The Moonbound Hunter

She guides the dead to peace. He kills to survive. Bound by ancient magic, they must learn to trust each other before the next full moon destroys them both. Lyra Moonfall has spent her life proving that gentleness is strength. As a Moon-Blessed Soul Guide, she helps lingering spirits find their way to the afterlife, never abandoning a soul in need—even when the living prove more complicated than the dead. But when she discovers a wounded demon hunter bleeding on the edge of the Veil Isles, her compassion leads to consequences she never imagined. Dorian Vex is a weapon in human skin. Cursed to transform into something monstrous beneath the lunar light, he has spent nine years hunting alone, convinced that love is fatal and connection is corruption. When Lyra's attempt to heal him accidentally binds their souls together, he demands she sever the tie—only to learn that separation is impossible until the full moon rises. Forced to travel across the floating archipelago where moonlight controls magic and spirits walk openly, Lyra and Dorian must navigate the treacherous Moon-Tide Roads together, trapped in proximity that reveals everything they're desperate to hide. She sees past his defenses to the protector beneath the beast. He discovers that her stubborn compassion is stronger than any curse. And as the Eclipse Hand—a demon cult seeking to resurrect ancient destruction—hunts them both, they realize that survival depends on the very thing they fear most: trusting each other completely. But Dorian's transformation is changing. Where he once lost himself to the beast, Lyra's presence now calls him back—though the freedom of the monster still sings in his blood, tempting him with power and clarity he can't resist. And Lyra must confront her own darkness: the memory of her grandmother's spirit, twisted by grief into something vengeful, and her terror that loving the living will make her cling too hard, harm too deeply, become the monster she was meant to guide. As the blood moon approaches and the Eclipse Hand closes in, Lyra and Dorian must choose between safety and connection, isolation and love. Because the true secret of the Moon-Guardians—the legendary protectors who once defended the archipelago—was never about controlling the curse. It was about finding someone worth transforming for.