Bound By Moonlight to My Mates (by Sofange Daye) novel Chapter 61

Entwined Under Lunar Vows 61

Chapter 61

Damon

I step over the invisible line that separates rogue territory from the Southpaw Pack like I have done many times. Only this time, I am met with snarling warriors, willing to kill me for daring to enter their pack. For the first time in my life, I am not welcome in my father’s home.

“State your business,” one of them growls.

I raise my hands into the air. “I want to speak with Alpha Lucian, and then I will leave.”

He looks me up and down before his eyes gaze over, and with a frustrated huff, he steps to the side, creating a path for me to reach the pack house.

I breathe in deeply as I walk through the forest. It smells different here. No stench of rot in the air. There is no sound of feral wolves howling in the woods, and the warriors that are keeping a close eye on me don’t appear sick at all. Their eyes are clear and their hands steady. I don’t understand.

Why them? Why here?

The sickness has gutted every pack I’ve seen. But the Southpaw Pack stands tall and untouched. It is as if the Moon Goddess herself shields them.

Lucian is waiting for me on the front steps of the pack house. His arms are folded across his chest, and the snarl on his lips reminds me that I am not welcome.

“What the hell are you doing back here, Damon?” His voice is flat and dangerous. “Where is Charlotte?”

“Charlotte is safe,” I grumble. “We need to talk.”

Lucian squares his shoulders. “There is nothing we need to say.”

I skip the pleasantries. “Cut the shit, Lucian. Your wolves aren’t sick, and from the looks of it, neither are you. You know something about the sickness and Charlotte, and you’re going to tell me what it is.”

He bares his teeth, daring me to defy him. “Careful, rogue.”

I step closer until we are chest to chest. “I don’t have time to be careful. Charlotte doesn’t have time. So, either you tell me, or I’ll tear through your pack until I find someone who will.”

The growl that rumbles between us shakes the beams of the porch, but a voice interrupts us before it can turn into bloodshed.

“Enough,” Leah says, stepping from the shadows of the doorway. She looks like shit. Her skin is pale, and her shoulders slumped. Obviously, she is still weak from her injuries, but the glare in her eyes is anything but. “He deserves to know, Lucian.”

Lucian shoots her a look that would send any man away, but she doesn’t flinch.

“Fine.” He turns back to me, jaw tight. “But don’t expect me to hold your hand through fairy tales.”

I follow them into the pack house. I am eyed suspiciously as we walk past, but I try not to let it bother me. I can understand their worry. A sickness is creeping among our kind, and they are safe within their borders. I am sure they think an outsider could ruin that for them.

We step into Lucian’s office, and he shuts the door behind us. “Well,” he grumbles at Leah. “Go ahead with the fairy tale.”

Leah draws in a steadying breath. “It isn’t a fairy tale. It’s a myth as old as the packs. The story of the Moon Goddess’s daughter.”

I arch a brow. “The Goddess had a daughter?”

Leah nods. “She was radiant, gifted with a spark of her mother’s divinity. But her heart was foolish. She fell in love with a wolf who rejected his own kind. He hated what we were, hated the chains of instinct and pack. He wanted freedom from all of it. This angered the Moon Goddess, and she stripped him of his wolf. She made him something unholy, cursing him with eternal life.”

I cross my arms, impatience clawing at me. “What does this have to do with the sickness?”

“When she bound herself to him,” Leah says, her voice softer now, “she gave him part of her essence. In return, he gave her his darkness. Their union unbalanced everything. Wolves began to falter. Packs turned on each other. The sickness spread like fire through the blood.”

Lucian adds grimly, “The Goddess cursed them for it. Eternal life. Eternal guilt. They would relive their mistake again and again, never finding peace. And every time, the sickness would follow.”

For a second, the room tilts. My fists clench at my sides. Eternal life. Eternal guilt.

Charlotte. Theo.

The pieces click too easily in my head, too fast. My stomach knots.

I force my voice to stay even. “And you believe this?”

“It’s a myth,” Lucian says with a shrug that doesn’t hide the tension in his shoulders. “But behind every myth is truth. We’ve taken precautions here. Old rites. Old wards. Our pack is descended from original knights who protected the Moon Goddess’s daughter. That’s why Southpaw stands.”

Leah’s gaze finds mine, sharp and knowing. “You’ve seen it, haven’t you? The bond snapping into place. The way she draws wolves to her. You know this isn’t just a story.”

“How do we fix this?” I whisper. “How have they made it go away in the past?”

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