Chapter 50
1013 Words
Cain
She didn’t flinch when I walked in. That almost made it worse.
Gwen sat on the edge of the bed, brushing her fingers through her hair. The way she used to when she was thinking hard. When something was weighing on her. Only now, she didn't look up at me when I closed the door. She didn't reach for me like she used to.
I stepped closer. Quietly. Giving her space.
“Hey,” I said gently.
She looked up, and I swear I saw guilt flicker behind her eyes before she smiled. It wasn’t fake. But it wasn’t real either.
“Hey,” she replied.
I stood there for a moment, watching her. Listening. Reaching through the bond to feel something—anything.
And getting nothing.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
I crouched in front of her, resting my hands on her knees.
“Gwen,” I said, my voice quieter now, “what’s going on?”
Her brows pinched. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean.” My voice stayed calm, but it hurt. Like trying to hold water in my hands as it slipped through my fingers. “You’ve been… distant. Cold, even. You won’t link with me. You barely look at me sometimes.”
“That’s not true,” she said, a little too quickly.
“Isn’t it?” I met her eyes. “I feel like I’m losing you, Gwen. I felt it the minute I walked out of your room that night. I thought we made a step forward, but now it feels like I’m back on the outside.”
Her lips parted, but no words came. She looked down at her hands.
I pushed a little harder, but gently. “Please don’t lie to me. If something’s wrong—if you regret being with me—tell me.”
She shook her head. “I don’t regret you. I could never regret you.”
“Then why does it feel like you’re slipping away?”
She closed her eyes, her breath shuddering. “I don’t know.”
I felt my heart squeeze. That answer scared me more than anything else.
“Gwen,” I whispered, brushing her cheek. “Our bond. It’s… fading. Isn’t it?”
Her eyes flew open, panic blooming there. “You feel it too?”
I nodded slowly.
Tension pulsed between us, raw and sharp. I watched her face, how tightly she held herself together—like she was afraid she might fall apart.
“This isn’t you,” I said. “This isn’t us. Something is wrong, Gwen.”
She swallowed. “I thought maybe it was in my head.”
“It’s not.”
We sat there, the silence swallowing us both.
And then she whispered, “I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
I pulled her into my arms. Not because I had an answer. But because I didn’t know what else to do.
I didn’t know how to fix this.
But I was going to find out.
No matter what it took.
I didn’t sleep that night.
Not really.
I laid beside Gwen, listening to her breathing—watching the rise and fall of her chest—aching with the knowledge that something had shifted between us. Not just emotionally. This wasn’t a fight. This wasn’t trauma rearing its head. This was something deeper.
Something unnatural.
Our bond felt... muted. As if someone had taken a thick sheet and laid it over the part of my soul that belonged to her.
It wasn’t just me either. Cole had grown withdrawn, and Cash—he tried to cover it up with humor, but I caught him staring at Gwen with a tightness around his mouth that mirrored what I felt in my chest. Even Achilles was restless. My wolf paced in the back of my mind, snapping at invisible chains.
She still touched us. Kissed us. Smiled like she always had.
But her energy didn’t reach us the way it used to. It was like the bond was being rerouted—dulled somehow. We were all feeling it.
So I started asking questions.
I found Derrick in the records room, hunched over a report from a rogue scout.
“Got a minute?” I asked.
He glanced up, saw my face, and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
I shut the door behind me. “Has anyone used any enchantments in the last few days? Spells. Glamours. Anything… off?”
Derrick tilted his head, folding his arms. “Not that I know of. Why?”
I hesitated. “Our bond with Gwen—it’s changing. I feel it. We all do. She says she does too.”
Derrick’s expression shifted. He was listening now. Carefully.
“You think someone interfered with it?”
“I don’t know. But it’s not natural. Something is siphoning it. Redirecting it. It feels like she’s tethered to something else.” I paused. “Or someone.”
His jaw tightened. “You think someone cast a spell on her?”
I nodded. “I think it happened recently. After we all moved into the suite. I want to check everything. Anyone who’s been around her. Anything she’s touched. If there’s a talisman or charm, I’ll find it.”
Derrick looked me in the eye. “You want help?”
I hesitated. “Not yet. I don’t want her to panic. Not until I know for sure.”
He nodded slowly. “Then start with what changed the day this started. Every detail.”
I already had the day burned into my mind: the moment I saw her face, softer than usual, almost too serene. And that hug—stiff. Quick. She'd worn a thin silver chain I hadn’t seen before.
The chain.
My heart thudded.
“I think I already have a lead,” I said, turning toward the door.
And I swore to the goddess—if someone had touched our bond, if someone had manipulated her—I would burn them to ash.
- Writer
