Bound by Fate

The air was thick with smoke and sorrow.

Bodies were being carried from the battlefield—both friend and foe. Blood soaked the ground. The scent of ash, burned earth, and iron hung heavily as the pack gathered in a solemn circle around the fallen.

Kelan's body lay in the centre, wrapped in a black cloak, his hands crossed over his chest. The man who had once teased Lunara for tripping during training now lay cold, eyes forever closed.

Lunara stood still, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her three mates flanked her—silent, vigilant. Her powers had calmed since the final blast, but the lingering energy crackled beneath her skin like restrained lightning. Her eyes no longer glowed, but something about her had shifted permanently—something otherworldly and distant.

Alpha Riven's voice cracked through the silence. "Alpha Kelan fought until his last breath. His death won us time. He died a warrior and a hero may he rest in peace."

A howl split the air as one by one, the pack honoured the fallen.

Then, all eyes turned to the girl bound in silver chains—Nira.

She knelt at the centre of the circle, her face streaked with tears, her lips trembling. "I didn't mean for him to die... I didn't know they would kill him," she sobbed.

"You called them here," Varek growled.

"She's a traitor," Elias said sharply. "She made a choice."

"She's also one of us," Calyx said softly. "Or was."

The elders whispered among themselves. Even Luna Lira—Lunara's mother—watched with cold, unreadable eyes.

Lunara stepped forward, every eye following her.

"I will not pretend I don't feel the betrayal," she said quietly. "But I also won't deny that Nira has already lost everything. Her place. Her trust. Her future."

"So what do you suggest?" asked Elder Fen.

"That she lives with her guilt," Lunara answered. "Exile her. Strip her of her rank, her name. Let her walk the world alone—knowing she can never return."

Nira cried harder. "Please, Lunara. Don't do this..."

"I didn't do this," Lunara said, and her voice broke then—not with anger, but with grief. "You did."

The council agreed. Nira was exiled.

And as the guards took her away, Lunara turned and walked into the woods alone.

Later that night, in the stillness of the barracks, Lunara sat cross-legged in the grass, trying to quiet the tremors in her hands. Her veins pulsed with lingering power. Every time she breathed, it felt like the moon itself was watching her.

She heard them before they reached her—Elias, Varek, and Calyx.

"You shouldn't be alone," Elias said gently.

"I'm not alone," Lunara murmured. "Not anymore."

They sat beside her in silence.

"What's happening to me?" she whispered. "I feel like I'm burning from the inside out. My magic... it's not mine anymore. It's growing. Changing."

Calyx touched her hand. "You've awakened something ancient, Lunara. Something tied to the first bloodlines."

Varek frowned. "Is it safe for her?"

Elias, ever the closest to her soul, leaned in. "What are you feeling right now?"

Lunara turned to him slowly. "Like if I opened my mouth, the stars might fall out."

They were quiet after that.

Finally, Lunara turned to all three of them. "I need you. But I need you to accept this bond, even if it wasn't what any of us expected."

Elias nodded first. Then Varek. And finally, Calyx, who looked at her with quiet reverence.

The four of them sat shoulder to shoulder, the moonlight draping them in silver threads of fate.

The war wasn't over. But they had each other—and for now, that had to be enough.