Chapter 8~ The Bond Awakens
694 Words
Alina couldn’t sleep.
Moonlight spilled through the tall windows of the guest chamber, casting pale shadows across the room. Outside, the forest surrounding the Lycan palace whispered with the sound of wind and distant wolves.
But the real reason Alina couldn’t sleep was the mark on her neck.
It burned again.
Not painfully this time.
Just… warm.
Alive.
Alina slowly sat up on the bed and pressed her fingers against the strange symbol. The moment she touched it, a sudden wave of heat rushed through her body.
Her breath caught.
“What is happening to me…?” she whispered.
Then suddenly—
A vision exploded inside her mind.
A dark forest.
Cold wind.
The thunder of a powerful heartbeat.
Alina gasped as images flooded her head like a storm.
A massive black wolf running through the trees.
Golden eyes glowing in the darkness.
Rage.
Power.
Loneliness.
The emotions were so overwhelming they nearly knocked the breath out of her.
And then she heard a voice.
Low.
Familiar.
Kael.
“Who dares enter my mind?”
Alina’s eyes flew open.
The room returned around her, but the mark on her neck burned even brighter.
Heavy footsteps thundered down the hallway outside.
Then—
The chamber door burst open.
King Kael stood there.
His golden eyes were blazing.
“You,” he said.
Alina blinked in shock.
“What?”
Kael walked toward her slowly, like a predator closing in on its prey.
“How did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Enter my mind.”
Alina’s mouth fell open.
“I didn’t enter anything!”
But Kael didn’t look convinced.
He stopped directly in front of her.
The air between them felt charged with energy.
“The bond,” he muttered.
Alina frowned.
“What about it?”
Kael studied her carefully.
“Normally it takes weeks for the bond to awaken like that.”
“And?”
“And you just forced your way into my thoughts.”
Alina crossed her arms.
“I didn’t force anything.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Kael suddenly reached forward.
His fingers gently tilted her chin upward.
Alina’s heart began pounding.
“What are you doing?”
Kael ignored the question.
His thumb brushed against the mark on her neck.
The reaction was instant.
Heat exploded through Alina’s body.
She gasped.
Kael’s eyes widened slightly.
“You feel it too,” he murmured.
Alina stepped back quickly.
“Stop touching me!”
Kael didn’t move.
But something had changed in his expression.
Something darker.
“You have no idea what you are becoming,” he said quietly.
Alina frowned.
“I’m not becoming anything.”
Kael exhaled slowly.
“You are human.”
“Yes.”
“But the bond is changing you.”
Alina’s stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?”
Before Kael could answer—
A loud horn suddenly echoed through the palace.
Both of them froze.
Kael’s expression darkened instantly.
“That sound…”
Alina looked confused.
“What is it?”
Kael turned toward the window.
“An alert.”
His voice dropped into a deadly whisper.
“The northern packs are here.”
Alina’s heart skipped.
“You mean the rebels?”
Kael nodded slowly.
“They moved faster than expected.”
Outside the castle walls, distant howls filled the night air.
Hundreds of wolves.
Maybe thousands.
Fear crept into Alina’s chest.
“Are they attacking the palace?”
Kael’s lips curved into a cold smile.
“Good.”
Alina stared at him.
“Good?!”
Kael’s golden eyes flashed with excitement.
“I was getting bored.”
The ground trembled slightly as more horns echoed across the fortress.
War was coming.
Kael turned back to Alina one last time.
“Stay in this room.”
Alina frowned.
“And if I don’t?”
Kael leaned closer, his voice low and dangerous.
“Then pray the enemy finds you before my wolf does.”
With that, the Lycan King walked out of the room.
Leaving Alina alone with a burning mark…
A mysterious bond…
And the terrifying sound of war beginning outside the palace walls.
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