His Rejected Luna

The Mark That Binds Me

The stranger's words sink into me like a dagger.

"You should not bear that mark."

My skin burns, the symbol on my collarbone pulsing in response, as if it recognizes the masked figure—as if it knows them. But I don't.

I have never seen this person before.

And yet, something in my bones is telling me I have.

Kieran moves instantly, stepping between me and the intruder. His stance is rigid, his claws unsheathed, golden eyes burning with a lethal edge. "Who the hell are you?"

The stranger doesn't move, doesn't flinch. Their silver mask gleams under the faint moonlight, their presence as still as a shadow.

"I am not your enemy, Alpha Blackwood." Their voice is calm, but there's an undertone of something unreadable beneath it. Something old.

Kieran growls low in his throat. "Then why do you smell like death?"

The masked figure tilts their head slightly. "Because death follows those who are marked."

My heart slams against my ribs.

They are talking about me.

I take a shaky breath, stepping around Kieran before he can stop me. My voice is hoarse, but steady. "What does it mean?"

The stranger's masked gaze locks onto mine. "You already know."

I shake my head. "No. I don't."

They exhale, the sound barely audible. "Then you do not yet understand what you have done."

The wind shifts around us, carrying the lingering scent of something unnatural—something that makes the air feel thicker, as if reality itself is off balance.

I force my voice to stay even. "Tell me."

The stranger hesitates. Then, finally—

"You have been claimed."

Claimed by What?

The words send a violent shiver through me.

I shake my head. "That's not—" My breath stutters. "Claimed by what?"

The stranger doesn't answer immediately. Instead, they lift a gloved hand and gesture toward my collarbone. "That mark is not just a symbol, Lunarborn. It is a tether."

A cold weight settles in my chest.

A tether.

The word feels wrong, too final. Like I have been bound to something beyond my control.

Kieran bristles beside me, his energy radiating pure rage. "To who?"

The stranger's masked face tilts slightly, and when they speak, the words are so quiet I almost don't hear them.

"To something that was never meant to return."

A chill runs down my spine. "The thing in the fracture."

The stranger nods once.

The air leaves my lungs.

Caelum lets out a low whistle, arms still casually crossed. "Well," he murmurs, "this just got interesting."

Kieran snarls, his body bristling with fury. "If she's been tethered to that thing, then tell us how to break it."

The stranger goes very, very still.

Then—

"You cannot."

The words slam into me like a death sentence.

I step forward, my pulse roaring in my ears. "There has to be a way—"

"There is none." The stranger's voice is unwavering.

My stomach twists, panic clawing at my ribs. "You don't understand," I whisper, my throat tightening. "I can still feel it."

The thing in the fracture.

It hasn't left me.

It's waiting.

The masked figure exhales slowly. "Then it has already begun."

Kieran steps forward, his rage a tangible force in the air. "You expect us to believe that she's just—what? Bound to some ancient entity with no way to sever it?"

The stranger's voice is calm, but there is something heavy beneath it. "That is exactly what I am saying."

Kieran growls. "That's bullshit."

The masked figure tilts their head slightly. "You think this is unfair?" Their voice dips, colder now. "You think this is cruel?"

Their next words send ice through my veins.

"Then tell me, Alpha—would you rather she had died instead?"

A dead silence falls over the clearing.

My breath catches.

Kieran stiffens beside me, his hands curling into shaking fists.

Because he knows.

Knows that when the Enforcer had his hands in my chest, when the Council tried to erase me, I should have died.

But I didn't.

Because something else—something worse—stepped in instead.

A sharp pain stabs through my collarbone.

I cry out, stumbling back, clutching at my mark as the glow intensifies.

The masked stranger reacts instantly.

"Do not fight it!"

Kieran grabs me, his grip steadying but too tight, his voice sharp. "What's happening to her?"

The stranger doesn't answer.

Because they don't have to.

I feel it.

The mark is reacting.

Not just to me.

To something approaching.

Then—

A scream shatters the night.

Not a human scream. Not a wolf's howl.

Something worse.

Something wrong.

The trees bend violently, their branches twisting, as if something massive is moving through the forest. The shadows between them shudder, stretching unnaturally, like they are being pulled apart.

A guttural snarl rips through the darkness.

Kieran shoves me behind him, his claws unsheathing. "What the hell is that?"

The masked figure straightens, their entire body going rigid.

They know what's coming.

Caelum exhales, sounding almost bored. "Ah. There it is."

The masked figure's voice is quiet.

But it sends a wave of terror through me.

"Your master has come to collect you."

The trees explode apart—

And then something steps through the forest.

Something that should