CHAPTER 17
1139 Words
Aura
The morning air felt different. Softer, sweeter. Something seems to had shifted in the wind. I woke up with an odd warmth in my chest, like someone had tightly held my heart by wrapping their arms around it. Blinking away the sleep fog, I stretched and saw Kai, shirtless and chopping wood, through the open door.
With every swing, his muscles tensed under the gentle sunlight, his brow shone.
I felt the pull again.
Soft and warm, like a heartbeat that doesn't belong to me, the bond pulsed weakly in my chest. Unlike the frantic fire I'd once felt for Ryder, it was quieter and deeper. It was steady, certain, like a river that knew where it was going, not possessive or suffocating.
Feeling the gentle flutter where our bond lived, I pushed my palm against my chest. Like roots burrowing into the soil of my soul. The night before, I had felt it start to grow slowly, but steady. Even though it was just on my forehead, his kiss had opened something wide inside me.
I let my hand fall to my stomach. The baby moved slightly, as if it could sense it too. I ought to have been more terrified. Everything was shifting, yet somehow the chaos in me was not loud anymore. My soul, once twisted in fear, had begun to find peace around Kai.
He turned, his gaze met mine. Not the sharp eyes of an alpha trying to claim, but the eyes of someone who just... saw me. More than anything else, that look caused my knees to tremble.
"You're awake,” Kai said, climbing the porch steps. Pulling the cardigan around my shoulders, I nodded.
"Yes. And hungry again."
He laughed. “Craving for anything in particular?”
"Hmmm, something sweet or spicy. NoMaybe both."
Pretending to think, he tilted his head. “Pineapple-glazed chicken wings?”
I blinked. “Sounds perfect.”
He smiled, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Apparently, I have a sixth sense for pregnant women.”
We both chuckled, and the tension between us, once tight and full of unspoken secrets, had dissipated. It was replaced by something softer. Real.
He prepared food. And I watched him. For a brief time, it felt like we were two people falling in love, free from the burden of Alpha titles, rogue threats, or fated bonds.
But if course, nothing ever remained easy for long.
~~~~~
That day the town throbbed with magic.
As we walked through the market square, it hummed under our feet. I could sense the slight change in the atmosphere. People greeted me differently, their eyes full of respect. Once quietly creeping through the streets, the energy now buzzed openly.
I stopped close to the fountain, gazing at the water's surface. It shimmered strangely, reflecting not only my face but also something golden under the ripples.
"Did you feel that?" I asked.
Kai stood next to me, his expression blank. “The town knows “
I gazed up at him. “Knows what?”
He breathed in and then carefully reached for my hand. As soon as our fingers touched, a gentle breeze swept across the square, spinning fallen petals around us in a lovely swirl. Some local residents paused to gaze. A few grinned knowingly.
“About us,” he said flatly. “It recognize the bond.”
My heart stopped. The bond.
The very thing Ryder had taken from me using that damned root. The thing he said did not exist. I thought that I could never felt it again.
Now, it throbbed within me like a fresh heartbeat.
Kai gripped my hand tighter. “Don't you feel it too?”
I gulped hard. “I don't know how I feel. Everything is coming at me once.”
He nodded, his eyes showing understanding. “You don't have to deny it. Just feel it.”
So I did.
He guided me toward the woods just beyond the square, near the border where the magic shimmered like a veil. We found a calm clearing where wildflowers sprinkled the grass and the sky opened wide above us.
Kai sat next to me, his shoulder touching mine. “May I show you something?”
I nodded.
Reaching into his shirt pocket, he pulled out a tiny red string tied to a bone-carved charm. “It belonged to my mother,” he said. “According to her, it was a protection charm for true love. I didn't believe in it, not until I saw you.”
Heart racing, I gazed at the charm.
“Kai”
His voice was quieter and more gruff as he gazed at me. “I know what you have been through. I know you bear scars that no one else can see. But, when I look at you, I don't see broken lady. I see fires.”
My throat became constricted and I confessed, "I'm afraid. Not of you, but what this means . If I accept this bond and got hurt again. What should I do then?”
He came closer and touched his forehead to mine. I'll always be here to catch you. I will always be there for you. I am not Ryder. I don't wish to own you. I only want to be next to you.”
My chest started to warm and the tension melted.
I leaned in first before I could think twice. Our lips touched gently and it felt like a promise.
In that moment, the bond was a flame, not a flicker; it surged through me. Not claiming but connecting, it encircled my heart and his.
Eyes wide, I broke the kiss and gasped.
He held me softly. It's real, isn't it?”
Tears gathered in my eyes. “Yes and that frightens me.”
Hedidn't flinch. “Then let it. Whatever it is, we will face it together.”
Later that evening, the wind had changed once again as we made our way back to the cabin. But this time, it was not magic. It was natural.
A chill skated over my skin, and I halted.
Kai felt it as well. Beside me, he stiffened, and his nostrils flared.
“Someone is here,” I murmured.
Together we turned toward the town's border, where the shadows met the trees. And there he stood.
Ryder.
Standing tall, arms crossed, eyes blazing with rage and something else. Something more sinister. His gaze fixed on me.
Stumbling back, I protectively placed my hand on my stomach. Kai quickly moved in front of me. But I hardly caught their growls.
All I could hear was the bond inside me, the new one—struggling to rise above the old.
My past and my future had just collided. And I had no idea who would live through the crash.
- Writer
