.”
Julia frowned. “Use what?”
“This bond. His obsession. His interest in you.”
Jessy threw up her hands. “Here we go.”
Samantha ignored her. “We’re not getting out through brute force. He might not hurt Julia if she plays along.”
“Plays along?” Jessy growled. “Like hell.”
“It’s the only chance we have,” Samantha said. “The Alpha King—Damon—is getting stronger. He’s crushed half the northern packs. We need help, and we won’t get it from within.”
“You want to ally with vampires?” Jessy snapped. “They’ll turn on us the second we sleep.”
Samantha’s voice was level. “Then don’t sleep.”
Julia stepped between them. “Enough. We need a plan that keeps us alive.”
Samantha looked at her carefully. “You could try to win Kaelith’s trust. Tell him about Damon. Tell him the wolves are falling. Maybe we can form an alliance.”
“He’s not stupid,” Julia said. “He won’t fight a werewolf war without gain.”
“Offer him one,” Samantha replied. “Your presence is already disrupting their politics. You’re not just some girl anymore.”
Jessy turned her back to them, arms crossed. “This is madness.”
“But you don’t have a better idea,” Samantha said quietly.
Silence settled over the room. Julia’s chest tightened.
Later, as Julia walked through the dim corridors, she was suddenly yanked into a side chamber. The scent of roses and iron filled her nose.
A tall vampire woman stood sipping a thick crimson liquid from a glass goblet. Her plum-black braids shimmered faintly with . Her cloak—midnight blue, lined in moon-silver—brushed the floor like water. Her lips were wine-dark, skin deathly pale, her eyes cold amethyst. She began moving closer , swirling the crimson liquid in the goblet, she smirked, revealing her sharp fangs.
“So,” she said. “You’re the one.”
Julia frowned. “Who am i talking to?”
The woman stepped closer, each movement silk-wrapped in threat. “I am Lysaria. Kaelith’s lover. The one who should’ve been queen… until you.”
Julia opened her mouth, unsure what to say.
Lysaria didn’t care. “You may be his mate, human. But I am the one who understands him. The one who’s earned him. The one whom he loves.”
She leaned in, her voice a whisper, sharp as glass. “He’ll tire of you. And when he does… I’ll still be here.”
“Lysaria.”
The voice echoed like thunder in still water.
Kaelith sat in the corner, legs casually parted, eyes like frozen steel. Lysaria stiffened. She hadn’t even noticed him appear in the room.
He stood in a blur. In a heartbeat, he was beside Julia, one arm slipping around her waist pulling her closer to his chest.
“I said not to bother my mate,” he said coldly, lifting his gaze to Lysaria. “Do you wish to test me again?”
Lysaria’s fists clenched at her sides and without a word, she turned and swept from the room, her cloak trailing like a dying shadow.
Julia stood frozen witnessing the events, her heart in a mess but aware—deeply aware—that she was no longer navigating Kaelith.
She was navigating a court of monsters in silk, and every smile hid a fang.