Bound to Four

Day 2 Night in

The fake sunset shifted, warm gold washing across the room in a way that felt too soft, too controlled to be real.

Then the front wall moved. A low mechanical hum cut through the quiet as the panel slid open.

And dropped him back into the room.

Rook hit the floor hard.

He didn’t catch himself. Didn’t even try.

For a second, he just lay there, dragging in a breath that didn’t quite come, then forcing another like his body had forgotten how.

Liora’s chest seized as the bond slammed into her, pain, exhaustion, hunger so sharp it twisted her stomach. The others felt it too. She could see it in the way they all turned at once, drawn to him, to the pull of it.

Rook reached for the wall and missed, his hand slipping before he caught it the second time, fingers locking tight like it was the only thing keeping him upright.

Cassian moved first.

Of course he did.

His speed made the distance meaningless, already there, already lifting, already guiding Rook to the couch with practiced control.

Rook sagged into it, heavy and unsteady, his weight giving out the moment he didn’t have to hold it anymore.

The bond filled with it.

The thirst. The hollow ache. The bone-deep exhaustion.

It pressed into Liora until breathing felt like work.

Then the chime rang.

Too bright. Too cheerful.

Always too wrong.

PIZZA PARTY

Food appeared instantly.

Pizza boxes spread across the table, the scent of grease and melted cheese filling the room. Soda and snacks followed, too much, too fast, like a reward for participation.

Like he hadn’t just been dragged back half-dead.

Liora’s stomach turned as the bond flickered with confusion, anger, something darker building underneath, not just from her, but from all of them.

Then another chime.

SHARE YOUR DREAMS

Silence settled over the room, thick and dangerous.

Liora didn’t wait.

She slipped between Cassian and Rook on the couch, taking control before the moment could fracture further. She cracked open a soda and pressed it into Rook’s hand like it was normal, like this was something they had done a hundred times before.

“Drink,” she said, softer than she meant to.

He obeyed, barely.

“I’ll go first,” she added brightly, forcing just enough nerves into her voice to sell it.

Cassian’s approval brushed the bond, subtle but unmistakable.

She hated how much she felt it.

This wasn’t a date.

It was survival.

Thalen moved quietly in the background, handing out plates, shaping the moment into something that almost felt real.

Almost.

“Growing up… I always thought I’d have a family someday.” Liora let out a small laugh, careful, controlled, her gaze moving between them. “Marriage. Kids. You know how it goes.”

Rook gave a dry, broken laugh. “I just want to live.”

The bond tightened hard around that, instinctive, protective, like something shared between them without needing words.

Thalen leaned in slightly, his presence steady, pushing calm through the chaos. “An island,” he said quietly. “That was always mine. Somewhere far from all of this. No corruption. No one pulling the strings.”

His gaze met hers, warm and certain.

A promise.

She felt it before she meant to, a small, quiet reaction she couldn’t fully hide.

Rook started eating, slow and careful, like even that cost him.

Kael didn’t touch his food.

He stared at the table instead, jaw tight, something darker building behind his eyes.

“I want this to burn.”

The shock hit instantly.

Invisible to the cameras.

Violent through the bond.

Liora flinched.

Kael didn’t.

He just sat there, taking it.

Cassian stepped in closer, pulling Liora against him in a move that read protective to the audience and calculated to her.

“My dream?” he said smoothly, his mouth near her ear. “To leave this place…”

His lips brushed her ear just enough to sell it.

“…and spoil you.”

The words were for the cameras.

Her body didn’t get the memo.

Her heart kicked hard, traitorous and immediate.

Liora laughed, light and easy, pushing him away before it could settle, needing distance from something that felt too convincing.

The cameras saw romance.

The bond didn’t.

They felt war.

The chime rang again.

THE BRIDE MAY CHOOSE HER BED PARTNER

Liora didn’t hesitate.

She needed calm. Needed something steady in this storm tearing through her. She needed.....

“Thalen.”

The name left her before she could think it through.

Before she could calculate.

Before she could stop it.

FAVORITISM DETECTED

Thalen dropped to the floor. His head hit the polished wood floor hard.

His body arched as the shock tore through him, violent and unrelenting, his muscles locking and convulsing.

The bond exploded with it.

Pain. Raw. Endless.

Liora screamed. “STOP!”

It didn’t.

His body arched again, slammed down again, over and over until—

He went still.

Too still.

Her breath shattered. “No…”

The wall moved again.

Same sound. Same mechanism.

And then he was gone.

Just like that.

Gone.

Liora stood frozen, her entire body shaking, tears burning but forced back.

Because the cameras were still watching.

“You told me to choose,” she said, her voice sharp, though it broke at the edges.

This time, the voice answered her. Likely nothing that would ever make it to air, but clear enough that she understood exactly where she stood.

CHOICE IS LIMITED

A harsh laugh tore out of her. “Fine.”

Her hands curled into fists. “Then you pick.”

She dropped onto the couch between Rook and Cassian, the impact harder than she intended, though neither of them moved from it. She barely registered the difference in size, the difference in strength, how small she felt between them.

Rook shifted slightly beside her, weak but still there, his hand brushing her arm in something that felt like reassurance.

The bond echoed it.

Hope.

Fragile. Unsteady. But there.

If he could survive this, then maybe Thalen could too.

Liora turned her head, really looking at Rook this time. Everything about him screamed pain. A powerful werewolf brought this low, barely holding himself together.

And Thalen…

Gentle. Controlled. Steady.

How was he supposed to survive what Rook barely had?

The scream built in her chest, but she swallowed it down hard.

Cassian’s fingers closed around her hand, deliberate and controlled, threading through hers in a way that pulled her attention back to him whether she wanted it or not.

She turned.

Looked into his eyes.

Searching.

Hoping.

Even through the bond, he gave her nothing. Guarded. Measured. Always thinking three steps ahead.

Her eyes stung, the realization hitting harder than she wanted it to.

Foolish.

Still hoping for something real from a vampire who had never pretended to be anything but dangerous.

His cool hand brushed lightly across her cheek, his expression softening just enough to sell the moment.

“It’s going to be fine,” he said.

The words were gentle.

The calculation behind them wasn’t.

Kael pushed to his feet, pacing as tension rolled off him in waves, sharp and restless, barely contained.

The room felt like it was holding its breath.

IT HAS BEEN VOTED: THE VAMPIRE

Kael let out a low, dangerous sound. “Of course.”

He turned away, pacing harder now, his energy building with nowhere to go.

Rook curled in on himself beside her, exhaustion finally winning as his head tipped back and his eyes closed.

Sleep.

At last.

Cassian rose slowly.

That same sharp, certain smile was already in place as he held out his hand to her, like he knew exactly what she would do.

Like he knew she had already decided.

And he was right.

Liora stood.

Took his hand.

Because this wasn’t about desire anymore.

Or connection.

Or even survival.

It was strategy.

Because this wasn’t a TV show.

It was ownership.