Chapter 3
1396 Words
Aria's pov
I thought fear was the strongest thing I’d ever felt.
I was wrong.
The moment Kael left my room, the silence became unbearable. My chest ached, like something vital had been ripped away. I pressed a hand over my heart, gasping softly, confused tears blurring my vision.
He left.
The voice inside me stirred again—clearer this time, stronger.
He had to. The bond is dangerous before it settles.
“What bond?” I whispered shakily.
My knees weakened, and I sank onto the bed just as heat rushed through my veins, sharp and overwhelming. My senses exploded—every sound louder, every scent sharper.
I cried out as pain lanced through me, not physical exactly, but deep—like my soul was stretching, reshaping.
You are changing, the voice said gently. You are not human anymore.
Fear clawed at me. “Kael,” I whispered without thinking.
The bond reacted instantly. A powerful presence slammed into my awareness—dark, dominant, furious.
Mine.
The word echoed through me, not mine—but his. My body arched as something snapped into place. I wasn’t alone anymore.
Kael's pov
I felt it from three corridors away. The bond hit like a blade to the chest.
I staggered, one hand slamming into the stone wall as my wolf roared forward, furious and triumphant.
It’s done, my wolf snarled. She’s ours.
“No,” I growled. “It’s too soon.” But the bond didn’t care.
Aria’s fear flooded me—sharp, panicked, raw—and beneath it, confusion and need so strong it made my vision blur.
She was awakening.Without permission.Without control.
I turned and sprinted back toward the east wing, guards scrambling out of my way as my power surged uncontrollably. If this went wrong, it could kill her.I burst into her room.
Aria's pov
Kael appeared like a storm given form.
His eyes glowed gold, his control hanging by a thread. The air crackled around him, heavy and hot, pressing against my skin.
“You’re bonding,” he said sharply, already at my side. “Why didn’t you call for me?”
“I didn’t know how,” I gasped. “It just—hurt. And then I felt you.”
His jaw clenched. “That’s the bond snapping into place.”
I cried out as another wave hit me, heat and energy surging so violently I trembled. Kael caught me before I fell, pulling me against his chest. The contact was instant relief.My body stilled.My wolf purred.
So did his.
Kael froze, breath uneven. “This is dangerous,” he warned, though his arms tightened instinctively. “If I lose control—”
“You won’t,” I whispered.I didn’t know how I knew.But the bond did.
Kael;s pov
The moment she touched me, my wolf surged hard enough to nearly tear free.
Mate, it growled. Claim.
I shut my eyes, forcing restraint, pressing my forehead to hers instead of my mouth.
Her scent was intoxicating now—stronger, richer, unmistakably wolf.
“She’s not human anymore,” my wolf said with brutal satisfaction.
I opened my eyes.
Aria looked up at me, pupils blown wide, breath shallow, her body reacting to mine in ways neither of us could ignore.
The bond pulsed between us—hot, possessive, absolute.
“You belong to me,” I said before I could stop myself.
She didn’t pull away.
She nodded.
“So do you,” she whispered.
That shattered what little control I had left.
I wrapped her in my arms, holding her tightly—not claiming, not taking, but anchoring her through the storm.
The bond settled slowly, painfully, permanently.
When it was over, she sagged against me, exhausted.
I lifted her carefully and laid her on the bed, pulling back as if it cost me blood.
“This changes everything,” I said hoarsely.
She reached for my hand.
“I know.”
Our wolves were silent now—sated, watchful.
The bond was complete.
And with it came a terrifying truth.
My mother would sense it by morning.
And when she did…
Black Fang Park would never be the same.
I woke up warm.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Not the soft bed beneath me. Not the faint scent of pine and smoke clinging to the sheets. Not even the strange ache in my body that felt too intimate to ignore.
It was the warmth.
Strong. Solid. Wrapped around me like I belonged there.
I froze.
Kael.
His arm was draped around my waist, heavy and possessive even in sleep. My back was pressed to his chest, my body curved perfectly into his as if we had done this a thousand times before.
My heart slammed violently against my ribs.
I remembered the bond snapping. The pain. The heat. His arms catching me. His voice in my head.
Mine.
A slow, dangerous awareness slid through me.
We were clothed. But barely.
My nightdress was twisted high on my thigh, my skin hypersensitive where his fingers rested. Every breath he took brushed against my neck, sending shivers straight down my spine. My body reacted traitorously. Heat pooled low, sharp and unfamiliar, making my breath hitch. I swallowed hard, panic and desire tangling into something confusing and overwhelming.
Why do I want him like this?
The voice inside me stirred, amused now.
Because he is your mate.
I squeezed my eyes shut. “No,” I whispered. “This is too fast.”
The bond doesn’t move slowly, my wolf replied. It claims.
Kael shifted behind me, tightening his hold slightly. His breath deepened, and I felt it — the raw, dangerous power restrained beneath his skin.
His wolf stirred.
So did mine.
My pulse raced. Carefully, I tried to move.The instant I shifted, Kael woke.
His arm locked around me, possessive and firm. “Don’t run,” he said roughly, voice thick with sleep and something darker.
“I wasn’t—” I stopped when he pressed his face into my hair, inhaling deeply.
A low growl rumbled from his chest.
My entire body reacted.
“I can smell your fear,” he murmured. “And something else.”
My cheeks burned.
Kael slowly loosened his hold, pushing himself up on one arm so he could look at me. His amber eyes were darker than before, heavy with restraint.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Just… confused.”
“That makes two of us.”
Silence stretched between us, heavy with everything we weren’t saying.
“You bonded without permission,” he said quietly. “That shouldn’t have been possible.”
“I didn’t mean to,” I whispered. “I thought I was dying.”
His jaw tightened. “You could have.”
That scared me more than anything else.
He reached out, hesitating just for a second before brushing his thumb along my wrist. The touch sent a shock through me — not pain, but awareness. Intimate. Deep.
The bond hummed.
“I won’t touch you like that again,” he said, voice strained. “Not until you understand what this means.”
My wolf hissed in protest.
My body disagreed loudly.
“And what does it mean?” I asked.
His gaze dropped briefly to my lips, then lower, then snapped back to my eyes as if angry at himself.
“It means you are my mate,” he said. “And until the bond fully settles, your body will react whether you want it to or not.”
My breath caught.
“Especially around me.”
Heat flared again, unmistakable now.
Kael noticed.
He sucked in a sharp breath, his wolf pushing dangerously close to the surface. “This is why I shouldn’t stay,” he muttered.
But he didn’t move.
Instead, he leaned closer, forehead pressing to mine. His scent surrounded me, intoxicating, grounding, overwhelming.
“This is the last warning,” he whispered. “If I stay any longer…”
His hand flexed at my waist.
The air between us crackled. He leaned closer ,eyes locked up in mine. i could feel his hot breath and tension rising.Until our lips finally met and everything stoped . we lived in the moment ,affirming our bond. He called.
I didn’t answer.
Didn’t need to.
Because the bond answered for me.
- Writer
