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Paisley

I can barely breathe. The ache in my chest won’t let up. It’s a dull, exhausting pain that never fades. It began the night of Miles' betrayal at his bachelor party. I try not to think about it, but it tears at my soul. It won’t heal.

Thoughts of Miles, of us, cling to me, persistent and painful.

He chose her. Marissa.

How could he choose her over me, his true, goddess-given mate?

I’ve asked myself that question so many times, and the answer remains the same: he just did. Then, when Marissa took off again, he returned with his apologies. Mea culpa .

But I refuse to fall for Miles’ lies again. So, here I am still grieving, with a broken heart. Even after he marked and mated Marissa, I still feel the bond. It’s fractured and mangled, a meaningless promise that throbs with constant, physical pain.

From the moment we met, when it was just the two of us, the bond felt life-giving.

Bone-deep.

Eternal.

Written in the stars.

His touch felt like home.

Our heartbeats synced.

Sadly, unbeknownst to me, she was always there, hovering like a ghost in our lives, always on the edge of his mind. I never imagined he’d turn his back on us and leave me for her.

I wasn’t na?ve. I didn’t step into this blind.

He told me their history, but others in the pack had warned me too.

They said Marissa played a twisted cat-and-mouse game with Miles, and I wasn’t the first to get caught up in it.

She’d been drifting in and out of his life for years.

I should’ve been more careful or simply stayed away from him.

But I trusted him because I thought the past was precisely that—past. I believed what we had was stronger, something untouchable, because it was fated. That made me feel I was the exception.

I now laugh bitterly at my foolishness.

Miles and Marissa certainly taught me a lesson I’ll never forget.

Even now, as I lie here, locked in this bedroom at the motorcycle clubhouse, the ache in my chest feels like a gaping hole I could get lost in. The pain fills the very cracks where our love used to live.

And then… darkness descends.

I shiver as I’m thrust into a void. Everything around me fades until a pitch-black abyss swallows me. I can’t see. I can’t feel. I can’t hear anything except the wild, frantic thump of my desperate heartbeat.

Then, a low hum. Faint at first, distant, as if traveling through water. It grows steadily louder until foreign words begin to take shape and fill my head.

“Bris an ceangal rinn cho neo-ghlic…”

The words sound ancient and ominous, causing my heart to skip a beat.

“Stop!” I scream. The agony in my chest increases as the voices swell.

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

“Mark the debt to thee as paid... ”

A debt? Fire rips through me, and it feels like the tapestry of fate is unraveling—pulling at me, twisting around me, binding me, and consuming me. I try to untangle myself, but I can’t. The darkness moves deeper, penetrating me as the chanting grows louder.

Just before I succumb to the blackness, a gentle light breaks through like a small sliver of moonbeams cresting a storm cloud. It’s calming and inviting.

The burden of pain I’ve carried since Miles broke me begins to ease, as if the light is healing me.I can breathe deeply for the first time in months.As the glow deepens, warmth surrounds me and seeps into the fractured spaces.

Then, it transforms, taking on the shape of a glyph. A beautiful, ethereal moon hangs overhead. It’s so enchanting that tears well up in my eyes. I watch as a unique celestial event unfolds—a lunar eclipse. A dark shadow glides across the silvery orb, its edges delicate and luminous.

As the image sharpens, it begins to pulse.

Slowly, it detaches from the sky and cascades toward me like a comet, trailing tiny stars in its wake.

Just before it pierces my chest, I rise to meet it, instinctively drawn to receive it, and warmth rushes through me.

When the stardust clears, a radiant tattoo appears, delicate and shimmering just above my heart.

For a moment, complete peace washes over me. Every hurt is erased, and all my brokenness is made whole. The ache that has been my constant companion lately disappears, replaced by this stillness that makes me feel healed.

But then… it shatters.

And the ties that bind me to Miles are finally severed, and all that’s left is relief.

When the image settles on my skin, it’s bleeding. This beautiful tattoo is made even more haunting by a webbing of fractures. It’s as if something sacred has broken. The pain has faded, replaced by a deep sorrow that’s slowly waning.

‘Paisley…’

The voice comes, soft and soothing in the space around me, and then there she is—the moon mother.

“Do you know what that mark is called?”

“No,” I whisper.

“It’s the Shattered Bond,” she replies. “It represents the tattered remains of the connection between you and Miles. It also symbolizes your beauty and strength despite the brokenness.”

I bow my head with grief .

“That which was between you, and Miles was special because it was sealed under a rare celestial event—the lunar eclipse,” she continues. “It’s a bond that was never supposed to be broken.”

I quietly begin to sob at the magnitude of what was lost between us.

“You chose each other,” she says. “Not just in this life, but before the Earth was formed. It was always your and Miles’ destiny, written in the stars. But... the fault is not yours to carry. You were betrayed.”

“He chose Marissa,” I whimper.

“Yes, he did. And she deceived him,” the moon mother whispers. “They will pay the price.”

“The debt?” I ask. “I heard chanting before that spoke of a debt being paid.”

“That’s right. The debt for the broken bond must be paid, but it’s not yours to pay.”

The darkness begins to gather around me.

“You’re innocent in this, Paisley; you have another true mate,” the moon mother says. “Within you lies an unawakened bond, someone you chose before time began. This one is pure and without blemish. But it’s not without trials.”

“I don’t understand. How can I have two true mates? ”

Before time was measured, a prophecy was spoken:

“Two mate bonds were created before the world began—one of ice, the other of fire. The first will shatter you; the second will restore you with a true love’s kiss.

Within you, both were meant to join, but deceit tore the bonds apart.

The choice is yours: choose both, choose one, or neither.

In your choice, true happiness will be found.

Decide, and your heart will be healed, and your path will be sealed. ”

“Your bonds will never be what they once had the potential to be. Not pure, nor without scars,” she whispers. “But they are still there, awaiting your final decision.

“Does that mean I have the freedom to choose Miles and this other true mate?”

“Yes,” she replies. “Or even neither.”

I’m not sure how I feel about that. The deep ache has disappeared, replaced by a peaceful understanding that settles within me.

The tattoo stays, beautiful but imperfect. It's a promise of a future full of happiness; that reassurance is enough for now .

Lynsey

Yesterday, we scheduled a meeting, set for three days from now, with the key players to discuss what the club refers to as a trial for Joyride.

Although not a traditional pack like the others, we’re just as established and adhere to the same rules, though with a morally grey tint.

Alpha Commander tolerates our presence because we help keep Stone Mountain Kingdom clean.

We’re his not-so-secret, dirty little secret.

Since Joyride's trial is set for three days from now, Miles Reid has enough time to recover so he can travel.

Alpha Rex Stone and his second, Beta Knight Pierce, will meet with Drágon, Snake, and me to uncover the truth behind the lies Joyride has spread.

We must address the danger she has caused through her wrongful kidnapping of Paisley Woods.

Joyride informed us that she had an encounter with the moon goddess in a dream.

When she woke up, she found a scar on her chest, which had spread, webbing out to cover her entire body, including her face.

Sawbones gives her a clean bill of health, but is convinced it’s a curse.

Joyride agrees with him, claiming the goddess gave it to her as punishment, though she refuses to say for what.

We’ll find out soon enough at the trial. Drágon can compel truth.

Oddly enough, during Joyride's experience with the moon goddess, Paisley fainted in her own room. While she was out, a tattoo of a shattered eclipsed moon appeared on her chest, in the same spot where Joyride’s scar had appeared.

She has since slipped into a coma and hasn’t regained consciousness.

Sawbones can't find anything that would cause Paisley's condition, but he assures us that she’s otherwise fine.

So, we've got someone sitting with her at all times until she wakes up.