Page 24

As Miles is prepped for surgery, his heart beats a staccato rhythm:

Thrump, thrump, thrump .

The surgical technician drapes his body in sterile paper sheets, then swabs the skin around his mate mark with alcohol.

The anesthesiologist lowers the mask over Miles’ face, the hiss of oxygen filling the room. With practiced ease, he inserts a syringe into the IV port and administers the sedative, ensuring Miles stays under.

Thrump, thrump, thrump.

The surgeon scrubs up at the sink, then slips on her latex gloves. She approaches the instrument stand and scans through the tools, double-checking that everything she needs is in place.

Thrump, thrump, thrump .

Across from the surgeon stands the local witch, dressed in surgical attire, holding an ancient tome wrapped in plastic for sterility. Her eyes are shut, and she appears to be humming and softly chanting to herself.

“Everyone ready?” Dr. Skye asks as she surveys the room, taking in the various medical technicians and nursing staff. “This is a first for me, but hopefully, we can quickly manage anything that comes up during the procedure.”

“Yes, doctor,” the different voices agree.

“Ms. Rathbone,” she instructs gravely, addressing the witch. “You may begin.”

The witch stops humming and starts to cast a spell that will hopefully break the bond between Miles and Marissa, ultimately saving his life. As she chants, a chorus of unearthly voices recites the translation for everyone to hear.

“O Ghealach Dhiadhachd cho soilleir,”

“Oh, moon goddess, light so bright,”

“ Sàbhail am fireannach seo bhon bhàs an oidhche seo,”

“Save this male from death this night.”

As the first words slip from the witch’s mouth, Dr. Skye takes a scalpel and begins to cut the mate mark from Miles’ neck. Once it’s free, she uses tissue forceps to place it into a metal bowl, where it immediately turns to ash.

The witch continues her incantation.

“Bris an ceangal rinn cho neo-ghlic,”

“Break the bond so unwisely made,”

“Comharraich na fiachan dhuit mar a chaidh am pàigheadh.”

“Mark the debt to thee as paid.”

Miles lies still on the surgical table as the echoes of the final words fade.

The air hums with energy. Suddenly, his body jolts.

His chest lifts off the table, arching upward, as though something inside him is trying to break free.

His muscles seize, his frame bends unnaturally, and then a soft light begins to glow from his chest. At first, it’s faint, like moonlight slipping through the clouds.

Then it intensifies, transforming into the image of a lunar eclipse: a darkened moon surrounded by faint shadows, symbolizing the goddess’s bond of fate.

But something’s wrong. The tattoo-like image fractures, jagged black lines running through it, similar to shattered glass, splitting the symbol into pieces.

The mark glows with an intense, silvery light.

As the beautiful design shatters and fades into an ugly scar, the light recedes.

It’s clear now: this bond, once pure, is broken, ruined, and reflected in the shattered symbol.

Thrump, thrump, thrump.

As the surgical team stands frozen in shock, Dr. Paisley calls out. “Stats? The team snaps into action. One of the nurses quickly checks the monitors, glancing up with a relieved expression. “His vitals are all good, Dr. Paisley. He’s stable,” she summarizes, her voice steady.

Dr. Skye turns to the witch, eyes wide with disbelief and asks, “Ms. Rathbone, what just happened?”

The witch responds, her voice filled with disbelief, "There were two mate bonds within him. One was created by his decision to mark his chosen mate during a bonding ceremony.”

“The other bond, the Lunar Eclipse Bond, is the moon goddess’s mark, which has now appeared on Miles’ chest. It symbolizes the bond he once shared with his fated mate, Paisley.

This rare bond forms when two fated mates are born under a similar celestial event, like a solar or lunar eclipse.

It doesn’t have to occur in the same year.

It’s an especially powerful bond because it’s said the moon goddess sealed it with her own hand during the celestial event—their connection, it is written in the stars. ”

“That bond should've never been broken…but it has been, because it was tainted by the chosen mate bond,” her voice trailing off in a whisper.

Miles

I rise from my bed and look around, but the darkness surrounds me completely, thick and black, almost viscous.

‘Hello?’ I call out. ‘Is anyone there? Where am I?’ I take a few steps forward, reaching out and feeling a solid surface to my right.

As I move along it, I hear voices in the distance.

‘Hello?’ I shout again, louder this time. ”

I feel a pinch in my neck where my chosen mate mark lies, as the voices swell, chanting:

“O Ghealach Dhiadhachd cho soilleir,”

“Oh, moon goddess, light so bright,”

“Sàbhail am fireannach seo bhon bhàs an oidhche seo,”

“Save this male from death this night.”

“Bris an ceangal rinn cho neo-ghlic,”

“Break the bond so unwisely made,”

“Comharraich na fiachan dhuit mar a chaidh am pàigheadh.”

“Mark the debt to thee as paid.”

I feel a burning in my chest, just above my heart, and suddenly a light bursts forth, a fire that sears and etches a symbol onto my skin.

I fall to the ground, my body writhing in pain.

It’s as if the goddess herself is tracing a beautiful tattoo onto my heart, which blooms out onto the surface of my skin.

It’s the image of a moon rising in an inky black sky, slowly being eclipsed until only a black circle remains, surrounded by silvery wisps of moonlight.

The beautiful image fills me with thoughts of pure love and safety, endless and eternal.

“Miles, my wolf-son,” a distinct female voice speaks from the darkness. “This mark over your heart symbolizes the gift I bestowed upon you–Paisley’s love and devotion.”

“I don’t understand!” I cry out, rising onto my knees. “Who are you?”

“I’m your moon mother, the moon goddess, Miles,” the feminine voice whispers, echoing from all directions. “But my heart aches for you, my wolf-son. You did not cherish the gift I gave you—you destroyed it through greed. You wanted too much! You wanted both. And in the end, you chose wrong.”

“I thought I had the right to make my own choice at the time,” I say, writhing in gut-wrenching agony.

The pain isn’t physical now, but something far deeper—visceral, a soul-deep regret.

“I now know that I made the wrong choice by choosing Marissa, but I thought I had the freedom to make that choice. ”

“Not in this, Miles,” the moon mother replies softly but firmly.

“You and Paisley chose each other before the worlds were born. So, the bond I gifted you and Paisley is no ordinary bond. It is a sacred one where you would’ve had perfect happiness with your chosen one.

Didn’t you feel perfect happiness with Paisley? ”

“Yes,” I choke on the word, bile rising in my throat as I realize the magnitude of my loss.

“You allowed lust to rob you."

I sob uncontrollably.

"You once had a pure heart, too, until Marissa weakened it. She was never meant for you, Miles. I sent you the fated mate you desired, one who was worth cherishing. But you didn’t trust me enough to embrace the bond, leaving yourself open to corruption fully.

Always receive my gifts quickly, my wolf-son, before they disappear. ”

“Oh, Mother Moon, I know I hurt Paisley, and I now see that Marissa is nothing compared to her. And I want to go back and do things over again so badly. If I could have that chance, I vow I will never allow Marissa to touch what I have with Paisley. I promise I will bond with her and marry her immediately,” I plead.

“Please, turn back time for us, just this once. ”

“I’m sorry, my wolf-son,” the moon mother soothes. “But it’s too late to reverse time. Perhaps, at that moment, just after you committed your betrayal, if you realized your error and felt remorse, it could’ve been undone. But that’s not the case, is it?”

“Please,” I continue to beg.

“So much time has passed. Our actions are like ripples on the water. Imagine a light rain, with all the drops hitting the water, creating ripples that dance on the surface, touching and interacting with one another. That’s like our lives, Miles.

Every action causes other actions and reactions…

You can’t even imagine. If our actions are bad, the consequences can be devastating.

However, undoing your actions now can’t be done.

Miles, under these circumstances, they were irreversible at the moment you became intimate with Marissa again and cheated on your mate.

“You’re on a different path now, and your past is set.

Your journey now is to accept the fate of the bond you helped destroy and the pain that comes with that loss.

You must also acknowledge the faithlessness of Marissa, your chosen mate.

There’s no going back to either bond, Miles.

This isn’t just the consequence of your decisions, but a blessing, because you’ve suffered enough at Marissa’s hands.

Remember, redemption doesn’t lie in reclaiming the past, but in finding peace in a new future. ”

“I’ll never look back at Marissa,” I promise. “I’ve learned that lesson. I’m a possession to her, not someone she loves. But I can’t let go of the hope of a future with Paisley.”

"I'm afraid you must, Miles," her voice echoes around me before falling silent.

I look down at the beautiful symbol of my bond with Paisley in horror as it shatters like glass, jagged black lines running over it and webbing across my entire torso.

A flash of light erupts from it, fading as quickly as it came, and the image collapses into itself, leaving an ugly, ruined scar over my heart.