BOUND BY FATE

Chapter 11

The night air was cool against Lucia's skin as she stepped out into the garden, her thoughts a tangled mess of fear, curiosity, and something she couldn't quite name. She had read every word in the journal, traced every desperate ink stroke her mother had left behind. The truth should have left her feeling grounded, but instead, it only made her feel more lost.

She was part of something ancient, something dangerous. And Ezekiel… he was at the center of it.

Her fingers trembled as she wrapped her arms around herself. She needed to breathe, to clear her head. Without thinking, she walked past the gates of her family's estate, her feet carrying her toward the outskirts of town. The streets were quiet at this hour, the lanterns flickering weakly against the darkness.

She should turn back.

She should pretend she had never read that journal.

She should ignore the way her heart ached every time she thought of him.

But she didn't.

Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted. The sound barely registered before another presence made itself known—heavy, watchful, waiting.

Lucia stopped.

She wasn't alone.

A slow chill crawled down her spine. The night was too still. The air was thick with something unseen, something pressing against her skin like an invisible weight.

Then, she heard it—footsteps, deliberate and unhurried.

Lucia turned just as a figure stepped into the glow of a nearby streetlamp.

Ezekiel.

He stood at the edge of the light, his gaze locked onto her like a hunter watching prey. But there was something else in his eyes, something raw and desperate. The golden flecks in his irises burned brighter in the dim light, his body tense as if he were at war with himself.

Lucia's heart pounded.

"Why are you following me?" she whispered.

His jaw clenched. "You shouldn't be out here alone."

"You say that like I'm in danger."

"You are."

Lucia swallowed, but she held her ground. "From what? You?"

Ezekiel took a slow step closer. The air between them crackled.

"I don't want to hurt you, Lucia," he said, his voice low, strained. "But you don't understand what you're doing—what you're doing to me."

She should run. Every instinct in her body screamed at her to back away, to put as much distance as possible between herself and the dangerous man before her. But she didn't.

Instead, she stepped closer.

"Then explain it to me," she demanded. "Tell me why my mother knew about this curse. Tell me why she said I was the key. Tell me why—"

Her words cut off as Ezekiel moved.

Faster than she could react, he was in front of her, his breath warm against her cheek. His hands curled into fists at his sides, as if touching her would break him.

Lucia felt her pulse quicken.

His scent wrapped around her—something wild, something that sent shivers down her spine. It was intoxicating, overwhelming.

His voice was a whisper of agony. "You were never supposed to exist."

The words should have hurt. But there was something in his tone, something that made her stomach twist—not hatred, not anger… but longing.

Lucia reached up, her fingers hesitating before brushing against his wrist. "Then why do you look at me like this?"

Ezekiel exhaled sharply, as if her touch burned him. His eyes darkened, his restraint fraying.

"Because I can't look away," he admitted.

Lucia barely had a second to process his words before a sound in the distance shattered the moment—a low growl, deep and guttural, coming from the darkness of the trees.

Ezekiel went rigid.

Lucia's breath hitched as a second growl joined the first.

They weren't alone.

Ezekiel moved, placing himself between her and the shadows beyond the lamplight. His posture shifted, tense and predatory, his fingers twitching as if itching to change, to shift.

Lucia's heart pounded as a figure emerged from the woods—another man, tall, broad-shouldered, and undeniably dangerous. His eyes gleamed like a predator's, his smirk cold.

"How touching," the stranger drawled, his gaze flickering between Lucia and Ezekiel. "The Alpha has found himself a little human pet."

Ezekiel's voice was a low growl. "Leave."

The stranger chuckled. "Oh, I don't think so." His eyes locked onto Lucia. "You have no idea what you've stumbled into, little girl."

Lucia stiffened, but before she could say anything, Ezekiel moved.

One second, he was beside her. The next, he had the stranger pinned against the nearest tree, his hand at his throat.

"She is mine," Ezekiel snarled.

The words sent a shock through Lucia, her breath catching.

The stranger only smirked. "Then the curse will kill you both."

Ezekiel's grip tightened. "Not if I kill you first."

The stranger's laughter echoed through the night.

And for the first time, Lucia realized—she was standing at the edge of something far greater than herself.

Something dangerous.

Something she could never escape.

Because Ezekiel had called her his.

And the moon was watching.