Savage Bond

Savage Bond Epi 5

Chapter 21: The Night We Didn’t Burn Dominic

It wasn’t a date.

That’s what I told myself as I planned it. No roses. No damn candlelit dinners or cringeworthy gestures. She would’ve punched me if I tried.

It was a night to breathe.

I found a stretch of forest not far from the southern ridge, where the moonlight came through the trees in pale ribbons. I had a firepit built, food packed—real food, things she liked—and a flask of whiskey older than either of us.

She showed up in black leather and a look that dared me to impress her.

I grinned. “You clean up dangerously.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You trying to get kissed or punched?”

I handed her the flask. “Dealer’s choice.”

We ate. Drank. Talked.

Real talk.

About the first time she shifted—how it burned, how she was alone, how the silence after terrified her more than the pain.

She told me about her brother. The way he always stepped in first, always stood between her and trouble. How she’d hated him for dying before she was ready.

I told her about my father. The last thing he ever said to me: Protect her.

I didn’t know who he meant until I met her.

She was quiet for a long time after that.

Then: “You scare me.”

I looked up. “Why?”

“Because when you’re near, I don’t feel broken.”

I moved toward her slowly. “You never were. Just unfinished.”

She kissed me first.

The kiss started slow. Then deeper. Hungrier. Our bodies tangled. Her breath caught when my fingers brushed under her shirt.

“I want you,” I whispered. “But not because of the bond. Because of you.”

Her reply was a growl in my throat. She straddled me, heat blooming between us. Her nails dug into my back.

And just as I laid her down—

The earth shook.

Far off, but deep. Wrong.

Ashmoor was under attack.

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Chapter 22: Fire at the Door Taissa

The bond screamed through my spine.

We were halfway to the pack house before either of us said a word.

Dominic’s voice was all command. “They’re inside. Get to the elders first.”

My wolf surged out of me mid-sprint, red fur igniting the wind. I heard Dominic’s shift beside me—his growl like thunder.

The main hall was chaos.

Rogues—dozens. Smashing windows. Tearing down doors. A group had breached the inner sanctum.

I leapt into the fray, fangs sinking into the nearest throat. Blood sprayed across the wall.

A young wolf was pinned under a broken beam. I bit through the wood, yanked her free.

She whimpered. “They came from the north wing. Poisoned the guards.”

More wolves joined the fight. Calista in full shift, ripping through enemies with terrifying grace. Corin’s old war cry echoed off the stone.

Dominic’s wolf was a whirlwind. He brought down three before they could turn. We fought back-to-back, bond burning.

I spotted a figure at the stairs. Hooded. Watching.

The same eyes from my dreams.

He vanished before I could reach him.

But the message was clear.

This wasn’t just an attack.

It was a warning.

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Chapter 23: Ashes and Bloodlines Dominic

By morning, five were dead. One was a cub. The smell of ash clung to everything.

I stood over the bodies, silent. My wolf whimpered deep inside me.

Taissa came to me, eyes hard. “We need to move. Hunt. Strike back.”

I nodded. “We will. But not alone. We call the allies. Every bloodline that owes us. Every pack that fears what comes next.”

She placed her hand on mine. “Together.”

Always.

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Chapter 24: The Call of Ancients Taissa

The power in me was different now.

Sharper. Hungrier.

When I trained, the flames danced without touch. When I slept, the trees whispered names I didn’t know.

The dreams returned.

A woman in red fur. Eyes like mine. Standing at the edge of the world.

“You are her echo,” she said. “You carry more than fire.”

The next morning, I told Dominic everything.

He didn’t flinch.

“Then we find out what you are,” he said. “Before they do.”

We stood together, the ruins of the courtyard behind us.

Ahead: war.

But beside me, his hand.

And for the first time, I wasn’t afraid.

Here we go—

Chapter 25: The Uncrowned

Part 1 of 4 (approx. 2,000+ words per part)

—

Taissa

The council chamber at Ashmoor looked like a place built to watch people break. High ceilings, iron fixtures, dark stone that swallowed light and sound alike. There were no windows. No warmth. Just shadows and judgment.

Perfect.

My boots echoed across the floor as I walked in. Calista was already seated to the left of the Alpha’s chair—Dominic’s chair—but it was empty. He’d insisted I walk in first. On purpose. A message.

To them, and to me.

The wolves of the council were already murmuring when I arrived. Old bloodlines, most of them. Black-cloaked, gold-ringed, wearing centuries of pride like armor. I knew their types. My pack used to have dealings with them before everything turned to ash.

Now, they looked at me like I was either a mistake or a threat.

Let them wonder.

“Lady Taissa,” one of them said. His voice was smooth, clipped. House Verrun. Elder Kallis. All sharp nose and sharper tongue. “You honor us with your presence.”

I nodded once. “I doubt that’s how you see it.”

He smiled thinly. “Some of us have questions. You’ve risen quickly. Aligned closely with our Alpha King. We don’t know you.”

“No,” I said, stepping into the center of the room. “You don’t. But you will.”

The tension was almost delicious.

Behind me, the doors groaned open again. Dominic entered without ceremony—black coat, dark eyes, expression carved from ice. He moved to his chair but didn’t sit.

He stood behind me.

Another message.

Calista gave me a small nod. Quiet encouragement. Corin was posted at the edge of the room, arms folded, expression unreadable. I caught the brief flicker of pride in his eyes.

Then I faced the wolves who would rather I vanished.

“I know you don’t trust me,” I began. “Some of you think I’m dangerous. Some of you think I’m a liability.”

A scoff from the right. House Rhyel, the youngest representative, a man named Jorek with too-perfect cheekbones and not nearly enough scars.

“Forgive me,” he said, “but are we truly entertaining a speech from someone who hasn’t even been named Luna?”

I smiled. “You’re free to leave, Jorek. No one will miss your silence.”

A few chuckles. One from Corin.

Jorek’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t reply.

Good. Keep your teeth behind your lips, pretty boy.

“I’m not here to beg for your approval,” I said, voice rising. “I’m here because your Alpha trusts me. Because I’ve bled for Ashmoor. Because while some of you sit safe behind walls, I’ve watched wolves die. Children die. Our people are being slaughtered.”

I walked a slow circle.

“Dominic and I—we didn’t choose this bond. It chose us. But we have chosen each other. Again and again. And I will not apologize for surviving. I will not shrink to make you more comfortable.”

“You carry flame,” Kallis said. “Old magic. Unstable.”

“I carry control,” I snapped. “And more strength than you’ll ever possess.”

Another ripple in the room.

I could feel Dominic behind me, his power like a wall at my back.

Kallis stood. “Then prove it.”

The room stilled.

I raised an eyebrow. “You want a show?”

“No. I want discipline. Power without direction is nothing.”

I stepped forward. “And cowardice dressed in robes is still cowardice.”

“Enough,” Dominic said, voice quiet but final.

Kallis sat.

And Dominic finally stepped up beside me.

“She has proven herself,” he said. “Time and again. To me. To this pack. If any of you want to challenge her place beside me—”

His eyes turned gold.

“—you’re welcome to try.”

No one moved.

No one dared.