All Chapters of MOONBOUND SECRETS : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

ZARA’S POV This can't be happening.It just can't.Those are the words that keep echoing in my head as I stand in the middle of the dinning area, my hands twisting at the rag I was using to clean.Why is this happening to me?My heart pounds in my chest, so loud I am sure everyone can hear it. The room is suffocating, the air thick with tension, as Ryland, the Alpha steps forward. His presence is impossible to ignoreHe is a literal force of nature that commands attention without effort and I can't even move as his footsteps echo against the marble floor of the pack’s ceremonial hall, each step drawing him closer to me.I am going to die.I can’t stop shaking even as my hands tremble, and clenches into tight fists at my sides while I struggle to hold myself together.“Why is he walking toward her?”“Isn’t she just an Omega?”“Maybe he knows her … asked her to do something?”“A slave? What could she possibly help him with? She is nothing.”They are not wrong… and I know better than

ZARA'S POV"I, Ryland Cross, reject you, Zara Hale, as my mate.”"I, Ryland Cross, reject you, Zara Hale, as my mate.”Over and over again, his words replay in my head, each syllable is a dagger digging deeper into me."I, Ryland Cross, reject you, Zara Hale, as my mate."“Oh, goddess,” I gasp as I grip my tummy, trying to catch my breath that has escaped me.The world feels like it's crumbling beneath my feet. I can’t move. I can’t breathe. My hands are trembling as I try to hold myself, the weight of his words pressing down on my chest until I think it might cave in.Everything around me is a blur. There are the murmurs, the gasps, the way people shift uncomfortably in the crowd- it all feels distant, like I am watching it from behind a thick pane of glass. And my wolf… who has been silent for so long, finally stirs, but it is not the comforting presence I need. She lets out a howl, low and mournful, a sound full of the same grief that is similar to what I feel.I can't thin

ZARA'S POVONE YEAR LATERThe first thing I feel is a tiny hand shaking me, followed by a persistent voice.“Mommy, wake up!” Selene’s sweet but insistent tone pulls me from sleep.Before I can respond, another voice joins in- this one more commanding, like his father. “Mommy, it is morning. You said we can’t be late for school.” Silas, always the serious one, tugs at the blanket.I groan, pulling the covers over my head. “Just five more minutes, please.”“Nope!” Selene giggles, and I feel a pair of small hands pulling at the blanket. “The sun is awake, so you have to be, too!”Reluctantly, I open my eyes, to meet with two identical sets of bright, curious faces. Silas and Selene, my children, stand beside the bed, their messy curls framing their angelic features. Angelic now, but I know this peace won’t last long.“All right, all right,” I say, sitting up. “I am up. Happy now?”Selene squeals in triumph, throwing her arms around me while Silas just smirks, crossing his arms like h