Bloodbound Vows

Chapter Four

The Truth Unraveled

I can still hear the echoes of Kade’s growl in my mind, feel the heat of his rage against my skin. But what I can’t shake—the thing that won’t leave me—is the way Damon’s eyes flickered, that brief moment of hesitation, before he turned on me.

I don't know how to explain it—how everything felt like it was shattering in slow motion. One moment, Damon was the one pushing Kade back, the one who had stepped into the fray to protect me. The next... he was the danger.

I remember the way the moonlight glinted off of Damon’s skin as he turned, his posture shifting like a wolf ready to strike. But his eyes—those eyes—there was no softness there anymore. The cold fury that radiated from him made my blood freeze, and I couldn’t understand why. He had just saved me, hadn’t he?

The growl of Kade’s wolf—no, Kade himself—was still in my ears, but it wasn’t him I was afraid of in that moment. It was Damon. I had always thought of him as just a rogue Alpha—dangerous, yes, but still... just an Alpha. Someone who could be reasoned with, someone who was meant to help me. But now, standing in the shadow of his power, I couldn’t escape the feeling that he had been playing a game all along.

A dangerous game.

The pain in my side, a throbbing reminder of Damon’s grip, shot through me as I staggered back, clutching my ribs. I could feel the warmth of blood seeping between my fingers. It wasn’t a wound I had expected. Damon had saved me from Kade, hadn’t he? But then why did it feel like I had just been used as a pawn?

I tried to breathe through the pain, my vision blurring, but the world around me seemed to be spinning faster than I could keep up with. I had no idea what was happening anymore.

I turned to look at Damon, who stood just a few feet away, his eyes now narrowed and cold, watching me like I was some kind of threat, or worse—a disappointment.

“Why?” I managed to whisper, my voice shaking despite my best efforts. “Why did you do that?”

He didn’t answer right away. He just stood there, his jaw clenched tightly, his eyes never leaving me. The atmosphere between us had shifted again—like a storm cloud closing in around us, threatening to drown me in its fury. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

His lips parted, but his words were nothing like the ones he’d spoken earlier. No longer was he the mysterious rogue Alpha offering help. Now, he sounded almost... cold.

“You should’ve stayed away from Kade,” he finally said, his voice rough. "You're not ready for this."

I blinked, trying to clear the fog in my mind. What the hell was he talking about? “What do you mean?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Kade’s not... Kade’s not the enemy, Damon. He’s not the one—”

I stopped myself. The truth of the matter had been churning in my gut for days, ever since I’d been rejected. Since Kade had abandoned me. The truth I didn’t want to face. But deep down, I knew.

He was the one who had hurt me the most.

Damon was right about that much. But there was something more—a darkness that I couldn’t understand. Something pulling at the edges of my consciousness. And it scared me.

I tried to steady my breath, my mind racing as I took a cautious step back.

“You don’t get it,” Damon continued, his voice cutting through my thoughts. “You think this is about your rejection? About Kade turning his back on you? It’s so much more than that. It’s about control.”

“Control?” I repeated, confusion thick in my voice. “What are you talking about? You’re the one who—”

“I’m not the one who’s using you.” Damon’s voice was sharper now, his gaze darkening. “You’re the one who’s been used.”

I didn’t understand. Used? By whom? By Kade? By the Blackthorn Pack?

“I don’t—”

“You’re not just some rejected mate, Lena,” Damon interrupted, his eyes flashing with an intensity that took my breath away. “You’ve been marked. Not by Kade. Not by me. But by someone older, someone far more dangerous than you realize.”

The words hit me like a slap, and my head spun. I staggered slightly, trying to steady myself, but my body was betraying me. The pain in my side was sharp, almost unbearable, and I knew that I couldn’t run. Not like this. Not with Damon standing in front of me.

“Who are you talking about?” My voice came out as a breathless gasp, my words barely making it past my lips.

Damon didn’t answer right away. Instead, he turned his gaze to the forest around us, as though he was listening for something—waiting for something.

It was as if he could sense the danger approaching, a shadow in the trees, and my heart clenched in my chest. Whatever it was, it was coming for me.

“You need to leave,” Damon said, his voice low, barely audible. “Now.”

His urgency hit me like a physical blow, and for the first time, I felt the weight of his words. His voice, which had once been commanding and confident, was now laced with fear. Not for himself. For me.

Before I could say anything, before I could even make sense of the situation, I heard it.

A sharp snap of branches. A growl that seemed to come from every direction, filling the air with a sound that froze my blood in my veins.

I turned my head, but before I could process what I was seeing, it happened.

The ground trembled. A low rumble beneath my feet, shaking the very earth, like something massive was closing in on us. The trees around us swayed, their branches creaking in the wind, but it wasn’t just the wind. It was the presence.

Kade’s wolf had retreated, but something else had taken its place. Something far darker.

In the distance, I could see it—a figure emerging from the shadows of the trees. It was tall, its body cloaked in shadow, and there was something unnatural about the way it moved. It wasn’t the way any wolf would move. It was the way something otherworldly moved.

I stepped back instinctively, my pulse racing. Damon, too, was tense, his body taut, as though he were preparing for a fight. But he wasn’t making a move. Instead, he was staring at the figure, his expression darkening with a look of recognition.

“Who is that?” I whispered, my voice barely audible. I didn’t want to know, but I had to.

Damon’s eyes flickered to mine, his face hard as stone. “The one who’s been hunting you.”

I barely had time to register his words before the figure stepped into the light, revealing its face.

And I knew, in that moment, that nothing would ever be the same again.