Bonded
899 Words
CHAPTER 2 — THE NAME HE KNOWS
Luna didn’t move immediately.
Her wrists still stung from where the chains had been, the skin raw and burning as blood rushed back into her hands. She flexed her fingers slowly, disoriented by the sudden freedom.
The chains were gone.
But she didn’t feel free.
Not even close.
Because the man who broke them hadn’t stepped back.
He was still there.
Still watching her.
Like he was waiting for something she didn’t understand.
Luna took one cautious step backward.
Then another.
Her back hit the cold stone wall again, and instinctively she hated how quickly her body returned to defense. Like the room itself was trained into her instincts now.
“What did you do?” she demanded, voice sharper this time.
He didn’t answer right away.
Instead, his gaze dropped briefly to her wrists—then back to her face.
“You were hurting yourself,” he said calmly.
“That wasn’t your decision to make.”
A faint silence stretched between them.
Luna tried to steady her breathing, but it kept slipping. Something about him made her feel off balance in a way she couldn’t explain. Not just fear.
Something deeper.
Something that didn’t belong.
“You kidnapped me,” she said slowly, forcing clarity into her voice. “Locked me in here. And now you’re acting like you did me a favor?”
A slight shift in his expression.
Not guilt.
Not anger.
Something unreadable.
“I didn’t lock you in a cage,” he said.
Luna scoffed bitterly. “Oh really? Because I remember the chains.”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“You were brought here because you were found on border territory,” he said. “Unprotected. Unclaimed.”
“I don’t need protection.”
A pause.
Then his voice dropped lower.
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
Luna’s stomach tightened.
The way he said it wasn’t like a correction.
It was like a fact she hadn’t learned yet.
She forced herself to straighten again, pushing past the strange pressure building in her chest.
“Let me leave,” she said firmly.
Silence.
For the first time, something changed in his eyes.
Not hesitation.
Not softness.
Warning.
“You can’t leave,” he said simply.
That made her laugh once—sharp and disbelieving.
“I just watched you break those chains. Don’t insult me.”
He took one step closer.
And her body reacted instantly again.
That same strange pull.
That same wrong familiarity.
She hated it.
“You think I’m the one keeping you here?” he asked quietly.
Luna frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”
His gaze locked onto hers.
And this time, it didn’t feel like he was looking at her body.
It felt like he was looking through her.
“You were never safe outside this place,” he said.
“Not anymore.”
A chill crawled down her spine.
Before she could respond, a distant sound echoed through the corridor outside the room.
Footsteps.
Fast.
Urgent.
Multiple.
Luna stiffened immediately. “What is that?”
For the first time since he entered, his attention shifted slightly toward the door.
“Found us,” he murmured.
Her blood ran cold. “Who?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he stepped closer to her again—and this time, Luna instinctively backed away.
But there was nowhere left to go.
The wall was behind her.
Him in front.
And the footsteps were getting closer.
“Stay behind me,” he said.
Luna snapped her head up. “Excuse me?”
“I won’t repeat myself.”
A loud bang echoed down the corridor.
Something heavy hit the door outside.
Luna’s breath caught.
“Open the door!” a voice shouted from outside. “By order of the Northern Pack!”
Pack.
The word hit her strangely.
Like something inside her recognized it before she did.
Her head spun slightly.
“What is a pack?” she whispered without thinking.
The man turned his head slightly toward her.
And for the first time… he looked disturbed.
Just for a second.
Then it was gone.
“You really don’t remember anything,” he said quietly.
Another slam hit the door.
Wood cracked.
Luna stepped back instinctively—but the man caught her wrist.
Not hard.
But firm enough to stop her.
Her entire body froze at the contact.
That same reaction again.
Wrong.
Unnatural.
Her pulse spiked instantly.
She stared at his hand like it didn’t belong there.
And for a split second… neither did she.
“Let go of me,” she whispered.
He didn’t.
Not yet.
Instead, his voice lowered.
“Whatever you do,” he said, “don’t tell them your name.”
Luna blinked. “What?”
The door outside shook violently.
Splinters flew.
Any second now, it would break.
Luna’s heart raced.
“Why?” she demanded. “What’s wrong with my name?”
His grip tightened slightly—not painful, but urgent.
Because for the first time…
he hesitated.
Then he said it.
Softly.
Like it was dangerous to even speak.
“Because they didn’t bring you here to capture you, Luna.”
A pause.
The door outside cracked again.
And the sound of wood breaking filled the hallway.
His eyes locked onto hers.
“They brought you here to kill you.”
The door exploded open.
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