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Chapter 14 : A Fragile Trust
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-02-05 13:51:03
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MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 15: Through the Ashes
(Ryland's POV) The morning sun was weak, struggling to push through the gray haze that hung in the air. I stood at the edge of the clearing, boots half-sunken in damp earth, staring at the smoldering wreckage of what used to be a barn. Smoke curled up into the sky, tendrils of ash carried by the breeze. It wasn’t our barn. Not yet. It was supposed to be a stop—a place to regroup, to plan, to rest. Instead, we arrived too late, the ground still warm from the fire, the air thick with the smell of charred wood. Zara stood a few feet away, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Her face was blank, but I could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her fingers twitched like she wanted to do something—anything—but couldn’t. “I should’ve seen this coming,” I said, breaking the silence. My voice felt raw, like it scraped against my throat. “No one could’ve,” Zara replied, but there was no conviction in her tone. She glanced at me, her eyes heavy with something unspoken. I turned a
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-05MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 16: Shadows In The Fog
(Ryland's POV) The forest stretched before us, dense and suffocating, the fog curling around the trees like ghostly fingers. Every step felt heavier than the last, the damp earth pulling at my boots as if trying to swallow me whole. The smell of smoke still clung to my clothes, a sharp reminder of what we had left behind. We moved in silence. Even Marcus, who usually had something snarky to say, kept his mouth shut. He walked a few steps ahead, his rifle slung low, eyes constantly scanning the trees. Leah and Sam followed closely behind, their footsteps careful, their shoulders hunched like they were expecting something to jump out at any moment. Zara walked beside me, her expression unreadable. She hadn't said much since we left the burned-out barn. I wanted to ask her what she was thinking, but the words never made it past my lips. The fog thickened as we pressed forward. The further we walked, the harder it became to tell which direction we were going. The trees blurred togeth
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-05MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 17: Shattered Illusions
Ryland's POV The air was thick with the scent of rain, the kind that clung to the pavement long after the storm had passed. My hands trembled as I clenched them into fists, but it wasn’t from the cold. It was the weight of everything unraveling before me—truths I had ignored, lies I had swallowed whole. Zara stood across from me, her arms crossed over her chest, a smirk ghosting over her lips. The way she looked at me made my skin crawl. Like she had already won. “You’re quieter than usual, Ryland,” she mused, tilting her head. “Something on your mind?” I exhaled sharply, my jaw tightening. “I trusted you.” The words tasted bitter in my mouth. She let out a soft laugh, the sound sharp and unforgiving. “That was your first mistake.” The storm I felt brewing inside me didn’t match the calm, collected exterior she wore. I knew better than to let my emotions get the better of me, but the anger and betrayal twisted my gut. I stepped forward, my gaze fixed firmly on hers. “N
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-05MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 18: Beneath the Surface
Ryland's POV I stood there, the storm long gone but the cold remaining in the pit of my stomach. The world around me was eerily quiet, too still, as though it knew something I didn’t. Zara’s words echoed in my head, the weight of betrayal pressing down harder with every passing second. I had trusted her. And now, I had nothing but the cruel taste of her lies to remind me of how easily I had been manipulated. But as much as I hated to admit it, there was more to this than just her. There were still pieces I didn’t understand, things she hadn’t told me. I couldn’t let myself wallow in the anger. Not now. I forced my feet to move, heading toward the one place that felt like it could offer some kind of clarity: my apartment. I needed time alone to think, to process, and to figure out what to do next. As I entered my building, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching me. A quiet, unsettling presence that gnawed at the back of my mind. When I reached my door, I
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-05MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 19: The Webs Unravels
Ryland's POV I couldn’t get the image of Eli out of my head—his vacant eyes, the blood pooling around him. It was as if the world had stopped, and all that remained was the crushing weight of what I had just witnessed. My heart raced, but there was no time to grieve. Not yet. I left the building, the air outside doing little to cool the fire that was burning inside me. The city stretched out before me, dark and unyielding. I could hear the distant hum of traffic, but it felt like a world away. Every step I took felt like it carried more significance, like the ground beneath me was suddenly much less stable. I needed answers. I pulled my jacket tighter around my shoulders, the cold nipping at my skin, but the chill didn’t bother me. I was numb. I had to be. I took out my phone, dialing the number of someone I hadn’t spoken to in years. A name I had buried under layers of regret and time. A voice crackled through the line on the third ring. “Ryland?” It was Luca. His voi
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-05MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter20: Beneath the Surface 2
Zara's Pov You stand at the edge of the room, hands trembling, heart pounding in your chest. The silence is suffocating, thick with tension, but you refuse to break. You’re not sure what’s worse: the dread crawling up your spine or the realization that you’ve been too blind to see it all along. Zara’s presence lingers like smoke in the air. You can feel her, even when she’s not in the room. And when she does appear, it's like she knows exactly what buttons to press, each word a calculated strike. Her control over the situation is suffocating, but what cuts deeper is the feeling that you’re trapped—trapped in this game, in her web. “Do you really think you can change things, Ryland?” her voice floats through the door, so calm, so assured. “You’ve been running, but you know deep down… it’s all futile.” Your breath hitches, but you don’t respond. You know that any word you say will be twisted, turned into something that’s not even yours. She’s too good at that, at using people’s
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-05MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 21: Whispers Of The Past
Zara's POV The room feels smaller with him in it. Ryland’s presence is overwhelming, like a storm cloud pressing down on the bakery. My heart races, and I can’t tell if it’s from fear or something else entirely. My wolf is silent, but I can feel her stirring, restless and wary. “Mommy?” Selene’s voice is soft, but it cuts through the tension like a knife. She tugs at my apron, her wide eyes darting between me and Ryland. “Who is he?” I swallow hard, my throat dry. How do I explain this? How do I tell my children that the man standing before them is their father? The man who rejected me, who left me to raise them alone? Ryland takes a step forward, his eyes never leaving mine. “Zara,” he says again, his voice low and rough. “We need to talk.” I shake my head, backing away. “No. You don’t get to just show up here and demand to talk. You lost that right five years ago.” His jaw tightens, and I see the flicker of pain in his eyes. Good. Let him feel even a fraction of the hurt he c
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-05MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 22: Bonds Reforged
ZARA'S POV The forest is a cacophony of snapping branches and labored breaths. Silas stumbles beside me, his small hand slick with sweat in mine, while Selene clings to my back, her whispered pleas muffled against my neck. Ryland moves ahead like a shadow, his broad shoulders tense beneath the tattered remains of his shirt. Blood seeps from a gash on his arm, the metallic tang sharpening the air. “The moon lady says we’re close,” Selene murmurs, her breath hitching. “But the stone is… *angry*.” I tighten my grip on her. “What stone?” “The guardian,” Ryland says grimly, not turning. “It protects the Moonwell. The elders called it a curse, but it’s just a judge.” “A judge?” My laugh is brittle. “Of what?” “Worth.” A howl splits the night. Closer this time. Silas tugs my hand, his golden glow flickering. “They’re here.” Zane’s rogues burst from the trees, eyes feral, teeth bared. Ryland shoves the twins behind him, his snarl reverberating in my bones. “Stay back!” The
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-05
Bab terbaru
MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 127: The Trinity Gambit
**Silas’s POV** The Trinity steps forward, its tri-colored eye burning like a dying star. The ground beneath its feet cracks, veins of violet and gold spreading like poisoned roots. Its voice echoes with the First Shadow’s malice, the crow’s cunning, and something else—something raw and hungry. *“You cannot run from inevitability,”* it croons, flexing a hand woven of shadow and light. *“The Veil’s chaos is my birthright.”* The void wolf circles us, its eyeless gaze piercing. Selene grips my arm, her bloodied sleeve staining my skin. “We need to split up. Distract it.” Jarek steps between us and the Trinity, his dagger trembling. “Go. I’ll hold it.” “You’ll die,” I snap. He bares his teeth. “Better than living useless.” The Trinity laughs, a sound like shattering glass. *“How noble. Let’s test that.”* It flicks a finger. The void wolf lunges. **Selene’s Flight** We sprint into the skeletal forest, the Trinity’s laughter chasing us. My glow flickers, strained from s
MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 126: The Gray Dawn
**Silas’s POV** The scar itches. Not the searing pain of before, but a slow, creeping burn that makes my skin crawl. I scratch at it absently, my gaze locked on the golden crow—*gray-eyed* crow—perched in the dead oak. Its once-bright plumage is dull, streaked with ash, and it watches me with an unsettling stillness. “It’s changing,” I mutter to Selene. She doesn’t look up from the map of Veil fractures. “Everything’s changing.” The pack’s camp buzzes with wary energy. Wolves sharpen blades, mutter prayers, and side-eye Jarek as he hauls water from the creek. His shoulders are hunched, his movements mechanical, like a puppet held together by guilt. Ryland emerges from his tent, his gaze sweeping the clearing. “Scouts report a new tear near the southern ridge. Selene, Silas—you’ll lead the team to seal it.” Jarek steps forward, his voice rough. “Let me go instead. They shouldn’t risk—” “You’ve risked enough,” Ryland snaps. The crow caws abruptly, its gray eye flashing.
MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 125: Bond Of Blood and Shadow
**Ryland’s POV** The pack’s council fire burns low, its embers reflecting the fractured trust in the wolves’ eyes. Jarek sits apart, his head bowed, the shadow crow’s corruption scrubbed from his veins but not his soul. The guilt radiating from him is palpable, a stench even the night wind can’t carry away. Kieran tosses a log onto the fire, sparks spiraling into the dark. “We need to fortify the borders. The Veil’s tears are seeping into the territory. Last night, the river turned black.” Murmurs ripple through the pack. A young mother clutches her pup closer. “Will it spread here?” “No,” I say, the lie smooth and heavy. “We’ll contain it.” Jarek’s laugh is a broken rasp. “You don’t even believe that.” Silence falls. The fire crackles, its light flickering over the scars we all wear. Selene steps into the circle, her glow dim but steady. “The Veil’s heart is weak, but not broken. We can still save it.” “How?” Jarek challenges. “With more sacrifices? More *children’s*
MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 124: Fractured Loyalties
**Ryland’s POV** The ground splinters beneath our feet, jagged fissures snaking outward like veins of decay. The air vibrates with the Veil’s anguished scream, a sound that claws at the mind and soul. Jarek stands at the tomb’s entrance, the black shard pulsing in his grip, his eyes twin pools of violet fire. “You’ve doomed us all,” I snarl, shifting as the pack scatters behind me. He laughs, the shadow crow perched on his shoulder like a twisted crown. “No, Alpha. I’ve *freed* us.” The shard’s energy writhes around him, tendrils of darkness lashing at the crumbling stone. Behind him, the tomb’s heart—a fractured mirror—quivers, its remaining shards teetering on the edge of collapse. “Stand down, Jarek,” I growl, circling him. “This isn’t you.” “Isn’t it?” He bares his teeth, the corruption snaking up his neck. “You coddled those brats while the pack starved for strength. The Shadow offers what you never could.” The shadow crow croons, its voice harmonizing with the Vei
MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 123: Veil's Underworld
**Selene’s POV** The water is ice and fire, clawing at my skin as I’m dragged deeper. My glow flickers, struggling against the suffocating darkness. The golden shard gleams below, its light distorted by the rippling surface. “Let go!” I scream, kicking at the clawed hand gripping my ankle. The creature—half shadow, half memory—turns, its face a grotesque mockery of Zara’s. *“You cannot mend what you refuse to face,”* it hisses. I focus on the bond, on Silas’s frantic presence. *“I’m here,”* I whisper, though the water steals my voice. The golden crow’s cry pierces the depths. *“Remember.”* --- **Silas’s Desperation** The lake’s surface freezes over the moment Selene disappears. I slam my fists against the ice, the scar on my chest burning. “Selene!” The golden crow lands beside me, its gold eye dim. *“The Veil tests her. You must face your own trial.”* “I’m not leaving her!” *“You must,”* it insists. *“Or you’ll both be lost.”* The ice cracks beneath my hands,
MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 122: Shattered Reflection
**Silas’s POV** The tomb’s explosion leaves a ringing silence. Smoke and shards of the mirror hang suspended in the air, glinting like frozen stars. My scar burns, a molten brand searing through muscle and bone. Zara’s voice lingers in my skull, a ghostly echo. *“Courage, Silas. Not for you—for them.”* The crow’s split forms hover above the chaos—one a writhing mass of shadow and feathers, the other a radiant silhouette of starlight. Their twin gazes lock onto me, one accusing, one pleading. Selene staggers to my side, her glow fractured. “What did you do?” “I… don’t know.” The suspended shards quiver. Then, like a breath exhaled, they surge outward. --- **Ryland’s POV** The blast flings me into the tomb’s wall. Stone cracks beneath my spine, but I’m on my feet in an instant. “Selene! Silas!” The twins stand at the epicenter, unharmed but haloed in a corona of light and shadow. Around them, the pack scrambles—Jarek cursing as a shard slices his arm, Kieran dragging a
MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 121: The Crow's Gambit
**Silas’s POV** The crow perches on the charred remains of the sacred oak, its mismatched eyes piercing the twilight. Violet and gold—corruption and something else, something that claws at my chest where the scar lies dormant. I press a hand to it, the skin cold and taut. *“You feel it, don’t you?”* The voice is softer now, a serpentine whisper instead of a roar. *“The fracture. The choice.”* “Shut up,” I mutter, turning away. But the crow’s gaze follows, relentless. Selene finds me at the forest’s edge, her glow dimmed by exhaustion. “You’re hiding again.” I don’t answer. The scar throbs, a silent warning. --- **Ryland’s Dilemma** The pack council fractures like rotten wood. Jarek stands before the gathered wolves, his axe slung over his shoulder. “We buried Mara. We bled for the tomb. And what do we have? A bird and a scar.” Ryland’s growl silences the murmurs. “We have survival. Or would you prefer the Shadow’s chains?” “I’d prefer a leader who doesn’t gamble ou
MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 120: The Alpha's Eclipse
**Silas’s POV** The Shadow’s new form looms over me, a grotesque fusion of matted fur and glistening feathers. His violet eyes burn like twin pyres, and his talons—half claw, half bone—scrape against the tomb’s stone floor. The air reeks of decay, the Veil’s corrupted energy thickening until I can barely breathe. *“You should have knelt,”* the Shadow hisses, his voice a chorus of caws and snarls. *“Now you’ll die as your mother did—alone.”* My scar flares, a searing reminder of Zara’s sacrifice. I clutch my chest, gritting my teeth against the pain. “I’m *never* alone.” Her voice whispers through the tomb, faint but unyielding. *“Use the bond, Silas. Trust her.”* I close my eyes and reach for Selene. --- **Selene’s POV** Kieran’s blade trembles against my throat, his breath ragged. The rot has spread up his arms, blackening his veins. “Fight him, Kieran!” I plead. “You’re stronger than this!” His pupils flicker—brown, then violet. *“He’s… gone…”* The roots surging
MOONBOUND SECRETS Chapter 119: Feathers of Vengeance
**Silas’s POV** The pyre’s smoke curls into the dawn sky, carrying the acrid stench of betrayal. Mara’s ashes mingle with the frost, but the pack’s eyes linger on me—not with reverence, but fear. My scar pulses faintly, a reminder of the Shadow’s whispers that still snake through my dreams. “You’re staring again,” Selene murmurs, her glow dimmed by exhaustion. I rip my gaze from the crow perched atop the charred remains of the sacred oak. Its violet eye glints, unblinking. “It’s watching us.” “It’s just a bird,” she says, but her trembling hands betray her doubt. The crow caws, sharp and mocking, before vanishing into the mist. --- **Ryland’s Burden** The pack gathers in the hollow, their murmurs a storm of grief and suspicion. Jarek stands apart, sharpening his axe with deliberate slowness. “Mara’s betrayal doesn’t erase her years of loyalty,” Ryland declares, his voice raw. “We mourn her. Then we rebuild.” “Rebuild *what*?” a young warrior snaps. “The rot’s back.
