All Chapters of Bound By The Moon: The Alpha’s Regret: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Sage POVA Few Days Later… The moon was full, high in the sky, it casted a silver glow over the clearing as the crowd gathered. The altar was dressed in white and gold, the traditional colors of unity. Lanterns floated above the space, flickering like stars caught in motion. The scent of night-blooming roses filled the air, mingling with the sound of low drums and hushed whispers. It was all in preparation for the Mating ceremony of I and Bella. We wanted to heed to the warnings of the revelation. Everything was perfect. Except she wasn’t here. I had been waiting for some time now but for some reason, Bella had not shown up. I stood at the altar with my hands clenched at my sides, waiting. Heart thudding. Breath tight in my chest. My eyes scanned the crowd for any sign of her. But Bella wasn't anywhere around. The pack had gathered in silence, excitement humming through the air as they anticipated the Mating ceremony of their alpha. Elders, warriors, even pups—all of them stoo

Bella POV"She's waking up.""Shut up. Keep your voice down."A groan left my throat before my eyes even opened. The scent of moss and damp earth hit me hard. My head throbbed. My wrists burned. My body felt like it had been crushed and left in the cold."Where—" I muttered, blinking against the faint rays of the rising sun filtering through the trees. The lake shimmered nearby. Water lapped gently at the edges.“She's alive,” someone whispered again. Footsteps retreated fast.I tried sitting up, but my entire back screamed. Then it hit me—last night. The mating ceremony. The preparations. I was in the room. Someone came in. The scent had been sweet, but heavy. I turned too late. A sting in my neck—"Shit," I gasped, scrambling to my knees. The hem of the silk robe I’d been dressed in for the rite was soaked and torn. “No. No. No.”I staggered to my feet, swaying like a drunk. My wolf stirred weakly inside me, still sluggish from whatever had knocked me out. The packhouse was beyond t

Sage POVI pulled away at the last second, throwing myself sideways into a tree. The trunk cracked from the force. Tree bark embedded into my shoulder, but I barely felt it.“You’re not this. You don’t hunt like this.”But the beast growled in response—my voice, warped and guttural.A war was happening beneath my skin. It was terrifying. I dropped to all fours, panting. The moon was still above, glowing red with warning. My reflection shimmered in a puddle beside me. The creature stared back. Black fur. Twisted limbs. Silver-ringed eyes.Still me.But not.“Stop,” I growled, forcing the word through my muzzle. “This isn’t who we are.”My voice was low. Distorted. But it was there.For a split second, the beast stilled.Then it growled back—from within.I clutched my head. Sharp claws dug into my scalp but it didn’t break my skin. A laugh, but not mine—echoed in my head.“You let her go,” it sneered. “You lost her. So now you lose me too.”“No.”I slammed a fist into the ground.Dirt

Bella’s POVIt's a new day as a cleaner and still trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my life. The mop handle dug into my blistered palm as I wrung it one more time into the rusty bucket. My back screamed. My feet burned. The stench of bleach mixed with old food and something I didn’t even want to identify clung to my clothes like a second skin. Another day. Another shift that felt like punishment.“Girl, you missed a spot under table six,” my supervisor barked from across the room.“I got it,” I muttered, forcing my body toward the shadowy corner of the cafeteria.The mop sloshed loudly in the puddle, it was the only sound aside from the faint hum of the dishwasher in the kitchen. My hands were trembling again. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday, and my wolf—though suppressed in this foreign human town—whined low inside me.A voice near the door made me stiffen.“That girl’s weird. Doesn’t even talk. She just shows up, works like a mule, and disappears.”“I heard she sleeps i

Bella’s POVI later left for work and spent the whole day trying to clean as much as I could. Not as if it would add to my daily pay but I hoped that my boss might tip me. “You trust her too easily.” my wolf whispered in my head again. My wolf. Restless.“I don’t have a choice,” I replied telepathically, wiping down the counter with more force than needed. “She’s the only one who’s even looked at me like I wasn’t trash.”“You don’t know her. Her scent—she hides something.”“Then we watch. We stay alert.” I paused, pretending to scrub a tough stain while I focused inward. “I’m not walking away from a clean bed and real food because you're spooked.”“You’re spooked too,” my wolf snapped.“Yeah,” I admitted. “But I’m also tired.”The kitchen door swung open behind me. I jumped slightly, snapping out of my head.“There you are!” June’s voice was all sunshine and mischief. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”“I’ve been working,” I said, brushing hair out of my eyes. “The dishes don’t