Moonlight Serenades

The candle's dim glow flickered against the worn parchment in my trembling hands. My breath hitched as my eyes traced the inked words-each line unraveling a truth that should have never been hidden.

'The sacred bond of the Alpha and his fated mate is unbreakable, destined by the Moon Goddess herself. Once the bond is severed through unnatural means, the cost is irreversible-'

The words blurred. My vision swam.

'The rightful Luna shall be lost to fate, while another may take her place through deception and dark magic. If the Alpha fails to recognize the truth, the cost shall be his own soul.'

Me.

It has always been me.

Not her.

I gasped, clutching my chest where my heart was. Pain was all i could feel. Something killing me apart. So slowly yet painfully.

"Feeling... a little empty?" A cruel, breathy laugh echoed behind me. "You shouldn't have seen that, Astrid dear."

I couldn't move. The parchment trembled in my grip, the ink bleeding into my skin as my fingers clenched around it.

"Why did you...?" My voice cracked, barely above a whisper.

A slow, deliberate step. Then another. Until she was close enough that I could feel her presence curling around me like a serpent.

"Why?" she mused, her voice dripping with amusement. "Because he belongs to me."

A chill crawled down my spine.

"You stole-" My voice caught as she stepped even closer.

"Stole?" she echoed, feigning surprise. "No, darling. I simply corrected fate's mistake."

The candle's flame trembled violently, casting jagged shadows on the walls. The air in the room had thickened, suffocating.

And as the weight of the truth settled deep into my bones, I realized-

I had lost him before I even knew he was mine.

Then, soemthing appeared on the parchment, glowing at making itself bold, prominent.

'The bond was never hers to claim. He has always been yours to take.'

**Two months ago: Before everything came to a stop**

The moment Kaiden walked into the packhouse, I felt reality hitting too hard. Not just because he was covered in dirt and blood, or because his shirt was torn open, revealing gashes across his chest-but because he was him.

Alpha Kaiden of the Shadowcrest Pack. My childhood best friend. The man who makes me believe in love, even when I know it's not mine to have. The man who feels like home, but I'll always be just another stranger to him. The man who holds her hand the way I wish he'd hold mine.

He, can never be mine.

"Sit."

My voice came out colder than I intended.

He arched a brow but obeyed, dropping into the chair like he owned the damn thing.

"You gonna be gentle with me, doc?"

I forced an eye roll, ignoring the way the nickname made my fingers twitch.

"If you want gentle, go find someone else." I grabbed a cloth, dipping it in warm water. "You know the drill."

Kaiden smiled slowly. That stupid, lazy, heart-stopping smile. I used to sit in the corner of the class, just so I could stare at him when he wasn't looking, just to admire his beauty and wishing to be his in my entire life.

Instead, we became worlds apart.

He wasn't mine as I prayed, he was hers. Only hers.

"I do." He said.

Without another word, I reached forward and yanked his ruined shirt off.

It wasn't supposed to hurt seeing his deep bruises. Still, everything he's hurt, I always feel thr pain.

Not in a lovesick, attention deprived way. I felt it, really felt it.

He suffers, and yet, every part of me feels it, like I was never meant to exist without carrying his pain too. He bleeds, and though my skin remains untouched, I feel the loss, the emptiness, as if something inside me is spilling away too.

I pressed the cloth against his chest, cleaning the gash near his ribs. My fingers hovered close enough to feel the warmth of his skin, the slow, steady rise and fall of his breath.

"You're quiet today," he murmured.

I didn't look up. I couldn't.

"I'm focused."

"You're always focused. But you're usually bossy when you are."

My lips twitched, but my heart twisted. Because he noticed. Because he always noticed. Yet it was all meaningless.

"Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?" I asked, voice steady.

"Only you." He grinned. "Daily."

It was so easy. Too easy. This back-and-forth, this push-and-pull. But he wasn't mine to push. And I wasn't his to pull. The realization hit me harder than it should have. Harder than it ever had before. Because there was no denying it anymore. No pretending. He belonged to someone else.

And it wasn't me.

I swallowed, forcing myself to keep going. One cut, one bruise, one more reason to let go.

"Why didn'tyou tell me that you were going on a mission today? I could've gone with you." The question slipped out before I could stop it.

Kaiden didn't answer.

I frowned, glancing up-only to find him watching me. His eyes sat lazily on mine. I froze.

"What... are you looking at?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

His gaze roamed my face, slow and deliberate. Something heavy. Something I didn't understand. He tilted his head. Then-so casually it almost felt cruel-he said,

"You're beautiful."

I stopped breathing.

Beautiful.

The word shouldn't have meant anything. Shouldn't have unraveled something deep and aching inside me. But it did. And then-just as quickly as he'd given me that moment-he ripped it away.

"So beautiful that even paintings might weep... out of disappointment."

The sharp sting of heartbreak turned into something hot and furious. I smacked the side of his head. Hard.

"Ouch, What was that for?"

"For being an idiot." I snapped my med kit shut. "You're done."

Kaiden laughed. Laughed. Like he hadn't just shattered something inside me. Like he didn't even notice the pieces at his feet.

"C'mon, doc, don't be mad." He followed me out of the room, grinning like he hadn't just ripped me apart. "You know I love pissing you off."

I didn't answer.

Because this was my life now.

Being near him, tending to him, letting him consume me piece by piece-while he would never, ever be mine.

The night air was crisp as we walked side by side, our boots crunching against the dirt path leading away from the pack house. The scent of pine and damp earth clung to the wind, mingling with the faint metallic tang of blood still lingering from the battle.

Kaiden strolled next to me, arms crossed over his chest, the moonlight catching on his dark hair. He was quiet for once-too quiet.

I let out a breath, rolling my eyes. "Not going to make some stupid joke about how 'lucky' I am to treat your wounds?"

His lips curled at the edges, his gaze still fixed ahead. "I thought about it. But then I figured you might stab me with a scalpel next time."

I smirked. "Smart decision."

The easy silence settled again, but my heart felt too heavy. I didn't want to admit it-not even to myself-but I hated moments like this. Moments where we just existed next to each other, where I could pretend, even for a second, that nothing had changed. That he wasn't hers. That I wasn't just a childhood friend who had to watch him belong to someone else.

I swallowed the bitter thought and forced my voice to stay light. "You were reckless today, you know. If you died, I would have had to deal with an even more insufferable Alpha taking your place."

Kaiden let out a low chuckle. "Who says I'm not already insufferable?"

"Fair point." I nudged his arm with my elbow. He let me, didn't pull away.

I wanted to say something -to drag a moment just a little longer but then, it hit me. The world tilted.

A pressure like claws sinking into my skull. I gasped, stumbling back, knees hitting the dirt. The world lurched. Kaiden's voice was distant-panicked.

"Astrid?"

I clutched my head as a vision took place before ny eyes, I was somewhere else. Lying down. A soft, warm surface beneath me. Fingers brushing against my cheek. My breath hitched. I couldn't move. A figure beside me.

A man. Close.

So close.

His scent was intoxicating-warm spice and cedarwood. Familiar. His voice-deep, soft, aching.

"You feel it too, don't you?"

A shiver crawled down my spine. The bed shifted as he leaned in, his breath ghosting over my lips. I could feel his warmth, the weight of his presence pulling me in like gravity itself. My heart pounded, a dull ache in my chest.

I knew him.

I knew him.

I just... couldn't see him. His face was a too distant to recognize. Distant in a way someone was holding me back from recognizing him.

A shadow of something I should remember but didn't. His fingers slid to my jaw, tilting my chin up-

He was going to kiss me.

"Im always yours, Astrid. And you're always mine."

My breath caught. I knew this moment. I had lived this moment.

Hadn't I?

Then, the warmth vanished. The scent, the touch, the voice-gone. I gasped, yanked back into reality.

I hit the ground hard, my body trembling, chest heaving for air.

Kaiden was beside me in an instant, his grip firm on my arms, his voice sharp with concern. His face so clear, his voice so familiar.

What was that?