I woke to silence.
Not the peaceful kind. The kind that feels like a predator is watching you.
My head throbbed, my skin burned, and for a moment, I wasn't sure if I was still alive. Slowly, the world around me came into focus.
I was no longer in the forest.
The ceiling above me was high and vaulted, carved with intricate patterns I didn't recognize. Candles lined the walls, their flames swaying in a draft I couldn't feel. Thick furs covered the bed I lay on, though their warmth did nothing to calm the chill that had burrowed deep into my bones.
I sat up slowly, every muscle screaming in protest.
"Where…" My voice cracked. I tried again. "Where am I?"
A low voice answered from the shadows. "Safe. For now."
I froze.
He was there.
Kael.
He leaned against the far wall, arms crossed over his chest as if he'd been standing there for hours, watching me. The flickering candlelight caught his face, illuminating those silver eyes that didn't seem human at all.
"Don't stare," he said, his voice carrying a dangerous softness.
"I wasn't—"
"You were."
I forced my gaze away, clutching the blanket to my chest like it could protect me from him.
"What do you want from me?" I managed, my voice shaking.
He pushed off the wall, walking toward me with a slow, deliberate stride. He moved like he had all the time in the world, like he knew I couldn't run even if I tried.
"What I want," Kael said, stopping at the edge of the bed, "is irrelevant. What matters is what you are now."
My heart pounded. "And what am I?"
His lips curved, but it wasn't a smile. "Mine."
The word hit harder than it should have.
I shook my head, trying to ignore the way the mark on my neck pulsed at his words. "I don't belong to you."
"You do now."
His calmness terrified me more than if he'd yelled.
"This mark—" I touched my neck, flinching at the pain. "You did this to me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because the Blood Moon chose you," he said simply, as if that explained everything.
"I don't understand."
"You don't need to," he said, turning slightly as if to leave.
"No." I surprised even myself with the force in my voice. "You don't get to do this to me and then walk away without telling me why."
He turned back to me, tilting his head like I was an animal that had just shown its teeth for the first time.
"Brave," he murmured. "But you should learn when to stay silent."
"Then teach me," I snapped.
He stared at me for a long moment. For a second, I thought I saw something flicker in his expression — surprise? Amusement? It was gone too quickly to be sure.
"Fine," Kael said at last, stepping closer.
My instinct screamed at me to back away, but I forced myself to stay still as he crouched in front of me, his eyes level with mine.
"The Blood Moon rises once every hundred years," he said, his voice low, almost a growl. "On that night, the moon chooses its vessels — humans strong enough to carry the bond of our kind."
"Your kind?" I whispered.
His lips twitched. "Wolves."
The room felt smaller. My heart hammered so hard I thought I'd be sick.
"That's not—"
"Real?" He leaned closer, his breath warm against my skin. "You felt it. The bond. The pull. You know it's real."
I did.
I hated that I did.
"What do you want from me?" My voice was barely a whisper now.
His gaze dropped to the mark at my neck. "I already told you. You're mine. That is all you need to know."
The way he said it — like it was a fact carved into stone — made me want to scream.
"I'm not staying here."
Kael straightened, his expression unreadable. "Then run."
I blinked. "What?"
"Run," he repeated. "Try to leave. See how far you get."
His casual tone made my blood run cold.
"You won't make it past the gates," Kael added. "But if you want to die that badly, I won't stop you."
The audacity of him — the way he spoke as if I were already his prisoner — made anger flare hotter than my fear.
"Fine," I spat.
His eyes glinted, silver and sharp. "Fine."
I don't remember leaving the room.
All I know is that one moment I was staring at him, and the next I was in the corridor, running.
The halls were endless, twisting in ways that made no sense. Shadows clung to the corners, and the walls seemed to hum with a low, unnatural energy. But I didn't care.
I had to get out.
I didn't think about where I was going, only that I had to keep moving.
I found a door — massive, iron‑bound — and shoved it open with all my strength.
Cold air hit me like a slap.
Outside.
I didn't stop.
The courtyard was empty, silent except for the crunch of my footsteps on the frost‑covered stones. I sprinted toward the towering gates at the far end, my lungs screaming, my body still weak from whatever Kael had done to me.
Almost there.
My fingers brushed the cold metal of the gate —
And then the bond hit.
It was like a chain yanking me backward, invisible but unbreakable. My body locked, my knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the ground, gasping.
No. No. No.
I clawed at the stones, dragging myself forward, but every inch felt like my skin was being torn apart. The mark on my neck burned so intensely I thought it might kill me.
"Pathetic."
His voice came from everywhere at once.
I looked up.
Kael stood just beyond the gate, as if he'd been waiting for me.
"How—" My voice broke.
He crouched, his expression calm, his silver eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight. "You can't outrun the bond. You can't outrun me."
Tears stung my eyes, though I refused to let them fall.
"Please," I whispered, my voice raw. "Let me go."
Kael reached out, brushing his claws lightly against my jaw — so gentle it made me shiver.
"Why would I let go of what's mine?"
Cliffhanger:Is she truly trapped by the bond? And why does Kael need her alive more than he lets on?