CHAPTER FOUR
1143 Words
4: The Bond
Elena’s breath hitched.
Her entire life, she had been free to choose, free to leave, free to decide what she wanted. But now, with Kieran’s words hanging between them like an unspoken truth, that freedom felt like it was slipping through her fingers.
"Once a bond like this is formed… it can’t be undone."
She stared at him, her mind racing.
“Can’t be undone?” she repeated, the words tasting foreign on her tongue. “What does that even mean?”
Kieran exhaled slowly, as if trying to find the right words. “It means that once the connection is there, it’s permanent. You and I are linked, Elena. Whether you want to be or not.”
Her pulse pounded in her ears. “No.” She shook her head, pushing up from the couch. “No, I didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t ask for this bond, this—whatever it is.”
“I didn’t either,” Kieran admitted. “But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s real.”
She took a step back, putting more distance between them. She needed space. Needed air.
Her whole body was trembling. This wasn’t just some surreal dream she could wake up from. It was happening.
And she didn’t know how to handle it.
Kieran watched her carefully. “I know this is a lot.”
“A lot?” she laughed, but there was no humor in it. “A lot is finding out that werewolves exist. This? This is, this is something else entirely!”
He remained silent, giving her the time to process, but she could see the tension in his posture.
She ran a hand through her hair. “What happens now?”
Kieran hesitated. “That depends on you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “How so?”
“You can fight this bond. Ignore it. But it won’t go away.” His golden eyes held hers. “Or you can try to understand it.”
Elena crossed her arms. “And if I choose the first option?”
His jaw tightened. “Then you’ll be fighting against something stronger than both of us. And…” He hesitated, as if unsure whether he should continue. “The bond has… consequences.”
A shiver ran through her. “What kind of consequences?”
Kieran hesitated before answering. “If a bond is denied for too long, it can cause harm.”
“Harm?” Her voice rose slightly. “To who?”
“To both of us.”
Her stomach clenched. “How?”
Kieran’s gaze darkened. “You’ll feel it first—an ache, a pull, something you can’t explain. And if you keep resisting, it’ll get worse.”
Elena’s breath came faster now. “And you?”
His lips pressed into a thin line. “For me… it’s different. Wolves don’t just feel the bond—we need it. If I fight it too long, it’ll start affecting me physically. Weakness. Pain. Eventually…” He trailed off.
She swallowed hard. “Eventually what?”
Kieran looked away. “It could kill me.”
A chill swept through her. “You’re serious.”
“Yes.”
Elena sank back onto the couch, gripping the edge as if it were the only thing keeping her grounded.
A long silence stretched between them before she finally whispered, “How did this happen?”
Kieran sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “No one knows exactly how bonds form. But they only happen between a wolf and the one person they’re meant to be with.”
Meant to be with.
Elena’s chest tightened. “That’s impossible.”
Kieran gave a small, rueful smile. “And yet, here we are.”
She wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him that this wasn’t fate—that it had to be some mistake.
But deep down, she already knew there were no mistakes in this.
She felt it, even now—the pull between them, invisible but unyielding. It wasn’t just attraction. It was something more, something deeper.
And that terrified her.
She forced herself to take a deep breath. “So what do we do?”
Kieran’s expression turned serious again. “First, we keep you safe. Marcus won’t stop looking for you. Now that he knows you saw him, you’re a threat.”
Elena’s hands curled into fists. “Because I know what he is?”
“Because you’re mine,” Kieran corrected. “That makes you more than a threat—it makes you a target.”
A cold weight settled in her stomach. “So what, I’m just supposed to hide forever?”
“No,” Kieran said. “But until we know what Marcus is planning, I need to keep you close.”
She frowned. “Define ‘close.’”
Kieran’s gaze didn’t waver. “You stay with me. My pack has a safehouse nearby. You’ll be protected there.”
Elena shot up from the couch. “Absolutely not.”
Kieran sighed. “Elena—”
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m not just going to drop everything and go into hiding like some damsel in distress.”
“This isn’t about you being weak,” Kieran said, his voice firm. “It’s about keeping you alive.”
Elena clenched her jaw. “I can take care of myself.”
Kieran took a slow step toward her. “You don’t understand what Marcus is capable of.”
“Then explain it to me,” she shot back.
His golden eyes darkened. “He doesn’t just kill. He hunts.”
A shiver ran through her, but she refused to let him see her fear. “And what about you? What makes you so different?”
Kieran held her gaze. “Because I’d die before I let anything happen to you.”
Something in his voice made her breath catch.
Raw. Unyielding. True.
She wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him she didn’t need saving.
But the truth was… she wasn’t sure she could survive this alone.
She exhaled slowly. “Fine.”
Kieran blinked. “Fine?”
“I’ll go with you,” she said. “But only until we figure this out.”
A flicker of relief crossed his face, but it was gone just as quickly. “Understood.”
Elena crossed her arms. “And let’s get one thing straight—I’m not some helpless human you need to babysit.”
A slow smile tugged at the corner of Kieran’s lips. “Noted.”
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t ignore the way her heart pounded.
This was dangerous.
Not just because of Marcus.
But because of him.
Because the more time she spent around Kieran… the more she wasn’t sure she wanted to fight this bond at all.
- Writer
