Chapter 3 The Mark and the Memory

The first heat of the Moon’s light was nothing like I expected. I had imagined it would be gentle, comforting—something that made me feel like I belonged. But when Darius pressed his mark against my skin, it felt like fire lancing through every vein, every nerve, every pulse in my body. My knees went weak, but I forced myself to stand.

The pack cheered, voices rising and falling like waves against stone cliffs. I should have smiled, felt triumphant, felt honored. Instead, I felt hollow, as though a piece of me had already been claimed by something else—something I couldn’t name.

And then I saw him.

Kieran.

Not in the flesh—he was nowhere in sight—but in the edges of my mind, like a shadow brushing against the corners of my thoughts. His scent lingered on my skin, faint but unrelenting, a metallic tang that made my stomach twist. I shook my head, trying to banish the memory, but it was too late. The bond had awakened more than connection to Darius—it had awoken her, my wolf, and she was restless, unsettled, drawn to something forbidden.

⸻

The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur.

Darius’ hand remained on my lower back longer than necessary, brushing against the small of my spine in a way that was possessive but not gentle. I should have melted into it, welcomed it, felt the connection strengthen with each heartbeat. Instead, my thoughts betrayed me. They were full of Kieran’s silver-blue eyes, the way he’d looked at me, the raw edge of danger surrounding him.

I forced myself to smile at the pack, to nod at elders, to accept their bows and praises. I am their Luna. I am their Luna. I repeated it over and over like a mantra, but my wolf’s claws dug into my ribs beneath the skin, and I knew she was angry, confused, and fiercely aware of a presence that wasn’t Darius.

By the time we returned to the packhouse, the celebrations were underway. Music, laughter, and the scent of roasted meats filled the air. Everyone danced, sang, and drank, celebrating the beginning of a new Luna’s reign. Darius moved beside me like a shadow, guiding, protecting, claiming—but every time I caught a stray wind of something else, a hint of danger lingering in the trees beyond the packhouse, I shivered.

⸻

That night, I slipped from my chambers under the pretense of needing air. The full moon cast the forest in silver light, revealing the faint paths I knew since childhood. Each step I took carried both excitement and fear. My wolf stirred beneath my skin, urging me forward, pulling me toward something I didn’t yet understand.

And then I felt it—the touch of memory, sharp and sudden. Not my own. A flash of Kieran’s hand on the earth, his teeth bared, the smell of iron and pine. I stumbled, gripping the nearest tree, heart pounding. My wolf howled in warning, low and guttural.

I realized then that the bond with Darius had a side effect I hadn’t anticipated: it connected me to everything tied to the moment of danger, of passion, of life and death. And that rogue—Kieran—had been near death when I saved him. Somewhere in the threads of our souls, he had left a piece of himself behind, and the bond had found it.

My fingers brushed the mark on my wrist, the one Darius had placed, still warm, still throbbing. And I knew. The Moon wasn’t silent. She was speaking.

⸻

Over the next days, the pack’s life moved with a rhythm both familiar and suffocating. I trained, attended council meetings, and stood beside Darius as he made decisions for the territory. And yet, nothing felt real. Not his hand on mine. Not the praise in his eyes. Not the whispers of the elders calling me wise, capable, worthy.

Because Kieran haunted me.

At first, it was subtle: a scent lingering on the wind, a memory in the back of my mind, the brush of fur against my ankle in a dream. But then it became impossible to ignore. My wolf stirred constantly, restless, her claws digging into my sanity, her heartbeat syncing with his.

One night, I dreamt him fully.

He was in the forest, moonlight bouncing off his dark hair. His eyes caught mine, wide and desperate. “Lyra,” he said, voice low and urgent, “they’re coming for me. You need to run.”

“Run where?” I asked, reaching for him, but he faded, slipping through my fingers like smoke.

“They’ll kill me if they find me,” he said, and the wind carried the sound of claws against bark, teeth snapping, a low guttural roar. “And if you stay with him…” His eyes softened, almost unbearably, “you’ll lose yourself too.”

I woke screaming.

⸻

The bond mark burned on my wrist, red-hot, reminding me that Darius was mine by law, by fate, by the Moon’s own decree. I couldn’t touch Kieran. I couldn’t see him. I shouldn’t even think about him.

And yet, every nerve in my body remembered the moment I first held him, every instinct demanded I go back, find him, protect him again, even if it meant defying everything I had been taught.

⸻

That morning, Darius found me on the balcony, staring at the forest. “Lyra,” he said softly. “Are you ready?”

I turned, smiling through the tightness in my chest. “Yes. Of course.”

His eyes lingered on me. “You’ve been… distant.”

“I’m just… thinking about the pack,” I lied, though my wolf growled quietly in protest. Darius didn’t notice. He never would.

As he walked away, giving commands to the council, I let my gaze drift back to the edge of the forest, where the shadows pooled and shifted.

Kieran. Somewhere out there, breathing, waiting, dangerous and alive. And I knew, deep in my heart, that my life had already been split in two.

One half for Darius, the mate I was bound to.

One half for Kieran, the rogue who had stolen a piece of my soul under the moonlight.

And the bond—the mark, the power, the Moon itself—was just beginning to whisper its secrets.

Because the Moon doesn’t lie.

And neither does my heart.