BOND OF THE FULL MOON

said, my voice trembling as I tried to mask my fear. My

enomous snake. There was something unsettling about the way he reacted - like the mere touch of my fingers

hands moving with practiced urgency. I squeezed them quickly, the sharp scent of the leaves filling

elief as his rapid, shallow breaths softened into steadier ones. I didn't dare m

quickly but carefully. For a moment, he didn't move, just lying still and watching me with those intense emerald eyes that seemed to pier

rmoil within. I held his gaze, searching for something - an

effort. His emerald eyes never left mine, darkened with some unexplainable depth. "What's yours?" He ask

from my lips with ease, though my he

he urgency in his voice becoming more pronounced. "Leave this place!" he commanded, his voi

back. The echo of my grandmother's warning came rushing back, as vivid as if she were standing

e, to escape the haunting feeling that had settled in my chest. But no matter how much my body screamed t

emed to shift with the moon's pull. The air was heavy with something mysterious. And still, I stood there, my

f there was a violent battle inside him, threatening to tear him apart. I could see the strai

around us. "Run!!!" The command echoed through the trees, and I didn't hesitate for a second. My legs mov

mbled mess of panic and confusion, the forest behind me feeling like an ominous presence that was slowly closing in. The trees blended

iar warmth of home, something stopped me cold. The

nded on for her health. They weren't just plants - they were life-saving, used for her pain, her ailments. I had promised

y hands trembling at the

Elis had given me. I could already feel the cool night air beginning to settle deepe

ook priority. She needed those herb

he fear in Elis's voice haunted me, but I couldn't abandon my promise. With a deep breath,

moonlight barely reached the forest floor, casting everything in an unsettling glow. My bre

in my mind, pulling at me with an unexplainable force. Those eyes - piercing, agonized, and yet hauntingly captivating - held a

secrets it wasn't ready to reveal. The rustling of leaves overhead became louder, almost deliberate, and the wind c

d I left him to suffer alone? Was he still crouched on the forest floor, struggl

image of Elis flashed in my mind - his anguish, his warning, the mysterious energy that s

I felt an unnatural chill creep through the air. The coldness wasn't from the night but something deeper, something that seemed to seep

eading that I might see him there. But the spot was empty, the silence deafeni

rbs, resting where I had left it. I stooped to pick it up, clutching it tightly in my trembling

in the dirt - deep, unmistakable footmarks. They weren't human. The prints were massive, clawe

ed, a whirlwind of questions and dread. Had he been attacked? Was he hurt, dragged off by whatever creature

d into a reckless determination. Against every rational instinct, I followed the tracks, my breaths shallow and quick. The trail led me further into th

clearing near a shallow pool of water. The air here felt colder, sha

de my blood run cold. I froze, my basket slipping from my hands