The chain between us
825 Words
"You killed them."
The words fell between them like a blade.
Lina's entire body shook, the vision still burned inside her mind.
Cold stone walls, cabins, fear, a document, a signature, Kael’a signature. She stumbled backward, breathing hard.
"You signed it," she whispered.
Kael's grip tightened around her wrist, his silver eyes narrowed.
"What did you see?"
Lina stared at him, the question only made her angrier.
"What did I see?" she laughed bitterly.
"You signed their deaths."
For a moment, neither of them moved, the forest seemed to hold its breath.
Kael watched her carefully, too carefully.
"Answer me," he said.
"What exactly did you see?"
Lina felt something crack inside her, for years she had lived with questions and carried memories she could barely understand, now she had finally had a face to blame.
"You murdered them."
The words came out stronger this time.
"My parents."
Kael's expression hardened, "You don't know what you're talking about."
"I saw it!"
Her voice echoed through the trees, "You stood there while they begged."
The bond pulsed violently, pain flashed through both of them. Lina pressed a hand against her chest, Kael's jaw tightened.
That strange connection again, every emotion between them seemed to travel through it, every surge of anger, every burst of fear, and every heartbeat. Kael’s wolf hated it.
Mine.
The growl echoed inside him, Kael crushed it instantly.
No.
She was a problem and nothing more.
Lina looked at him with burning eyes.
"I spent years wondering why they died."
Her voice trembled.
"Years listening to people call them traitors."
The pain in her face caught him off guard.
"You rejected me."
She swallowed hard.
"And now I find out you're the reason they're gone."
Something dark moved through her gaze.
Hatred, Real hatred, not fear or humiliation.
Kael had seen it before, on battlefields, in enemies, but they never directed at him like this.
He should not have cared, yet something about it felt wrong.
"Enough."
His voice turned cold.
Lina laughed again.
"Why?"
"Because the truth makes you uncomfortable?"
His eyes flashed silver.
"Because you're injured."
The answer surprised both of them.
Lina froze.
Kael immediately regretted saying it, silence stretched, then Lina shook her head.
"You don't get to care now."
"I don't."
The reply came instantly, cold, sharp, and defensive, yet the bond pulsed again.
Neither of them believed it.
Lina hated that, she hated that she could feel pieces of him through the connection, the irritation, the anger and the restraint.
It made no sense, nothing about this made sense.
Without warning she turned, and ran again straight toward the border.
"Dammit."
Kael moved instantly.
The moment Lina crossed the invisible boundary line, pain exploded through her body, she screamed.
The force hit like lightning, her knees buckled, at that exact same moment, Kael staggered. The agony ripped through his chest, not as strong as hers but enough to make her vision blur.
His wolf roared, the bond was rejecting the distance.
Impossible.
Blood Moon bonds were not supposed to behave like this, Lina collapsed onto the forest floor, her breathing turned ragged.
Her nerve, muscle, and every heartbeat hurt.
Kael reached her in seconds, he dropped beside her.
For a brief moment his hand hovered near her face, then he stopped himself.
Control.
Always control.
"Lina."
She glared at him through tears.
"I hate you."
The words were weak, broken, but honest.
Something tightened inside his chest.
Good.
He should prefer that, hatred was simpler and safer, yet the one disagreed. It pulsed again, demanding, relentless and alive.
Kael cursed under his breath, then he lifted her into his arms.
Lina immediately struggled.
"Put me down."
"No."
"I said put me down."
"No."
The same answer and cold certainty.
She hated it, she hated him, yet her body was too exhausted to fight. The bond had drained her.
Slowly, Blackthorn territory came back into view.
Lights glowed beyond the trees.
Home.
Prison.
The same thing.
Lina rested her head against his shoulder only because she no longer had the strength to hold it up.
Her voice became quiet.
"If you killed them..."
Kael kept walking.
"...I will make you pay."
His expression never changed.
But he heard every word, then voices appeared ahead.
Guards.
Several of them.
The moment they spotted Kael they rushed forward.
"Alpha!"
One immediately dropped to a knee.
Kael stopped.
"What is it?"
The guard looked nervous, very nervous.
"We have a problem."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
The guard swallowed.
"Someone broke into the old council archives tonight."
Everything went still.
Kael's expression darkened instantly.
Because almost nobody knew those archives still existed, and the secrets buried there were dangerous enough to destroy lives, including his own.
"Who did it?" he asked.
The guard lowered his head.
"We don't know."
Kael looked toward the estate.
Someone was searching for answers, and for the first time in years, the past was starting to move.
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