CURSED BOND

CHAPTER TWO: His Blood My curse

Darkness.That was the first thing.

Then pain.

Silver burned through my veins like acid, I tried to scream, but my throat was dry.

“Stay with me.”

Kade’s voice. Raw, desperate.

I forced my eyes open. His arms were around me, carrying me like I weighed nothing.

“Don’t close your eyes,” he growled. “Lyra, look at me.”

I wanted to obey. I wanted to fight him, hate him, shove him away. But the bond wouldn’t let me.It kept pulling me toward him even as my own body shut down.

“Why… did you save me?” I whispered. The words scraped my throat raw.

Kade’s jaw clenched. “Because if you die, I die.”

“Lucky me,” I muttered.

We burst out of the academy grounds and into the forest.

“Put me down,” I said.

“Not until you’re safe.”

“There’s nowhere safe with you.”

He stopped abruptly, setting me against a tree. His hands lingered on my arms like he wasn’t sure he could let go.

“You’re bleeding out,” he said. His voice was quieter now. Dangerous. “The silver’s in too deep. I have to get it out.”

I tried to pull away. “Don’t touch me.”

“If I don’t, you die in the next ten minutes.”

Liar. But I didn’t have the strength to test it. My vision was narrowing, black spots dancing at the edges.

“Do it,” I whispered.

Kade nodded once. His fingers brushed my shoulder, gentle despite their size.

“Hold still,” he ordered.

His claws extended, sharp and precise. He cut into the skin around the dagger, digging for the silver.

“Why are you helping me?” I gasped between breaths. “You wanted me dead.”

“I never wanted you dead, Lyra.” He pulled the dagger out with a sickening tug.

I choked on a sob. The silver came free, hissing as it hit the damp earth.

“Then why did you kill my father?”

Kade froze. His eyes flicked to mine, and for the first time, I saw something raw there. Regret.

“I didn’t,” he said. “I told you. I tried to warn him.”

I wanted to believe him, the bond didn't flare with a lie.That scared me more than the truth.

He tore a strip from his shirt and pressed it to my wound. Heat radiated from his palm, healing energy bleeding into me. Alpha healing. Fast, but not fast enough for silver.

“You’re lying,” I said again, weaker this time. “Everyone knows you’re a murderer. The Rogue Alpha who killed his own pack.”

“My pack was slaughtered,” he said quietly. “By the council. For trying to stop the curse.”

“The curse that’s killing me?”

He nodded. “Your bloodline was bound to mine centuries ago. When I was cursed, your family was cursed with me. Every female dies at twenty-five unless the bond is completed.”

Mate.

The word hung between us.

“So you’re saying I have to mate you or I die?”

“Yes.”

“And if I mate you, you go free?”

He hesitated. That hesitation told me everything.

“Kade.”

“If I’m freed, the curse breaks for both of us,” he said. “But if I break the bond before it’s complete, I’ll lose control. I’ll kill everyone in a hundred-mile radius.”

Of course. Nothing was ever simple with him.

I shoved him back, ignoring the pain. “You’re insane. I’d rather die.”

Kade caught my wrist before I could crawl away. His grip was gentle, but immovable.

“You don’t mean that,” he said. “I can feel you, Lyra. Your wolf wants this. She’s been waiting for me since you were born.”

I hated how true that felt.

Footsteps cracked through the underbrush.

Both of us went still.

“Elders,” Kade muttered. He pulled me to my feet, arm around my waist to keep me upright. “They tracked us.”

“Let me go,” I whispered. “If they find you with me, they’ll kill you.”

“Not before I kill them.”

Three figures stepped into the clearing. Alpha Darian, flanked by two enforcers.

“There you are,” Darian said. His eyes landed on me, and something like pity flickered there. “Lyra. Step away from him. Now.”

I couldn’t. The bond held me in place, my body refusing to move without Kade’s permission.

Darian’s expression hardened. “So it’s true. The bond snapped.”

Kade stepped in front of me, shielding me with his body. “Back off.”

“You’re a dead man walking, Kade,” Darian said. “Surrender, and I’ll make it quick.”

Kade laughed, low and humorless. “You never learn, do you? I don’t surrender.”

He moved first.

One second he was in front of me. The next, he was on Darian, claws out, teeth bared.

“Run, Lyra!” he shouted over his shoulder.

I couldn’t. My legs wouldn’t move.

Darian caught Kade’s wrist and drove a silver blade toward his heart.

“No!”

I didn’t mean to shout. I didn’t mean to move. But the bond surged, and suddenly I was between them, my hand closing around the blade.

Silver burned through my palm.

Kade froze.

Darian froze.

“Let go,” Darian whispered. His eyes were wide with shock.

I didn’t.

Blood dripped from my hand, sizzling where it hit the silver.

“Stop,” I said. My voice didn’t sound like mine. It was deeper, rougher, edged with Kade’s alpha authority. “Both of you. Stop.”

Darian stared at me like I’d grown a second head. “Lyra, let go of the blade.”

I looked at Kade. His face was inches from mine, his eyes locked on my hand, on the blood pouring down my wrist.

“If you kill him, I’ll never forgive you,” I said quietly.

Kade’s jaw tightened. “He tried to kill me.”

“So did I,” I shot back. “And I’m still here.”

“Take her,” Kade said, nodding at me. “Take her and go. If she dies here, I’ll finish what I started three years ago.”

Darian hesitated. Then he nodded once. “Fine. But if you follow us, I’ll kill you on sight.”

Kade didn’t answer. His eyes were on me, dark and unreadable.

Darian grabbed my good arm and pulled me back. The bond screamed at the separation.

“Lyra,” Kade said. Just my name. Nothing else.

I looked at him one last time. Blood on his face. Silver burns on his arms.

“Don’t follow us,” I said.

Then Darian dragged me away.

---

The pack infirmary smelled like herbs and blood.

Darian sat beside me, watching me like I might vanish.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

Like hell. But I said, “Fine.”

He sighed. “Lyra, you can’t stay here. The bond will pull you back to him. And if it does, I can’t protect you.”

“I don’t need your protection,” I said.

“You do.” He leaned forward. “Do you know what happens if the bond completes before the Blood Moon ends?”

I shook my head.

“He becomes uncontrollable,” Darian said. “The curse amplifies his alpha instincts. He’ll kill anyone who gets between you. Including me. Including your friends.”

“So you’re saying I have to choose between him and everyone else?”

“Yes.”

I closed my eyes. The bond pulsed, faint but persistent, calling me back to the forest. To him.

“Where is he?” I asked.

Darian’s face darkened. “Gone. Vanished into the woods the moment we left. He won’t stay gone long.”

Of course he wouldn’t.

“Why didn’t you kill him?” I asked. “You had the chance.”

“Because I knew you’d hate me for it,” he said simply. “And because I’m not sure he’s lying.”

I opened my eyes. “About what?”

“About your father.” Darian’s voice was low. “I looked into it after tonight. There are inconsistencies in the report. Your father wasn’t killed by a rogue. He was killed by someone using rogue tactics. Someone who wanted it to look like Kade.”

My heart stopped.

“You think someone framed him?”

“I think someone wanted Kade dead,” Darian said. “And they used you to do it.”

The bond flared, hot and sudden. Kade was close.

“Get out,” I said.

Darian stood. “Lyra”

“Get out!”

He left without another word.

The door hadn’t even closed before Kade was in the room.

He moved like a shadow, silent and fast. He stopped at the foot of my bed, eyes scanning me for injuries.

“You shouldn’t be here,” I said.

“I couldn’t stay away,” he replied.

“Did you hear what Darian said?” I asked.

Kade nodded. “Someone framed me.”

“Do you know who?”

His jaw tightened. “I have an idea.”

“Then tell me.”

“Not yet.” He sat on the edge of the bed, close enough that our knees brushed. “First, we need to stop the bleeding. The silver’s still in your system.”

I pulled my hand back. “Don’t touch me.”

He grabbed it anyway. Gently. Carefully.

“What are you doing?” I asked, trying to pull away.

“Healing you,” he said. “My blood can counteract the silver. But only if you let me.”

I stared at him. “You want me to drink your blood?”

“Yes.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“It’s effective.”

I yanked my hand away. “No.”

Kade sighed, frustrated. “Lyra, you’re dying. Slowly. The silver is spreading. In two hours, it’ll reach your heart.”

“And if I drink your blood, I’m bound to you forever.”

“Yes.”

“What if I don’t want to be bound to you?” I asked quietly.

Kade’s expression shuttered. “Then you die.”

The word hung in the air, cold and final.

“Fine,” I said.

Kade’s eyes widened slightly. “Fine?”

“Give me your blood.”

He didn’t hesitate. He bit into his wrist, tearing the skin open with a sharp hiss.

He held it out to me.

“Drink.”

My hands shook as I took his wrist. The bond flared, hot and hungry.

I hesitated.

Then I lowered my mouth to his wrist and drank.

His blood hit my tongue like fire and iron.The bond roared satisfied as the silver receded pushed back by Kade healing power.For a second I didn't hate him, that terrified me more than dying.Then the pain stopped.

When I pulled away, Kade’s wrist was already healing.

“You feel better?” he asked.

I nodded, reluctant. “Yeah.”

“Good,because we’re not done.”

“What do you mean?”

“The person who framed me,” he said. “They’re here. In the pack. And they are coming for you next.”

My blood ran cold.

“Who?”

Kade’s eyes darkened. “I don’t know yet. But they will make a move before the Blood Moon ends.”

“And when they do?”

“We end it,” he said. “Together.”

Before I could answer, the door burst open.

Darian stood there, face pale, eyes wide with horror.

“They are here,” he said."The sect, they’ve taken Mara.”

---