chapter 3: THE BITE OF FATE

The forest had gone quiet.

Too quiet.

Seraphine’s boots crunched softly over the dew-drenched leaves as she followed Auren deeper into the woods. The air was thick with expectation, with something she couldn’t quite name—like the earth was holding its breath. Her fingers trembled at her sides, itching with a strange warmth, as if magic now lived beneath her skin, constantly on the verge of awakening.

Auren had barely spoken since they left the clearing, his silver eyes focused ahead, jaw set. Seraphine didn't press. She was still reeling from the truth he’d delivered the night before—that her mother hadn’t died by chance. That her life had been woven into prophecy. That she was moonbound.

The word echoed in her thoughts like a heartbeat. Moonbound. What did it truly mean? What kind of power was now blooming inside her—and why did it come with the taste of blood and sorrow?

Finally, Auren stopped. They had arrived at the edge of a ruined stone circle, half-swallowed by moss and time. Broken pillars leaned inward like ancient sentinels, and the ground shimmered faintly beneath the pale moonlight still clinging to the morning.

“This is where it began,” Auren said, his voice low and solemn.

Seraphine glanced at him. “Where what began?”

“The first moonbound oath. Hundreds of years ago.” He knelt, brushing his fingers over the etched runes barely visible on the stones. “This circle was once sacred. A sanctuary. But now… it's forgotten. Like most things born of the old magic.”

Seraphine approached cautiously. “Why bring me here?”

He looked up, his eyes piercing. “Because if you want to survive what's coming, Seraphine, you need to take the oath. You need to bind yourself.”

Her chest tightened. “To what? To you?”

“No,” he said, rising. “To fate.”

Her laugh was humorless. “You make that sound so comforting.”

“It’s not meant to be.” Auren stepped toward her, slow, deliberate. “Taking the moonbound oath is dangerous. It will mark you. Change you. But it will also awaken the true depth of your power—and shield you from those who would twist it.”

“And if I don’t?” she asked, arms crossing.

He met her gaze. “Then your power will devour you. Or worse… someone else will.”

Her breath hitched. There it was again—that heavy sense that something was coming. That she was standing at the edge of a cliff, and whether she leapt or was pushed, there would be no going back.

Seraphine swallowed hard. “What does the oath involve?”

Auren stepped into the center of the circle. “Blood. Will. And the bite.”

“The what now?”

He gave her a look. “The bite of fate. It’s a physical mark—an exchange of essence. Painful, but necessary. It's how the bond is sealed. Once taken, the magic becomes yours in full. You’ll be bound to the moon—and to your lineage.”

“Do you have it?” she asked.

He nodded slowly. “Yes. Mine was given centuries ago.”

She stared at him, stunned. “Centuries?”

He didn’t elaborate. Just waited.

The silence between them pulsed. Seraphine’s thoughts warred. Her fear screamed at her to run—to deny all of this and go back to her life. But that life was already gone. She had seen too much. Felt too much. She knew now that she wasn’t normal, never had been.

And if her mother had died protecting her… then she owed it to her to finish what she started.

“I’m ready,” she said quietly.

Auren’s expression darkened with something like pride—and sorrow. “Then step into the circle.”

She did. As her foot crossed the threshold, a wind whipped around her, swirling leaves and lifting strands of her hair. The air buzzed with energy, like invisible threads pulling tight.

Auren spoke in a tongue she didn’t recognize, ancient and melodic. The stones around them glowed faintly, runes lighting up in response. The circle came alive, and her skin prickled with energy that wasn’t entirely hers.

“Place your hand over the heart,” Auren instructed.

Seraphine frowned. “What heart?”

He reached into his coat and pulled out a crystal shard, shaped like an anatomically perfect heart, pulsing faintly with silvery-blue light. “This belonged to the first moonbound. It’s been passed down. It knows how to choose.”

She hesitated, then pressed her palm against it.

The reaction was instant. A searing pain shot through her hand, and the crystal flared so brightly she had to close her eyes. But through the pain, a memory bled into her mind—

A woman cloaked in moonlight, weeping as she offered her blood to the altar. A lover’s betrayal. A curse spoken in rage. Power ripped from the heavens and anchored into the earth.

Seraphine gasped, stumbling back as the vision faded.

“That was her,” Auren said. “The first moonbound. Her name was Elira. And her blood sings in you.”

Seraphine’s hand was glowing now—runes etched into her palm, burning like fire. “Is this it?”

Auren stepped closer. “Now comes the bite.”

Before she could ask what he meant, he drew a dagger. The blade shimmered with moonlight. “I won’t lie to you, Seraphine. This will hurt.”

She clenched her jaw. “Just do it.”

Auren’s eyes met hers for a long second—searching, testing. Then, with one swift motion, he dragged the blade across his palm and let his blood drip onto the center of the circle.

Then he looked at her—and struck.

His teeth sank into her shoulder, and she screamed.

The pain was like wildfire—radiating through every vein, igniting something deep and primal. Her knees buckled, but she didn’t fall. Couldn’t. The magic was anchoring her to the spot, drawing from her soul.

The bite wasn’t just a wound—it was a claim. It threaded her to something ancient, something older than the moon itself.

When he finally pulled back, his lips were stained crimson, his eyes distant—like he was somewhere between worlds.

Seraphine’s shoulder throbbed, the wound already closing, leaving behind a silver crescent scar.

It pulsed in time with her heartbeat.

Auren wiped his mouth, the color slowly returning to his face. “It’s done.”

She staggered, breath ragged. “What now?”

He looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time. “Now, you’ll begin to feel it. Your senses will sharpen. Your dreams will deepen. And your power… it will start to break through. You’ll be stronger. Faster. More in tune with the moon’s pull.”

Seraphine swayed, her mind struggling to keep up.

Auren caught her. His hands were warm now, pulsing with the same rhythm as her own.

“But you need to stay hidden for a while,” he murmured. “The moment the oath was sealed, a signal was sent. The ones who hunt moonbound—they’ll sense you.”

“Let them come,” she whispered, echoing her own words from the night before.

He smiled faintly. “You’re braver than most.”

“I’m not brave,” she said, eyes burning. “I’m angry.”

And she was. Furious, really. At the lies. At the stolen life. At the pain. But beneath the rage was a new resolve—a fire that would not burn out.

Not this time.

She stepped out of the circle, each footfall steadier than the last. She could feel the change inside her. Like the forest itself now breathed with her. She heard every rustle, smelled the wildflowers before they bloomed. The forest had always felt like a place of mystery.

Now it felt like hers.

Auren walked beside her, silent. She could feel his tension, his watchfulness. They both knew things would never be the same.

As they reached the edge of the forest, Seraphine looked up at the sky. The moon was fading, but not gone.

It was waiting.

Watching.

Just like fate.