Chapter 5 :Bound by Blood and Oath
1535 Words
Kaelen POV
She was mine.
I knew it the second her scent hit me — wildflowers and spring rain.
It unmade me.
But she’s the Keeper.
The last of her bloodline.
Sworn to our pack.
Sacred. Untouchable.
The rain hadn’t let up since I left Layla’s house. It poured like judgment, soaking into my fur, dripping from my muzzle, pooling between my claws. Every step through the forest felt like moving through a world that didn’t want me near her.
I should’ve turned back hours ago.
But I couldn’t.
Her scent still clung to me — snared in my chest, stirring the air inside until my breath came ragged.
I shouldn’t be here.
Ours, Variant growled from the dark center of my mind. She is ours.
His voice wasn’t just sound.
It was pressure. Hunger.
The storm outside mirrored the one inside me. Variant paced beneath my skin like a shadow with teeth — restless and wild.
I prowled through the trees, low to the ground, every nerve pulled tight.
Watching her was supposed to be duty.
Not obsession.
Not this burning ache.
I had no business being this close.
But I couldn’t leave her alone — not tonight.
Not when something in the air had shifted.
“Tell them,” Variant snarled. “Tell Rylan. She’s the storm that breaks us open.”
“No,” I breathed into the rain, voice raw. “She can’t be.”
But even as I said it, I felt the truth in my bones.
The oath to her bloodline — ancient and unyielding — pulled at me like a tether.
My family had carried it for generations.
Protectors. Guardians. Watchers from the shadows.
But Layla... she unraveled me.
I had sworn to protect her.
Not want her.
Not ache for her like this.
You lie to yourself, Variant hissed.
My chest tightened.
I saw Anna Maria — weathered hands clutching my forearm, her eyes fierce.
“She must never know until it’s time. Promise me, Kaelen. Keep her safe.”
I had promised.
But then, she’d only been a name.
A warning.
A secret cloaked in silence.
Now she was real.
And I couldn’t stay away.
The trees thinned near the ridge, revealing the pack’s territory below — quiet beneath the storm.
But Drakensberg didn’t feel like home anymore.
It felt like waiting.
Old magic stirred.
Secrets long-buried clawed their way to the surface.
Her presence was a tremor through the roots.
We weren’t ready for her.
Hell, I wasn’t ready.
I shifted at the edge of the pack house.
Bones cracked. Skin stretched.
The rain turned icy against my bare skin.
I dressed quickly from the stash hidden beneath the porch and stepped inside.
Warmth wrapped around me like a lie.
I headed for the council chamber — I knew Sebastian and Rylan would be there.
It was carved into the oldest part of the pack house, tucked behind stone walls and steeped in the scent of cedar, iron, and wolf.
A massive wooden table stretched the length of the room — worn smooth by decades of claws, maps, and war plans.
This was where decisions were made — where we plotted, prepared, and protected what was ours.
Rylan and Sebastian stood at the table.
Rylan didn’t even glance up.
“You’re late,” he said.
“I had to make sure she was safe.”
His gaze lifted. Cold. Calculating.
“And?”
“She’s alone. No signs of anything unusual.”
I paused. Then added, “But something’s changing.”
Sebastian looked up. “How?”
I hesitated.
How do you explain a storm in your soul?
“It’s the bond. The oath. It’s stronger than I expected.”
Rylan’s jaw flexed. “This isn’t about emotions. Control them.”
I bristled. “It’s more than that. Anna Maria kept her hidden for a reason. There’s something waking in her.”
Sebastian leaned forward. “You think she’s triggering something?”
“She is something,” I said. “Or becoming something. I can feel it.”
Rylan exhaled and turned back to the map. “Then we stay ahead of it. You and Sebastian will search Anna Maria’s house. We need the necklace.”
I stilled.
The necklace.
Forged in blood and myth.
Said to choose the next Keeper.
Said to bind them to the oath with fire and soul.
“She’s not ready,” I said.
“I know,” Rylan replied. “That’s why we need it first.”
It’s hers, Variant whispered. Let her claim it. Let her burn.
“It feels wrong,” I muttered. “Taking what belongs to her.”
Rylan’s voice softened. Too soft. “You want to protect her? Then trust me. If someone else finds it—”
“I know,” I said, teeth grinding. “We’ll go.”
I wanted to argue.
I wanted to tear down the walls and demand a better plan.
But I didn’t.
I just nodded, turned, and walked out into the rain.
The storm had passed by the time I made it to my room, but the air still smelled like thunder and pine.
I peeled off my shirt, dropped it by the door, and stood there for a moment — bare-chested — staring into the shadows like they might hold an answer.
They didn’t.
I collapsed onto the bed, unable to stop thinking about her.
My bones ached with the need to run — to get back to her.
A howl ripped through the night.
Low. Sharp. Close.
My body moved before my thoughts could catch up.
The pack doors flew open behind me as I shifted mid-run, paws tearing through the forest.
Danger, Variant snarled. Run.
I tore through the forest, faster than thought, soaked to the bone, eyes glowing.
I didn’t stop until I was outside her house.
Hidden beneath her window like some ghost haunting what I could never claim.
The night was still. Too still.
Her scent hit me first.
Warm. Familiar. Calming.
I could feel her heartbeat through the walls — steady and soft. Dreaming.
Then I felt it.
Magic.
Not hers.
Wrong.
Unfamiliar.
Cold.
A figure stepped from the trees.
Hooded. Pale eyes flashing silver in the dark.
Not one of ours.
Not a Keeper.
He had no right being this close.
I moved before I could think — silent, fast, furious.
He didn’t flinch. Just watched the house like he belonged.
Mine, Variant snarled. She’s ours. Not his.
I emerged from the shadows, letting him see the beast in my eyes.
He turned, calm as anything. “Easy, wolf. I’m only here to observe.”
“You’re on sacred ground.”
“She’s not sacred,” he said, voice almost amused. “Not yet.”
I lunged — slamming him into a tree hard enough to crack the bark.
His magic sparked, instinctive. But I didn’t care.
I wanted to rip his throat out.
“She’s the last Keeper. You think we’d let you near her?”
He didn’t fight me. Just stared.
“You don’t even let yourself near her.”
I growled—
And he vanished.
Gone like mist in the wind.
I stood alone, shaking. Her heartbeat still echoed in my ears.
The storm inside me rising again.
The pull to go to her nearly dropped me to my knees.
Tonight, something changed.
I felt it in my bones.
Layla’s presence wasn’t just comfort.
It was fire.
I couldn’t leave.
Not when she’d changed everything.
Not when everything in me wanted to claim her.
Variant stirred.
You’re of Alpha blood. Take what’s ours. Claim her. To hell with the rest of them.
I closed my eyes.
If only it were that simple.
She didn’t know the weight of the choice I was making.
If anyone found out… if Rylan knew…
They’d tear us apart before it even had a chance to begin.
So, I made a choice.
A choice that felt like a betrayal.
No more hiding in the trees.
No more pretending I wasn’t already part of her life.
No more silence.
I wouldn’t just lie to them.
I’d bury the truth so deep, no one would find it.
I wouldn’t tell him that Layla was mine.
Because if he knew… if anyone knew, they’d never let me near her again.
They’d never let me protect her like I had sworn to.
And she needed me.
More than she knew.
More than I had any right to hope for.
Layla had no idea what was coming.
But I did.
And I would stand between her and the storm — even if it tore me apart.
I would lie to my Alpha.
Betray my oath.
Shatter every rule I was raised to follow.
If it kept her safe, I’d burn the world to ash.
I’d burn myself.
No one would take her from me.
Not Rylan.
Not the witches.
Not fate.
Not even the gods.
She is ours.
Variant’s growl echoed inside me — low, hungry, undeniable.
And for the first time, I didn’t push him back.
I couldn’t.
Because he was right.
She was mine.
And I was done pretending otherwise.
- Writer
