MOONBOUND: RECLAIMING MY ALPHA MATE AND POWER

Days slipped by in the dense woods of Camp Ravenpine, filled with hikes, team games, and campfire chats. But Alison's attention was locked on something else, or rather, someone.

Damon Blackwell.

She had seen him sneak out of the cabin not once, not twice but four times now. Always after midnight. Always alone. No flashlight. No sound. And always denied it the next day, saying he was stargazing.

Tonight, she was ready. She will see and know everything he is hiding.

The forest was quiet that night, unnaturally quiet. As if depicting the saying " calm before the storm"

Alison crept out of the cabin wrapped in a hoodie and pajama pant, her heart thudding in anticipation. Alison waited with her shoes by the door, breath held. As expected, the door creaked quietly. A shadow passed.

Damon.

"That sneaky arrogant brat" Alison muttered

She counted five seconds, then She followed the direction where Damian had gone, moving carefully between the trees, barefoot and quiet as a ghost.

She trailed him through the trees, sticking to the shadows. Her heart pounded, every crunch of twigs beneath her shoe echoing in her head. He moved fast but with purpose. Like he belonged in the woods.

"What are you hiding…" she whispered.

As she moved deeper into the forest, the air shifted , it grew colder. A strange tension settled over her skin like static. A crack of twigs behind her made her freeze, she paused. She turned and her heart stopped.

Then came the sound.

A low growl.

Alison froze.

From behind a thick cluster of trees, a massive black bear stepped into view. Its eyes glowing unnaturally red, locking onto her. It bared its teeth and roared, the sound echoing like thunder through the trees as it reared on its hind leg.

Alison gasped, stumbling backward. "No, no, no.."

The bear charged.

Alison screamed, stumbling as it lunged, then everything changed in a blur of white and gold.

A blinding streak burst from the trees.

A massive snow-white wolf slammed into the bear mid-air, knocking it aside with a furious growl. The two beasts collided with snarls and claws, crashing through underbrush in a savage blur. Alison turned her back shielding her eyes. She didn't want to see blood. She didn't want to see death.

She didn't see the wolf shift.

The sounds of the fight raged for a few moments, then quieted. When she finally turned around, the bear was gone, and standing in its place was...

Damon stood in its place shirtless, slightly scraped, panting but calm.

His hair was tousled, his eyes glowing faintly under the moonlight. He held his hoodie in one hand, pants properly worn.

"How… how did you get here?" she asked breathlessly.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, stepping forward.

"No, but you? Where did you come from?" Alison demanded.

"I heard something. Came to check it out. You okay?"

She nodded slowly, still shaken. "I think so."

"Were you following me again?" Damian asked

"I..I just wanted to know why you sneak out every night and deny it in the morning " Alison defended herself

Damian extended a hand. "Come on. I want to show you something."

"What's it?" Alison questioned her voice full of curiosity

"You want to know why I sneak out? Then come with me" Damian insisted and Alison agreed though still shaken with the bear incident

He led her through a narrow path until they reached a quiet stream. The water was crystal clear, and above it, the stars reflected like silver fireflies. The moonlight bathed the area in a soft glow.

Alison stared. "This is where you always sneak to… it's beautiful."

Damian smirked. "Not as beautiful as you panicking."

She turned to glare at him. "Excuse me?"

He mimicked her voice dramatically, "'Oh my god! AAAHH'"

Alison burst into laughter as she shoved him playfully ."You jerk. And put on your hoodie"

"You were so adorable " he said with a smirk as he put his hoodie on

Alison sat beside him, the silence between them no longer tense, but curious. Calmer.

"Why are you so rude and arrogant? You seem to want to fight with everyone" she asked quietly.

He hesitated. "I've been angry for a long time. Felt trapped. Like I couldn't control anything in my life."

Her expression softened.

"I'm not who you think I am, Alison," he said, voice low. "And I don't really like the version of me I've had to be."

She looked at him for a long moment. "Then… maybe you should figure out who you want to be instead. You can't continue being like the Grinch "

He laughed, and it was the first time it sounded real, soft and warm.

She smiled too, without meaning to.

Something had changed between them.

Something… real.

There was something in her presence now, an unmistakable pull. A bond. The spell was fully broken. She was his mate. Damian stared at her in silence, unsure of what to say

"She is ours" Lexus declared

Meanwhile...

In the Shadow Realm, the bear returned, limping into the cavern before Fagus and Casper.

"Well?" Fagus asked.

The bear growled out in the old tongue, "She was guarded... by the future Alpha."

Casper's hand curled into a fist. "That boy! What's he doing in the human world, and did a boy just defeat you!."

"He is strong, he nearly killed me" The bear complained . "And the girl… it seems her powers flickered."

"Then the spell is fully broken," Casper growled. "Prepare the next move. We'll need more than beasts this time."

"As you command " Fagus nodded

.....

Alison's spell broke slowly since the first encounter with Damian, the bond was strong enough to break the spell slowly. The encounter with the bear fully broken the spell.

Alison and Damian stayed at the stream for some time, Damian taking in the fact that the girl beside him is his mate. His soulmate chosen for him by the moon Queen, and he was not going to lose her

"We should head back" Alison suggested as she stood up ready to leave

Damian held her hand, and said "Because I caused you to follow me out here and got nearly attacked by a bear, let me carry your back"

Alison's silver eyes went wide as a saucer,"No, I can walk. It's my fault too for following you and not minding my business " she refused him, not that she didn't want to be carried but it was awkward and embarrassing

"Okay then I would love to be your friend, I will be nice " Damian pleaded

"What happened all of a sudden? Why did your personality change?" Alison asked

Damian replied "Because you said I should stop being a grumpy Grinch, and I want to start by being friends with you "

"Okay,.. Let's go back now" Alison replied and they went back quietly to their cabin,

Alison wondering why he suddenly changed and was nice to him, while Damian thought of how to win his mate's heart.