Chapter 5: A Battle of Fate

Celeste stood frozen, staring at Elias as the weight of his words settled over her like a thick, suffocating fog.

"You're not alone in this."

The sincerity in his voice sent a shiver through her, but she refused to let it sway her.

How could she be tied to a man—no, a werewolf—she had just met? How could the universe decide something so personal, so intimate, without her consent?

Her body vibrated with unease, a war raging inside her.

"You don't get it," she finally whispered, her voice raw with emotion. "This… this is my life. My choices. My future. And now you're telling me that none of it matters because of something I had no say in?"

Elias' expression tightened, his silver eyes darkening with something unreadable. "It's not that simple, Celeste."

"No, it's exactly that simple!" she shot back, anger bubbling to the surface. "I've spent years building my life, making my own choices. I fought for everything I have. And now you're telling me fate—fate—just swooped in and decided that my life belongs to you?"

Elias flinched, his hands curling into fists at his sides. His control was ironclad, but Celeste saw the way his body tensed, as if her words cut him open.

"You think I wanted this?" His voice was low, almost a growl. "You think I woke up one day and wished to be bound to someone who would rather run than face what's in front of her?"

His words struck like lightning, hot and searing.

Celeste's breath caught.

Because, deep down, she knew he was right.

She was running—from him, from the truth, from the terrifying knowledge that something inside her had already begun to shift.

That from the moment she had locked eyes with him, something had changed.

And it terrified her.

"You don't even know me," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Elias exhaled, his shoulders dropping slightly. "I know enough."

Celeste swallowed hard. "Like what?"

Elias took a step closer, his presence looming, his heat wrapping around her like a storm she couldn't escape. "I know you're brave. That you don't back down, even when you're scared."

Celeste's breath hitched.

"I know you're stubborn, that you question everything because you refuse to be controlled."

Her chest tightened.

"I know you push people away because you don't trust easily."

Her stomach twisted.

Elias' voice softened. "And I know that no matter how much you fight this, Celeste… you feel it too."

Her world tilted.

Because he was right.

She felt it.

She had felt it since the moment she had met him—an invisible pull, like a thread tying her to him, something ancient and unspoken.

But she didn't want to.

She couldn't.

"I don't know what I feel," she admitted, her voice shaking.

Elias nodded, as if he expected that answer. He took a step back, giving her space, his silver eyes calmer now, but still intense.

"You don't have to figure it out today," he said. "But don't lie to yourself, Celeste. Don't pretend you don't feel it just because you're afraid."

Her throat tightened.

She was afraid.

Not of him.

But of what he meant.

Because if she accepted this—if she let herself believe that fate had truly intertwined them—then everything she thought she knew about her life, about herself, would come crashing down.

And she wasn't sure she could handle that.

"I need time," she said, forcing the words past the lump in her throat.

Elias studied her for a long moment, then nodded. "Then take it."

The tension in the room shifted, but Celeste knew this was far from over.

Because no matter how much time she took, one truth remained.

She was Moonbound.

And there was no running from fate.