When the Bond Wakes
1074 Words
Aria didn’t sleep.
Not even a little.
Her skin wouldn’t stop tingling.
Her heartbeat wouldn’t slow.
Her body felt too warm, too aware, too hungry for something she didn’t understand, or maybe refused to admit.
Kairo…
Every time she breathed, she swore she could smell him.
Every flicker of torchlight in the forbidden wing felt like his shadow.
The bond was real.
It was waking.
And it terrified her.
Because if she was drawn to him this strongly now…
What would happen when the bond fully settled?
Would she lose herself?
Would he?
Her door opened.
Aria jumped, heart slamming, but it was only the Beta from earlier, the same scarred man who accidentally witnessed their tension hours ago.
He kept his gaze respectfully on the floor.
“Your Majesty requests your presence,” he said.
Aria’s pulse spiked at your Majesty, but she forced her voice steady.
“Where is he?”
“The training grounds, my lady.”
She blinked. “I thought I wasn’t allowed to leave the king’s wing.”
He hesitated.
“He gave… special permission.”
Aria frowned.
Special permission.
For her.
Her chest tightened strangely.
“Follow me,” the Beta said.
Aria walked behind him, but quickly realized something felt off.
Every few steps, he looked at her from the corner of his eye, not in suspicion.
In concern.
Like he already knew something she didn’t.
The Moonbound effect, Kairo had called it.
Her body reacting to his presence.
Her pulse syncing to his.
Her senses sharpening because of him.
The prophecy wasn’t just words, it was inside her. Breathing. Growing. Changing her.
They stepped into the open courtyard.
Aria froze.
Kairo wasn’t training.
He was destroying.
Wolves circled him, sparring with him one by one, strong, fast warriors, but none lasted more than seconds.
He moved like a storm breaking over stone, every punch cracking with power, every shift from human to wolf and back again fluid as breath.
Aria’s chest tightened painfully at the sight of him shirtless, with muscles flexing, skin glistening with sweat, golden tattoos shifting faintly like molten metal beneath his skin.
He didn’t see her yet.
Thank the moon.
Because the moment she saw him like this…
Her body reacted.
A sharp, sudden pull low in her belly.
Heat spreading under her skin.
Her breath catching, her pulse wild.
She gripped the railing to steady herself.
The Beta noticed.
“Are you well, my lady?”
She nodded too quickly. “I’m… fine.”
But she wasn’t.
Gods, she wasn’t.
Kairo was right. This is the bond waking up.
A warm current shot through her spine, electric, dizzying, making her knees weak.
“Kairo…” she whispered under her breath.
At that exact moment—
He stopped.
Mid-movement.
Mid-fight.
Mid-shift.
His wolf snarled.
His human form flickered back.
His head snapped toward her with unnatural accuracy, eyes glowing bright gold.
He scented her.
Across the entire courtyard.
His chest rose sharply, nostrils flaring as if her presence hit him like a physical blow.
Aria’s breath caught.
He saw her.
And everything inside him changed.
His rage vanished.
His dominance tighted.
His hunger… sharpened.
Every warrior in the courtyard dropped their gaze immediately.
“Leave us,” Kairo said.
The men scattered instantly.
Aria’s heart hammered as he crossed the courtyard toward her slowly muscles still tense from battle.
“Why are you out here alone?” he asked, voice low and rough.
“The Beta said—”
“He shouldn’t have brought you.”
Kairo’s chest rose and fell rapidly.
“It’s dangerous when I’m like this.”
“Like what?” Aria whispered.
Kairo stopped inches from her.
His skin still glistened with sweat.
His breathing ragged.
His wolf right beneath the surface.
“Riled,” he murmured.
“Unrestrained.”
His eyes dragged over her face, her throat, her lips.
“Still scenting you from across a field.”
Her body warmed instantly.
“I told you,” he whispered, stepping closer, “this bond reacts to your fear…”
His hand lifted.
“…and your desire.”
Aria’s pulse thumped loudly in her ears.
He noticed.
Oh, he definitely noticed.
“You’re warm,” he murmured, brushing her cheek with the back of his fingers. “Too warm.”
Aria’s breath hitched. “I—I don’t know why.”
His eyes darkened.
“I do.”
Heat curled low in her stomach.
“Kairo…”
“You’re feeling the Moonbound effect.” His thumb stroked her jaw. “The pull. The heat. The ache.”
Her knees nearly buckled.
He caught her waist, not roughly, but with a strength that made her gasp.
“Tell me what you feel,” he whispered.
Her voice was barely a breath. “Everything.”
He swallowed hard.
“And does it frighten you?”
“No.”
His jaw clenched.
“Then it should.”
“Why?”
Kairo leaned in, breath brushing her neck, his lips hovering a hair from her skin.
“Because if I lose control right now…”
His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.
“…there will be no stopping until the bond completes.”
Aria trembled.
“And if I don’t want you to stop?”
Kairo growled, a deep, feral sound that vibrated into her bones.
He pressed his forehead to hers, hands gripping her hips, pulling her closer… closer… until her breath tangled with his.
“Aria…”
His voice broke.
“…don’t test me.”
She didn’t look away.
He sucked in a breath through clenched teeth.
“Gods,” he whispered. “You’re killing me.”
Their lips were inches away.
Seconds.
One breath from disaster.
Then—
A guard burst through the courtyard gate.
“Your Majesty! The Council, they demand your presence!”
Kairo didn’t turn.
Didn’t move.
Didn’t even blink.
His eyes stayed locked on Aria’s trembling lips.
“Kairo,” she whispered.
Slowly… painfully… he released her.
He stepped back, breathing hard, fighting himself.
“Stay in my wing,” he growled.
“Do not leave. Do not wander. Do not open your door for anyone but me.”
Her pulse raced. “Why?”
He looked back at her.
“Because you’re close to triggering the bond.”
His eyes glowed violently.
“And if I’m not the one who reaches you first…”
He swallowed.
“…you won’t survive the awakening.”
- Writer
