Broken Chains
1080 Words
Chapter Four: Broken Chains
Aria collapsed into the furs again, back in the tower. Her skin still ached. Her neck pulsed.
She wanted to scrub his mark off with fire.
But what scared her most… was how part of her didn’t want it gone.
That night, sleep did not come.
Instead—
The dreams did.
---
Flashback – Ten Years Ago
The woods were burning.
She was a child again. Eight years old. Blood on her feet. Screams behind her. A woman’s hand—warm, trembling—pushed her through the thorns.
“Run, Aria. Don’t stop. Hide your scent.”
“But Mama—”
“RUN!”
The shadow came next. A tall figure with golden eyes—not Lucien’s. Colder. Crueler.
He snapped her mother’s neck like a twig.
Then turned to her.
“Found you, little curse.”
She screamed—
---
Back in the tower
Aria jolted awake, drenched in sweat.
The mark on her neck burned again.
Lucien.
She could feel him pacing somewhere near. Agitated. Restless.
And she was feeling him too.
The bond was bleeding across their walls.
It wasn’t just lust. It was memory. Pain. Emotion.
“Stop it,” she whispered, digging her nails into her palms. “Get out of my head.”
But he didn’t answer.
Instead, a voice echoed softly against her mind—Lucien’s voice, low and gritted.
> "You’re dreaming of fire. Why?"
She gasped. “How are you in my mind?”
> “I’m not. The bond is.”
> “Get out.”
> “You’re the one who let me in.”
---
Elsewhere — Lucien’s War Room
Lucien stood over a map of the borderlands, his hands clenched.
He couldn’t think.
Couldn’t breathe.
Since he marked her, the world had shifted. His power was… unstable. His wolves couldn’t meet his eyes. His beta had asked if he was sick.
But it wasn’t sickness.
It was her.
He saw her dreams now. Felt her rage, her defiance… her pain.
He hadn’t expected this.
He wasn’t the one in control anymore.
---
Back in the tower
Later that night, Aria found herself by the window, finally strong enough to stand.
She stared at the moon and whispered, “You ruined me.”
And the moon seemed to whisper back—
> Not ruined. Reborn.
The sun hadn’t yet risen when Lucien entered the tower.
No guards. No warnings. Just the click of the lock and the quiet, deliberate sound of boots on stone.
Aria didn’t flinch.
She was already awake, sitting cross-legged on the floor, hair wild, eyes darker than before.
Changed.
Lucien paused by the door, watching her.
“You haven’t eaten,” he said, nodding toward the untouched tray from hours ago.
“I’m not hungry.” Her voice was calm. Controlled.
He stepped inside. The air crackled.
She stood slowly.
Neither of them spoke for a long, tense moment.
Then she said, “What do you want now?”
Lucien tilted his head. “To see if it’s true.”
“What?”
“That you burned through a bed of furs in your sleep.”
Aria blinked.
He wasn’t wrong. When she woke, the edges of the bedding had been singed. Not from flame. From something hotter—raw power.
Lucien circled her.
“You smell different,” he murmured.
“Then stop sniffing me.”
He chuckled, low and dangerous. “You forget who you’re speaking to.”
“No.” She turned, holding his stare. “I just don’t care.”
His smile vanished.
In one blur-fast movement, Lucien grabbed her arm and slammed her into the stone wall, his hand locking around her throat—not to choke, but to hold her still.
The force knocked the breath from her—but she didn’t cry out.
“You think you’re untouchable?” he growled, his face inches from hers. “You think because the bond burns, it makes you safe?”
“I think,” she whispered, her voice shaking but her eyes defiant, “that if you try to hurt me again… whatever you are inside—that thing you call your beast—won’t survive what I become.”
Lucien’s hand tightened.
But then—
His beast stirred.
Not with rage.
With recognition.
Aria’s eyes flickered gold. Not wolf gold.
Something older. Brighter. Wreathed in heat.
Lucien felt the shift in her. The room grew hotter. His grip began to ache—as if her very skin was scorching him.
And then—she smiled.
“You feel it too,” she whispered. “Don’t you?”
Lucien shoved away from her, breathing hard, his palm reddened.
He stared at her like she wasn’t a girl anymore—but a storm.
“What the hell are you?” he asked, voice low.
Aria stepped forward. Firelight danced behind her, casting her in gold.
“I’m the flame they tried to smother,” she said. “But you—you lit the spark.”
Lucien’s heart thundered in his chest.
He could smell her fury. Her heat. Her need.
And worse—
His beast wanted it.
The predator in him wasn’t snarling anymore. It was pacing. Panting. Wanting.
“Careful, omega,” he rasped. “You’re tempting something I’ve kept buried for centuries.”
Aria’s voice turned softer. Seductive. “Maybe it’s time to let it out.”
---
Later that night – Lucien’s private chamber
He stood alone in front of the mirror.
The mark on his chest—an old curse sigil—was glowing.
No one had ever made it stir. Not blood. Not battle. Not women.
Only her.
The beast inside him snarled beneath his skin.
> Mine. Not prey. Not toy. Mate. Equal.
Lucien grabbed the nearest goblet and hurled it across the room, shattering it against stone.
He was losing control.
He could rule an army.
But he couldn’t tame her.
---
Back in the tower – Aria
She sat curled by the hearth, flames flickering, the bond pulsing through her like a second heartbeat.
She could feel him unraveling.
She could feel herself rising.
She wasn’t just marked.
She was becoming.
Not wolf. Not witch.
Something the world had forgotten—until now.
She whispered into the fire, “You wanted a mate, Alpha. You should’ve prayed for a lesser girl.”
The flames answered with a crackle.
And far below, Lucien’s beast howled in the dark.
- Writer
