Leila did not sleep.
The small wooden cabin prepared for her was simple but warm — a bed, a woven rug, a basin of fresh water, and a window that overlooked the heart of the Cursed Pack.
They had given her space.
No chains.
No guards at her door.
That unsettled her more than imprisonment would have.
The bond pulsed faintly at her neck.
Not painful.
Just present.
She could feel him.
Dominic.
Somewhere outside.
Awake.
Alert.
Her wolf lay calm inside her mind, curled but aware — like it had finally found something it had been searching for.
She hated that.
She pressed her fingers against the dark mark on her skin.
It glowed faintly beneath her touch.
Different from Kael's.
Stronger.
Alive.
"You didn't even ask me," she whispered into the darkness.
The bond flickered softly in response.
As if listening.
As if disagreeing.
A sudden knock echoed at her door.
Her body tensed.
"Who is it?"
"It's me."
Dominic.
Of course.
She hesitated.
Then opened the door.
He stood there, illuminated by moonlight. Not armored. Not imposing.
Just… there.
"I told you I don't need guarding," she said sharply.
"I'm not guarding you."
His eyes studied her face.
"You haven't slept."
"I don't owe you rest."
A faint exhale left him — almost amusement.
"You owe yourself survival."
She crossed her arms.
"What do you want?"
"War is coming."
Her breath caught.
"So soon?"
"Yes."
He stepped slightly closer, lowering his voice.
"Kael will not tolerate losing face. Especially not publicly."
Her stomach twisted.
"This is my fault."
"No."
His voice was firm.
"This is pride's fault."
Silence stretched.
Then he said something unexpected.
"You're shaking."
She hadn't realized she was.
Not from cold.
From everything.
He stepped forward.
Too close.
The bond flared.
Heat spread across her skin, not consuming — grounding.
Her wolf leaned into it.
She stiffened.
"Don't."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"I'm not touching you."
But his presence alone was enough.
She hated how steady she felt near him.
How the chaos inside her quieted.
"Why me?" she finally asked.
It wasn't accusation this time.
It was confusion.
Dominic held her gaze.
"When the bond destabilized, I felt it."
Her pulse stumbled.
"You felt it?"
"Yes."
His voice lowered.
"It was like something tearing in half."
Her chest tightened.
He had felt her pain.
Across distance.
"That is not a weak bond," he said quietly.
"It is a true one."
She looked away.
"I didn't choose you."
"No."
A pause.
"But your wolf did."
The honesty struck deeper than any arrogance would have.
Before she could respond—
The air shifted.
A sudden wave of cold swept through the cabin.
The moonlight brightened unnaturally.
Silver.
Blinding.
Dominic stiffened.
"You feel that?"
She nodded slowly.
The mark on her neck began to burn again.
Not painfully.
Powerfully.
The light intensified—
And then the world disappeared.
The Dream
Leila stood in a field of silver grass beneath a blood-red moon.
Alone.
The air shimmered like liquid starlight.
"You have been claimed."
The voice was neither loud nor soft.
It was everywhere.
She turned slowly.
A figure formed from moonlight itself.
Radiant.
Ethereal.
Eyes glowing like twin stars.
The Moon Goddess.
Leila dropped to her knees instinctively.
"Rise," the Goddess commanded gently.
Leila obeyed, trembling.
"I did not choose this," she said immediately.
The Goddess's gaze was knowing.
"You did not."
"Then why?"
"Because balance demands it."
The red moon above pulsed.
"In one lifetime, a wolf may be given comfort."
The Goddess stepped closer.
"In another, she is given purpose."
A chill slid down Leila's spine.
"Dominic is not cursed," the Goddess continued.
"He is correction."
Correction?
"The packs have grown corrupt," she said calmly. "Power without consequence. Purity without mercy."
Images flashed around them — Alphas executing weak wolves, Lunas silenced, rogues hunted for sport.
"The wolf born beneath the broken moon was meant to disrupt."
Leila's heart pounded.
"And me?"
"You were meant to steady him."
The words stole her breath.
"If he falls without you, he becomes destruction."
A pause.
"If you fall without him, you become prey."
The silver grass swirled violently around them.
"War will come," the Goddess said.
"Not because of pride."
"But because old power fears change."
Leila's voice shook.
"Can this bond be undone?"
The Goddess's expression softened.
"Yes."
Hope flared briefly—
"But it will cost blood."
The field trembled.
"And if I accept it?"
"Then you will either unite the packs…"
The red moon darkened further.
"Or watch them burn."
The world shattered again.
Awakening
Leila gasped as she collapsed back into her cabin.
Dominic was on his knees in front of her, gripping her shoulders firmly.
"You disappeared," he said sharply.
"What?"
"For several seconds."
Her breathing was ragged.
"She came."
His grip tightened slightly.
"The Goddess?"
She nodded.
His jaw flexed.
"What did she say?"
Leila looked at him.
Really looked at him.
At the wolf the world called cursed.
"You're not cursed," she whispered.
His expression hardened instantly.
"Don't."
"She said you're correction."
Something flickered in his eyes.
Pain.
Old.
Buried.
"She also said war is coming."
"I already knew that."
"And that if I leave this bond…"
Her voice faltered.
"It will cost blood."
Silence.
Heavy.
Then Dominic asked quietly—
"And if you stay?"
She held his gaze.
"We either unite the packs…"
A beat.
"Or watch them burn."
Dominic stood slowly.
No arrogance.
No smirk.
Just quiet understanding.
"Then we prepare," he said.
"For which outcome?"
His red eyes glowed faintly in the dim cabin.
"For both."
Outside—
A horn sounded from the watchtower.
Not warning.
Not patrol.
Attack.
Dominic turned toward the door.
"They didn't wait."
Leila rose beside him.
This time—
She did not hesitate.
"Then neither will we."
The bond pulsed once.
Strong.
Aligned.
And for the first time since the marking—
They stood not as captor and captive.
Not as curse and victim.
But as something far more dangerous.
Partners in an approaching war.