Bound by the Moon

-

encounter in the woods. The shadowy figure had vanished just as quickly as it appeared, leaving behind only the oppressive silence of t

nding her with its cruel glow. The ritual was coming, she could feel it.

a tangled mess of images, memories, and fear. The

outside her do

ng in the doorway with her ever-present, calculating expression. Her eyes flick

with it," Agatha said,

t, and her body ached from the tension of the night before. "What are you talki

nto the room. "You were supposed to complete it.

her sides. "I'm not doing it. I don't care

g. "You don't have a choice. It's already begun. T

like a physical blow. The forest. The shadow

id, but her voice trembled slightl

t no less dangerous. "You already are. It's too late to turn back. You think th

is. She didn't want the ritual, the power, the darkness. But it was as if all of i

?" Luna whispered, her vo

It was knowing, dangerous. "You're not the first to walk this path. But you wil

ht back, to break free from Agatha's grip, but it was as if ev

or. "The Solstice is only days away," she said, glancing back ov

d with panic and uncertainty, but something else, too-a sharp, unyielding curiosity. What did Agatha mean by a

ed down on her, and the coldness of the room seemed to seep into her bones. She f

door interrupte

liar voice cal

as K

ect from him anymore, but she couldn't deny the pull she felt toward him. He was different, strange in wa

ed out, trying to ke

othing, his long, untamed hair falling around his face. His piercing gaze met hers,

a asked, her voice b

were alone. "I saw you last night," he said softly. "In the woods. The ritua

. I don't know what they want fr

"You can't run from it, Luna. It's not just Agatha. It's not just the forest. It's the moon. The Solstice-it's all part o

na asked, her v

Kael said quietly. "It wil

to deny it, to walk away and pretend none of this was happening, but she coul

to do?" she whispere

her skin. "You don't have to do it alone. I c

believe that there was a way out of this madness. But everything inside her screamed that

," she admitted, her v

shing a strand of hair from her face. "I'll be her

t understand, so much that was hidden from her. But Kael's presence, his steady hand in hers, made her

again, and Agatha's cold,

ce icy. "You have a part to play, Luna

epped into the room. The tension between them was palp

sneered, her eyes narrowing. "She's min

flashing with something dangero

orces surrounding her were too strong, and the more she

was no

s running

-

ith an additional 3,000 words, maintain

-

thered to reality. She had been trapped in this web for too long. Agatha's icy stare bore into her, but Luna couldn't shake the feeling that the woman wasn't

hrough the thick tension. "You can't protect her, Kael. She's alr

ways known something was different about the pull she felt towards the forest, the moon, the ritual, but hearing Agatha speak the truth ou

, but his voice was steady. "You won't control

that Agatha had been pulling people into this same ritual. Her mind raced, tryin

one in control here, Kael? The Solstice is upon us. The moon will claim what is hers, wheth

of the conversation was suffocating, her chest tight with fear and confusion. What was she supposed

rustration and something darker beneath it. "This isn't r

pressing in on her from all sides. She was being pulled in two directions, each one pr

think you can stop what's coming? It's already begun,

had felt the change in herself since the moment the moon had risen that night, the pow

na whispered, her voice trem

s meant to be," she said softly. "A vessel for the power of the moon. You will bring forth the change that

pers growing louder every day, their pull growing stronger. And the moon-the moon above, the moon she had once only

nge?" Luna's voice was almost a plea.

ritual. You'll bind yourself to the forest, to the moon, and to everything tha

d. "Unleash it? What

ou don't know what you're asking her to do," he said, his voice low and full of barely cont

decide, Kael. The moon doesn't care if she's ready or not. The ritual is a

was unfolding before her eyes, and it was worse than anything she could have imagined. She had thought the ritual was something s

?" Luna whispered, barely

" she said softly. "You'll either complete the ritual, or th

g down on her, suffocating her. The moon, the forest, the ritual-they were all pulling her toward a

rmination. "We need to stop this, Luna. We ca

protect her. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe there was another way, a way out of this

't know what's happening to me. But I can feel it... I can feel th

then it hardened again. "I won't let you go

way to break the bonds that were closing in on her. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that the powe

had cho

too late to

ed toward the window. The sound was coming from the woods. It was the kind of growl that

ut there. Somet

, knowing smile. "It'

e felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She wasn'

asn't just the forest-it was the moon

-