Chapter 11: The Distance Between Bonds
814 Words
The night after the awakening did not bring peace.
It brought silence.
Too much of it.
Lyra Vale sat alone in a stone chamber deep within the Alpha territory. The walls were cold, unfamiliar, and guarded. Not a prison—but not freedom either.
A controlled space.
A watched space.
She could feel it.
Outside the door, footsteps passed every few minutes.
Always there.
Never leaving.
She hated how aware she had become of everything.
Every sound. Every breath. Every shift in energy.
And worst of all—
The faint pull in her chest she couldn’t explain.
It was quieter now, but it hadn’t disappeared.
A knock broke the silence.
Lyra didn’t answer.
The door opened anyway.
Kael Draven stepped inside.
He didn’t wear armor or ceremony markings now. Just a simple dark coat, like he was trying not to feel like an Alpha.
“Are they treating you well?” he asked.
Lyra let out a short laugh.
“Is that a joke?”
Kael didn’t respond immediately.
That was answer enough.
He stepped further inside but kept distance between them.
Lyra noticed that too.
“You’re avoiding me,” she said.
“I’m not,” he replied.
“You are,” she said sharply. “Since the forest.”
A pause.
Kael’s jaw tightened slightly. “You’re unstable right now. It’s not safe.”
Lyra stood up immediately.
“So I’m dangerous again?” she snapped. “Is that the new word you all use for me now?”
Kael’s eyes darkened. “That’s not what I said.”
“It’s what you meant.”
Silence.
The bond pressure inside her chest flickered again at his presence.
She hated that her body reacted before her mind could.
Kael noticed.
Of course he did.
“You feel it too,” he said quietly.
Lyra froze slightly. “Don’t start that again.”
“It’s real,” he said.
“No,” she replied quickly. “It’s not.”
Kael stepped closer—but stopped halfway again.
Always stopping.
Always distance.
Lyra hated that more than anything.
“You stabilized faster with me,” he said. “That’s not coincidence.”
“I don’t care,” she said.
But her voice wasn’t as steady as she wanted.
Kael studied her for a moment.
Then he said something quieter.
“I didn’t expect it either.”
That made her pause.
Lyra looked at him carefully now.
For the first time, he didn’t look fully controlled.
He looked… conflicted.
That unsettled her more than anything he had revealed so far.
Before she could respond, the air outside the room shifted.
A second presence.
Lyra felt it immediately.
Her chest tightened instinctively.
The second Alpha.
He didn’t knock.
He never did.
The door opened again.
He stepped inside like he owned the space already.
His eyes moved from Kael to Lyra.
Slowly.
Calculating.
“I see she’s still here,” he said.
Lyra frowned. “Do I have a name?”
A faint smile appeared on his lips. “You do. I just prefer reactions over names.”
Kael’s voice hardened. “What do you want?”
The second Alpha didn’t look at him immediately.
Instead, his attention stayed on Lyra.
“You should not be left alone with him,” he said casually.
Lyra narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”
Kael stepped forward slightly. “Leave.”
The second Alpha finally turned his gaze to Kael.
“No,” he said simply.
Tension filled the room instantly.
Lyra felt it building between them again.
That same pressure.
That same clash.
But this time—
It didn’t come from her.
It came from them.
Kael spoke low. “You’re pushing her limits.”
“I’m observing her,” the second Alpha replied.
“I said leave.”
“And I said no.”
Lyra stepped between them before she realized it.
“Stop,” she said sharply.
Both Alphas paused.
That alone gave her a strange kind of control.
“I’m not an object you argue over,” she said.
Silence.
The second Alpha’s gaze softened slightly.
Kael didn’t look away from her.
But something in his expression changed.
Like he was holding back something heavier.
Lyra felt it again.
That pull.
Between them.
Not one bond.
But two.
And neither of them stable.
Her voice lowered.
“If you both keep acting like this,” she said, “I’m going to find out the truth myself.”
Kael’s expression darkened slightly.
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
The second Alpha smiled faintly.
“No,” he said softly.
“That’s exactly what we’re waiting for.”
Lyra froze.
“What does that mean?” she demanded.
But neither of them answered.
Because in that moment—
She realized something worse than being trapped.
She was being guided.
And she didn’t know by whom.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD