Bound By Moonlight to My Mates (by Sofange Daye) novel Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Charlotte

Cricket stirs within my mind, dragging me from my sleep. Ronan is snoring peacefully beside me, but I can’t fall back asleep. My new wolf is demanding to be set free; she wants to run, but I am afraid that if I give her control, I won’t be able to gain it back. Still, I slip from the bed and make my way outside, trying to get the confidence to let her run.

The sun hasn’t fully risen when Jake finds me.

The pack is stirring awake, low murmurs, clattering dishes, the distant hum of rebuilding. I’m standing on the porch of the pack house, breathing in the sharp scent of pine and rain–soaked earth. The world feels new. And so do I.

I can feel Cricket under my skin like a second heartbeat. The silver, ancient one. She hums inside me, restless and alive, impatient to stretch her legs.

Jake leans against the railing, his usual grin softened by something quieter. “You’re up early.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

He studies me for a beat, eyes gleaming amber in the morning light. “That’s because your wolf can’t breathe in here.”

I arch a brow, wondering how he knows about Cricket and how wild she seems to be. “And yours can?”

“Mine was born for open ground.” He nods toward the forest. “Come on, Lotte. Time to learn what that new wolf of yours can do.”

I hesitate, glancing back at the house. “Ronan…”

“Will be fine,” Jake interrupts gently. “He’d be the first to tell you to stop pacing and start living.”

He’s right. The ache of guilt lingers, but underneath it is a pulse of something wilder. Not a necessity, but a desperate want to let her free.

So I nod. “Fine. Teach me.”

Jake’s grin widens, feral and warm all at once. “Thought you’d never ask.”

We step into the trees, and the forest greets us with open arms. Damp moss underfoot. Shafts of pale light slanting through the canopy. My heart drums in time with the wind.

Jake strips down without ceremony, dropping his shirt and pants onto a fallen log. “You’ll learn to shift faster if you stop thinking about it,” he says, voice low and teasing. “You’ve got too much brain in it, not enough instinct.”

“You know I have shifted before,” I snap at him.

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He cocks his head to the side. “Yes, but Tala was tame. I can tell your new wolf is not.”

I roll my eyes but follow suit, heat creeping up my neck. His eyes roam over my body like he hasn’t seen me, naked before. “You’re enjoying this.”

“Maybe a little.”

When his body changes, it’s smooth and effortless, fur rippling over muscle, bones rearranging in a blink. His wolf is giant, eyes bright as evergreen trees. He shakes out his fur and lets out a low chuff that sounds suspiciously like a laugh.

“Show off,” I mutter.

Then I let go.

The shift hits like a rush of heat through my veins. For a breath, there’s pain, then power. Silver fur blooms across my skin, and my vision sharpens into shades of light and scent.

When it’s over, I’m standing on four legs. The ground feels different. Softer. Alive.

Jake’s wolf, Storm, pads closer, brushing his nose against mine in approval.

‘You’re magnificent, his voice breaks into my mind.

‘You talk too much,‘ I send back playfully.

He yips once, amused, then bolts into the trees. I chase him.

The world explodes around us, air rushing past, dirt kicking up beneath our paws, sunlight flashing through the canopy. The forest sings to me. For the first time since awakening as this silver wolf, I belong.

We run until my lungs burn. Then Storm slows beside a stream, panting, eyes glinting with laughter. I lap at the water, feeling it cool and sweet against my tongue.

He nuzzles my shoulder playfully. ‘You’re getting the hang of it.’

‘You make it look easy.

“That’s because you’re still fighting her, he says softly. Let her breathe, Lotte. She’s not something to control. She’s not Tala. She’s you.

Something in me cracks open. I lower my head, drawing a slow breath, and for the first time, I feel Cricket’s joy. The fierce, wild love for the earth beneath our paws, for the beautiful wolf beside us, and for freedom itself.

Cricket throws back her head and howls.

The sound rips through the trees. Jake joins in, his voice twining with mine until the entire forest seems to hum with it.

When the echo fades, I shift back, shaking as the last of the magic leaves me. Jake follows a moment later,

bare skin slick with sweat and rain.

He catches my face in his hands, laughter dying into something softer. “That,” he breathes, “was beautiful.”

“I didn’t mean to be so…”

“Don’t apologize.” His thumb brushes my cheekbone. “That’s what you’re supposed to be. Wild. Untamed. You’ve spent so long being what Tala needed you to be that you forgot what it feels like to run free.”

I swallow hard. “And what if freedom scares me?”

“Then I’ll run with you until it doesn’t.”

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