Beneath the Alpha's Moon
Chapter 278: The Pull of the Bond

Chapter 278: The Pull of the Bond

Eldur’s POV

I used to think silence was a weapon.

A thing you sharpened and wielded until it cut deeper than claws or teeth ever could.

But sitting alone on Mai and Liam’s couch for the seventh night in a row, wrapped in that ridiculous fluffy blanket Liam insisted I keep, I realized something much worse—

Silence could also suffocate.

"Eldur, you have to eat something," Liam said gently, his voice low and careful, like he was talking to a wounded animal that might bolt at any second.

He set a bowl of steaming soup down in front of me, the faint aroma of herbs filling the space between us. His face was a mess of cautious hope, like he was silently begging me to just... be okay.

I stared at the bowl like it was written in a language I didn’t understand.

Soup wasn’t going to fix this. Nothing could.

Mai dropped down beside me with a heavy sigh, her curly hair tied up in a chaotic bun, strands escaping everywhere. There was a glint of fierce determination in her eyes—classic Mai, as stubborn as ever.

"You know," she said, way too cheerfully, "we could totally kidnap Nova, tie her to a chair, and force her to listen to you grovel. I’m good with knots. Ollie has duct tape."

"She likes coconut mango lip balm," Ollie added from the armchair, tossing a popcorn kernel into the air and catching it with a lazy grin. "Might make the ransom situation a little sweeter."

I didn’t even have the energy to shoot them the glare they deserved. All I could do was sit there, hollowed out, feeling like a ghost wearing my own skin.

"I’m fine," I muttered, pushing the bowl away with a weak shove as I stood.

"Bullshit," Mai snapped, her hand shooting out to grab my wrist in a tight grip. "You’re not fine, Eldur. You’re—" Her voice cracked like thin ice, and she had to swallow before she could finish.

"You’re breaking."

The words hit harder than they should have.

Maybe because they were true.

I swallowed hard against the lump rising in my throat. Because how did you explain the kind of hurt that didn’t bleed on the outside? The kind where every breath felt like glass in your lungs?

Ever since I promised Lara I’d stay away from Nova, it felt like someone had reached straight into my chest and carved my heart out with their bare hands.

Every beat of it hurt. Every inhale tasted like betrayal.

And the worst part?

I deserved every second of it.

"I can’t stay here," I said finally, my voice low, almost apologetic as I gently pulled my wrist free. "You guys... you’re worrying too much."

"Because we care, you absolute idiot," Ollie grumbled, throwing another piece of popcorn at me and missing by a mile.

Liam stood too, his omega scent thick with sadness and something heavier—something like mourning. He placed a steady hand on my shoulder, his touch grounding even though I already felt halfway gone.

"You don’t have to do this alone," he said, voice raw.

But I did.

Because their kindness—their hope—their love...

It was killing me slower than the rejection ever could.

I couldn’t stand the way they looked at me like I was a wounded animal dragging itself into a corner to die.

"I’ll be fine," I said, the lie slipping off my tongue before I could second-guess it. "I just... need some space."

Mai opened her mouth like she wanted to argue, stubborn as always, but Liam caught her eye and gave a slight shake of his head. Let it go, he was telling her.

She hesitated, biting down hard on her bottom lip. Her eyes shimmered under the fluorescent lights, glassy and unsure.

"Where will you go?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

I tried to smile, but it cracked halfway through, falling apart like something too worn-out to hold.

"Somewhere quiet," I said.

Before they could ask anything else, before the guilt could grab me by the ankles and pull me under, I raised my hand. Silver threads spun from my fingertips, stitching the air into a glowing portal that buzzed against my skin, wild and alive. Without another word, I stepped through.

The world I landed in smelled like pine needles soaked in rain, thick moss clinging to stone, and the sharp bite of an endless winter.

I didn’t run to a glittering city or a crowded human town buzzing with noise and neon.

No.

I chose isolation. A forgotten village tucked deep into the snowy ribs of Svalbard, tucked so high into the Arctic Circle it felt like the edge of existence itself.

A place where the sun barely scraped the horizon, where the cold silence wasn’t just background noise—it was everything, pressing against your bones, making you feel both invisible and painfully alive.

It was exactly what I needed.

The people there were few—hardened fishermen, rugged scientists wrapped in heavy coats and thicker silences. They didn’t ask questions. They didn’t offer fake smiles or empty small talk. If you wanted to be left alone, they let you vanish.

I found a small, weather-beaten cabin on the outskirts of the village, perched where the jagged mountains clawed at the bruised sky and the sea whispered at the frozen shoreline in a voice so raw and ancient, it sounded like it was mourning the dead.

For an entire month, I drifted through life like a ghost no one had bothered to bury.

I wandered the frozen shoreline, the wind slicing through me like I wasn’t even there. Listened to the ice groan and crack under winter’s relentless weight, the sound sharp and hollow, echoing the way my heart felt inside my chest. Every day, I felt pieces of myself crumble away, flaking off like brittle stone eroded by time.

The rejection sickness wasn’t just in my head—it had sunk deep, lodging itself into my bones, into the very fabric of who I was.

At first, I didn’t even understand why it hurt so badly. I thought maybe I was just weak, maybe I was just broken. It wasn’t until one night—curled up on the cabin floor beside a dying fire, my body shaking from hunger and exhaustion—that Aethros finally broke the silence inside my mind.

"She’s ours," he whispered, voice rough and shattered. "Nova... she’s our mate, Eldur."

I remember lying there, stunned, not even able to catch my breath.

And just like that, the pain made sense.

Werewolves weren’t built to lose their mates. It wasn’t something we could survive without consequences.

When a mate rejected you—whether they meant to or not—it tore through the bond the moon goddess herself had woven. It ripped you apart from the inside out, strand by strand, until there was almost nothing left to save.

Some wolves didn’t survive it. Some went mad, lost in the agony. And lying there in the dark, I started to wonder which fate was coming for me first.

The days blurred into each other, time stretching out like a grey, endless sea.

Sometimes, when the wind howled across the ice, I could almost swear I heard her voice, soft and distant.

Sometimes I caught the ghost of her scent—wildflowers warmed by golden sun—just for a moment, just long enough to trick my heart into believing she was near.

I would close my eyes, let myself believe...

And then open them to nothing.

Nothing but snow. Nothing but cold, empty space.

I stopped shifting. Aethros was too drained, and honestly, so was I.

I didn’t hunt anymore. Barely ate. Barely slept.

I didn’t live. I just... existed.

And somehow, somehow, that hollow existence hurt even worse than death.

It happened on the thirty-second day.

I was sitting by the frozen beach, staring at the endless stretch of cracked ice, my mind a blank void, when it hit me—sharp and brutal, like a spear driving straight through my chest.

The bond Nova and I flared back to life.

Violent. Blazing. Terrified.

Pain—hers—slammed into me so hard it knocked the breath clean out of my lungs.

I doubled over, a strangled gasp tearing from my lips, my fingers clawing at the frozen earth as if I could somehow ground myself against it.

"Eldur!" Aethros howled inside me, panic rippling through every corner of my mind.

"She’s in danger!"

I stumbled to my feet, swaying like a man on the edge of collapse. Every muscle trembled with weakness, my body barely more than skin and bone at this point.

But none of it mattered.

Not the hunger gnawing at me. Not the cold slicing through my thin clothes. Nothing mattered except her.

"Find her!" Aethros urged, his voice raw and desperate. "Find our mate!"

My heart thundered painfully in my chest as I forced my battered body to move. Summoning every last scrap of power left in me, I raised a shaking hand. Silver threads sparked at my fingertips, sputtering and flickering like a dying flame as I fought to open a portal.

The edges wavered, the center spun wildly, unstable, threatening to collapse in on itself.

"Please..." I whispered hoarsely, my voice cracking under the weight of fear and hope. I tilted my head to the dark sky, to the unseen goddess who had crafted the bond I was about to lose forever.

"Please... just let me reach her."

The world pitched and spun around me.

Colors smeared into one another, bleeding across my vision like melting paint.

And then—with a sound like a thousand strings snapping at once—

I stepped through.

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