BONDS AND BETRAYALS
940 Words
The tremors from the binding ritual had faded by morning, but their consequences lingered like smoke after fire.
Kaelen and Aria didn’t return to their dorms that night. Instead, he brought her to the only place no one dared to search—the Hollow, a ruined chapel hidden deep in the forest, swallowed by ivy and silence. It had once been a sacred site, used by wolves who worshipped the moon before the bloodlines fractured.
Now, it was where the cursed went to hide.
A Dangerous Shelter
“Here,” Kaelen said, guiding her through the warped wooden doors. “It’s shielded. The old stones repel tracking magic, even by the Elders.”
Aria’s gaze swept the dusty interior. Stained-glass windows lay shattered. Moonlight streamed in through cracks in the roof. It was haunting. Sacred.
“Feels like I’ve stepped into someone else’s story,” she whispered.
Kaelen gave a dark smile. “Ours, maybe.”
She sat on a worn pew, heart pounding. “So... what now? We’ve bonded, triggered some ancient power, and basically declared war on your kind. What’s next? Apocalypse?”
He didn’t laugh.
Instead, he sat beside her, hand warm on her thigh.
“There’s something I haven’t told you.”
Her chest tightened. “What?”
He met her eyes, voice soft but grave. “I’m not just an Alpha’s son, Aria. I’m the heir to the Shadowblood line.”
She blinked. “Is that... bad?”
Kaelen stood, pacing. “Bad isn’t strong enough. The Shadowbloods were once the most feared bloodline in the world. Half-wolf, half-Arcane. Forbidden. Hunted. My mother hid who I was to keep me alive.”
“And the bond?” Aria whispered.
“It’s part of it,” he said. “Shadowbloods only bond once. And when it happens—it awakens a sleeping force. That power you felt? It wasn’t just ours.”
Aria stood, hands trembling. “Then why bind with me?”
Kaelen’s voice cracked. “Because I didn’t choose you, Aria. I recognized you. The bond didn’t awaken because of a ritual. It awakened because you’re mine.”
Secrets and Scars
They sat in silence for a long while.
Outside, the woods whispered. Inside, the air was thick with everything unspoken.
Finally, she asked, “What happens if I walk away?”
Kaelen looked at her, like her leaving would break him in two. “Then the bond shatters. But so do you. And me.”
Aria felt the truth of it—deep in her chest, in the ache that grew stronger the further she sat from him.
She didn’t walk away.
Instead, she stood before him and reached for his shirt.
“Then stop trying to protect me by pushing me away.”
Her fingers traced the line of a faded scar across his ribs. “Let me be in this with you.”
He caught her hand.
“You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“I know exactly what I’m choosing,” she whispered.
He kissed her then—slow, reverent. No frenzy this time. Just fire simmering beneath the surface, dark and aching.
They made love beneath the broken moonlight. Not rushed, not hidden—but as two souls finally surrendering to fate. As the bond pulsed with heat and hunger, Aria felt something settle in her bones.
Belonging.
Power.
Love.
The Intrusion
They were still curled together when a soft crack echoed through the woods.
Kaelen’s head snapped up. He was on his feet in seconds, fully alert.
“Stay here.”
He stepped outside into the clearing.
Aria followed despite his warning.
They weren’t alone.
A figure stood at the tree line—a woman, tall, dressed in a cloak of shadowy blue. Her face was regal, her voice cutting.
“You’ve bound yourself to her.”
Kaelen stepped between her and Aria. “This is my decision.”
The woman’s lips curled. “Then you’ve sealed your doom.”
Aria stepped forward. “Who are you?”
The woman turned her gaze on her.
“I’m Elira. Kaelen’s mother.”
Blood Runs Deep
Elira’s presence was suffocating. Power radiated from her in waves. Not quite human, not fully wolf. Something in between.
“Your father sent hunters,” she said. “They’re closing in on you both. The ritual sent shockwaves across every pack in Europe. You’ve stirred the Ancients.”
Kaelen growled. “Then help us.”
She shook her head.
“I warned your father what would happen. I left to protect you. But you’ve made your choice—and now the bond must run its course.”
“To what end?” Aria demanded.
Elira’s eyes glittered. “Either you rise as the new shadow Alpha and claim the throne your father hides... or the bloodline ends with you.”
Kaelen’s jaw clenched.
“I won’t be his puppet.”
“Then fight,” Elira whispered. “And pray your bond is strong enough to survive what’s coming.”
She disappeared into the trees like mist.
A Storm Rising
Kaelen didn’t speak for a long time after she left.
When he finally did, his voice was steel.
“I’m done hiding. If we keep running, we lose everything. My pack. Your future. Us.”
Aria took his hand.
“Then we fight.”
He turned to her, something wild in his gaze.
“If we’re going to survive this, I need to take you somewhere no wolf has dared return to in decades.”
“Where?”
Kaelen’s eyes gleamed silver under the moonlight.
“To the ruins of Shadowcrest.”
- Writer
