bound by Blood Torn by Fate
669 Words
The flickering torchlight cast jagged shadows across the stone walls of the underground den as Mira stared into the crimson eyes of Lucan Thornveil.
Her supposed uncle.
Her curse’s origin.
Her future’s threat.
“You’re lying,” Mira said, though her voice lacked conviction.
Lucan tilted his head. “You know I’m not. You feel it, don’t you? That power inside you. It’s not just magic. It’s ancestry.”
Kade stepped forward, voice low and dangerous. “Back away from her.”
Lucan smirked. “You’re the one holding her back, boy. She can’t rise with you clinging to her like a pet.”
Before Mira could speak, Kade lunged.
Lucan didn’t flinch. In the blink of an eye, he twisted Kade mid-air and slammed him to the ground with a sickening thud.
“Kade!” Mira dropped to her knees beside him.
Lucan’s voice echoed like thunder. “This is the world we’re heading toward, Mira. The strong will survive. The chosen will lead. And the rest” he sneered at Kade, “will kneel or die.”
Mira rose, eyes blazing. “Touch him again, and I’ll show you how deadly the ‘chosen’ can be.”
Lucan laughed. “Good. That’s what I wanted to see.”
Later that night, Kade sat near the edge of the den, shirtless, blood crusted on his lip and shoulder. Mira cleaned his wound in silence.
He didn’t speak until she finished. “You’re thinking about staying.”
Mira looked away. “They’re like me, Kade. They understand.”
“They also want to use you."
She sighed. “So did the Elders. So did my father. So did your pack. Everyone wants to use me. At least here… I have control.”
Kade’s jaw clenched. “And what about us?”
Her heart cracked.
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
Before either could say more, Maelra approached, solemn. “The elders have declared Mira a rogue threat. They’ve sent a Warden Alpha to execute her.”
Mira stiffened. “When?”
“He arrives at dawn.”
“Who?”
Maelra hesitated.
“Kai.”
Kade’s breath caught. “My cousin.”
Dawn.
The surface burned gold and crimson as Mira stood at the edge of the forest clearing, flanked by cursed wolves.
Kai stepped out from the trees, tall and arrogant, his aura screaming Alpha blood.
He wore the Elder crest on his chest.
“Kade,” Kai said with a smirk. “Didn’t think you’d fall for a mutt like this.”
Kade stepped forward. “Say another word and I’ll gut you.”
Kai ignored him, focusing on Mira. “The Elders want you dead. But they gave me an offer. Kill you clean… or bring you back mated to one of their own.”
Mira raised an eyebrow. “So I get to pick the way I die. How generous.”
“No,” Kai said. “You get to pick who dies today.”
With a snap of his fingers, ten wolves leapt from the trees.
Mira didn’t wait.
She shifted mid air her wolf form sleeker, blacker, fiercer than ever.
Kade followed, shifting with a roar.
The fight was brutal. Claws tore fur. Blood stained the snow.
Mira’s power pulsed with every blow.
She saw Kade fall, saw Kai stalking toward him with his blade drawn and something inside her snapped.
Her body exploded with dark light. The earth cracked. The trees bent. Her howl echoed through the sky like a curse being fulfilled.
When the dust cleared, Kai lay unconscious.
And Mira stood — not as a cursed girl…
But as a Queen of Chaos.
Later that night, by the fire, Maelra bowed her head to Mira. “The Fallen Moon rises. We’ll follow you.”
Lucan knelt.
So did the others.
Even Kade.
Mira didn’t smile.
She looked into the fire and whispered, “I never wanted a crown.”
“But now… I’ll burn the world wearing it.”
- Writer
