4
710 Words
That night...
Eli couldn’t sleep.
He tossed and turned, the events of the evening replaying over and over in his mind.
Those men.
That word.
Bond.
And him.
Kael.
Just thinking about that name made something tighten in his chest.
“…Why does it feel like it matters?” he whispered into the darkness.
Silence answered him.
But eventually...
Exhaustion pulled him under.
The dream came without warning.
Not like a normal dream.
This felt… real.
Too real.
Eli stood in the middle of a vast forest, towering trees surrounding him, silver light spilling through their leaves.
The air was different.
Cleaner.
Alive.
His heart began to race.
“…Where am I?”
“You’re finally here.”
Eli turned sharply.
And there,
Standing just a few steps away
Was him.
But different.
Kael.
His eyes glowed brighter.
His presence stronger.
Not hidden.
Not restrained.
A king.
No,
An alpha.
“You’re late,” Kael said softly, but there was warmth in his voice.
The kind of warmth that didn’t exist between strangers.
Eli’s chest ached.
“I… know you,” he said, the words slipping out before he could stop them.
Kael smiled.
And it broke something inside him.
“You always do.”
Slowly, Kael stepped closer.
No hesitation.
No distance.
Like this was normal.
Like this had happened a thousand times before.
Eli didn’t move.
Couldn’t.
His body felt rooted to the ground as Kael reached out,
And this time…
He touched him.
Warm.
Real.
Electric.
A sudden rush flooded Eli’s mind,
Laughter.
Running through the same forest.
Hands intertwined.
A voice whispering mine like a promise.
Eli gasped, stumbling back.
“What—what was that?!” he cried, clutching his head.
Fragments.
Broken pieces of something he couldn’t fully see.
Memories,
But not his.
Or maybe…
They were.
Kael’s expression shifted, concern flashing across his face.
“It’s okay,” he said gently, stepping closer again. “Don’t force it.”
“How do you know this place?!” Eli demanded, his voice shaking. “Why are you in my head?!”
Kael stopped.
Pain flickered across his face.
“…Because this was our home.”
The words hit harder than anything else.
Our.
Eli’s breath caught.
“That’s not possible,” he whispered.
But his heart,
His heart didn’t agree.
“Then why does it feel like it is?” Kael asked quietly.
Silence.
Eli didn’t have an answer.
Because deep down…
It did.
The forest.
The air.
Him.
All of it felt familiar in a way that made no sense.
Kael took one last step forward.
Slow.
Careful.
Like approaching something fragile.
“You don’t have to remember everything,” he said softly. “Not yet.”
His hand lifted again...
Resting gently over Eli’s chest.
Right where the ache was strongest.
“But this…” Kael murmured, his voice low and steady. “This never disappeared.”
The moment his hand pressed there,
The bond reacted.
Strong.
Violent.
Alive.
Eli gasped as a bright, invisible thread seemed to snap tight between them.
His heart pounded.
His breath came uneven.
And for the first time,
He felt it clearly.
That connection.
That pull.
That undeniable truth.
“…Kael,” Eli whispered.
The name felt right on his tongue.
Like it belonged there.
Kael froze.
Hope lit up his entire expression.
“Say it again,” he breathed.
But before Eli could,
The world shattered.
Eli shot up in bed, gasping for air.
His room.
Dark.
Silent.
Empty.
A dream.
It was just a dream.
“…Right?” he whispered, clutching his chest.
But the feeling was still there.
That warmth.
That connection.
Stronger than before.
He looked down at his hand, still shaking slightly.
“…Kael,” he said again, testing the name.
And this time...
There was no doubt.
—
Across the city, Kael stood on a rooftop, his body tense.
He felt it.
That sudden surge in the bond.
Stronger than it had been since he found Eli.
His eyes widened slightly.
“…You remembered something,” he murmured.
Not a question.
A certainty.
For the first time since crossing into this world,
A small, dangerous hope began to grow.
And Kael knew one thing.
This wasn’t over.
Not even close.
- Writer
