Bound By Moonlight to My Mates (by Sofange Daye) novel Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Tala

Moonlight pants the gardens in a silvery glow, just like they did the night before. I trail my fingertips across a rose petal, grounding myself in the dirt beneath my feet. It isn’t safe for me to sneak from my chambers two nights in a row. Not with the knights ever watchful eyes on me, but my restless heart wouldn’t let me stay confined. The need to see him is stronger than any punishment we can endure if we are caught.

“You came.”

His voice rings through the night, smooth and dangerous. It tugs at the frayed edges of my resolve. I shouldn’t be here. Still, I spin, the skirt of my gown whispering against the stone path. I find him leaning in the shadows beneath the willow tree.

Theo. My Theo.

Even in the dim light, I can see the sharpness of his gaze. The hunger behind it makes me tremble. He looks at me as if he’s been waiting for too long, but he knew I would come. He knew I couldn’t resist stepping into the night to find him.

My chest tightens, and I square my shoulders. “You shouldn’t be here. This is sacred ground.”

“I

go where I please.” He steps forward, out from beneath the willow branches. “Especially if it means finding you.”

I shake my head. I came here tonight to send him away, but my pulse beats rapidly beneath my skin, betraying my thoughts. I step back, putting much–needed space between us. “You don’t understand what you’re doing. I’m not meant for you.”

His lips curve, accepting the challenge I have laid down. “I feel you, Tala. Bond or no bond, wolf or no wolf, I know what you are to me. You are my mate.”

My breath hitches. He is cursed, stripped of his wolf by the very goddess who had given me life. A punishment for rebellion. To claim him would be blasphemy, a betrayal of my lineage. Any mate would be considered treachery, but this man. It would mean death for us both.

“You shouldn’t say that,” I whisper. “You’re tempting fate. This is wrong.”

He closes the distance between us, stopping just short of touching me. The heat of his proximity burns my skin like fire. His scent, raspberries, wraps around me, rooting me to the ground. I wouldn’t be able to walk away. Not even if I wanted to.

“Fate can’t be tempted,” he says softly. “My fate is chosen, and I choose you.”

My knees tremble. For a moment, I nearly lean into him. I almost let myself drown in the forbidden gravity that pulls us together. I find myself wondering what his lips taste like. Would they be sweet like his berry scent or more manly? Would his tongue explore my mouth while our souls intertwined? How would his skin feel under my fingertips? But the weight of my mother’s expectations, of my divine blood, presses like a hand around my throat.

“You don’t know what you are asking of me,” I say, forcing my voice to sound steady. “I am a Daughter of the Moon.”

“I know exactly what I am asking. Stop pretending like you don’t feel it too.” His voice roughens. “The bond doesn’t lie.”

Before I can answer, the rough fall of boots on the path shatters the moment between us.

“Daughter Tala!” Voices carry through the hedges; they are both urgent and commanding. Torches flicker in the night, throwing restless shadows over the flowers.

My heart jolts. They discovered I was missing. Theo drags me beneath the branches of the willow tree, the leaves concealing us like a curtain. His hand wraps around my mouth to keep me from making a sound. Tears drip from my eyes. I fear he will steal me from my home.

Theo’s gaze flickers toward the lights, and then back to me. His jaw clenches together, but his eyes soften in a way that nearly makes me beg for him to take me with him.

“You’ll have to choose, sooner or later,” he murmurs.

His hand disappears from my mouth, and before the torches grow closer, he steps backward into the darkness of the tree. His body vanishes as though it is swallowed by the shadows themselves.

“Tala!” More knights spill into the garden, calling my name. I stand frozen beneath the branches of the willow, too scared to move into the open. Terrified of what it will mean if I give myself up to them.

I swallow down my fear and step from the tree, the falling leaves cascading behind me like a waterfall. “I am here,” I call out to them.

The knights rush around me, but they don’t touch me. None of them would dare touch a Daughter of the Moon; it is forbidden.

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