Breaking The Blood Bond

Questions Without Answers

When Lana returned home, she found her mother in the kitchen preparing dinner.

“Go change your clothes, sweetheart. Then come eat.”

Lana nodded and went upstairs.

A few minutes later, she returned and sat at the dining table with her parents.

For a while, everything felt normal.

The familiar clink of forks against plates filled the quiet room. Her mother asked about school, and her father mentioned something about work. Lana answered when expected, but her mind was somewhere else.

There was something she needed to know.

“I want to ask you something.”

Her parents looked at her.

“Why did you adopt me?”

Her mother froze, the serving spoon still in her hand.

For a moment, she said nothing. Then she set the spoon down and exchanged a quick glance with Lana's father.

“When I first saw you at the orphanage,” her mother finally said, “you were sitting all alone.”

Her voice softened.

“You weren't crying. You weren't asking for anyone. You were just sitting there, looking at everyone as if you were waiting for someone to come back.”

A faint smile touched her lips.

“Something about you pulled me toward you. I can't explain it. I just looked at you and thought…”

She paused, her eyes shining.

That girl is going to be my daughter.

Lana listened quietly.

Her father studied her face.

“Why are you asking about this now?”

Lana hesitated.

“Did you ever try to find my biological parents?”

Her parents exchanged another glance.

This time, her father answered.

“Yes. We asked the people at the orphanage everything they knew.”

Lana's fingers tightened around her fork.

“What did they tell you?”

“They said someone had found you and brought you there. You didn't remember anything except your name.”

Lana looked up.

“Nothing else?”

Her father shook his head.

“Nothing. There was only one unusual thing with you.”

He glanced at her neck.

“That strange necklace you were wearing. It was the only personal belonging you had when they found you.”

Lana's expression changed.

The necklace.

The one thing that had been with her when she was found.

She had never thought much about it before. It had always been part of her life, something she wore without questioning where it had come from.

Now, it felt like a piece of a puzzle she didn't yet know how to solve.

Lana lowered her eyes to her plate.

So her parents didn't know.

Nothing about where she came from.

Nothing about who her real parents were.

Nothing about why she had been found alone.

She took a bite of steak, pretending the answers didn't matter.

But inside, the questions kept multiplying.

Who had left her at the orphanage?

Why had she been sent to the human world?

And what did the necklace have to do with it?

After a moment, she forced a small smile.

“Anyway, I signed up for a school camping trip today.”

Her father raised an eyebrow.

“A camping trip?”

“Yes. Next weekend.”

“Where?”

“Kelowna Forest.”

His expression immediately changed.

“You're going there?”

Lana nodded.

“Are you going alone?”

“Sarah is coming with me. So are our classmates and teachers.”

Her father frowned.

“That's a dangerous place.”

Lana quickly explained.

“We'll be staying at a designated campsite. There'll be teachers and supervisors with us the entire time. We're not going off on our own.”

Her father still looked unconvinced.

Before he could argue, her mother spoke.

“Let her go. She's eighteen now. She deserves to enjoy a trip with her friends.”

She smiled at Lana.

“Just be careful, sweetheart. And make some new friends.”

Lana returned her smile.

“I will.”

But as she lowered her eyes to her plate, one thought remained in her mind.

I have to find that Alpha.

Somewhere in Kelowna Forest, there might be a way back to the world where her life had begun.

And if she found it, she might finally discover who she was supposed to be.

The weekend finally arrived.

Early that morning, students gathered outside Calderon High, where buses, teachers, and supervisors were already waiting. Laughter filled the air as everyone checked their bags and searched for their friends.

Lana stood beside Sarah near the buses.

A few minutes later, William arrived carrying a large backpack.

“Ready?” he asked.

Sarah smiled.

“We've been waiting for you.”

Mark and Adrian stood a short distance behind him.

The moment Lana saw Adrian, her attention shifted.

There he was.

For a second, the noise around her seemed to fade. A smile touched her lips before she could stop it, and her heart began to race.

Adrian felt it.

The sudden warmth reached him through the bond, catching him off guard.

His expression darkened.

He turned his face away.

That damn bond.

He hated how easily her emotions slipped through the invisible connection between them. He hated that a simple smile from her could stir something inside him that he couldn't control.

Most of all, he hated that he had begun to recognize her feelings before she said a word.

The students began boarding the buses.

Lana and Sarah found seats together near the middle. William placed his backpack in the overhead compartment and settled a few rows away.

But halfway through the journey, he approached them.

“Sarah, can we switch seats?”

Sarah raised an eyebrow.

“Why?”

“I need to talk to Lana about something.”

Sarah looked at Lana, then at William. A knowing smile spread across her face.

“Of course you do.”

She stood and moved to another seat.

William sat beside Lana and handed her a can of Coke.

Lana looked at it curiously.

“What's this for?”

“Nothing. I thought you might be thirsty.”

She accepted it, still watching him suspiciously.

“William, what did you find?”

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a folded map.

“I spent some time in the library yesterday. I found an old map of Kelowna Forest and made a copy.”

He opened it between them.

Lana leaned closer.

William pointed to a section marked near a winding trail.

“If the story the elders told me is accurate, the Alpha's house should be somewhere near one of the main paths. He would have needed a way to travel in and out of the forest without too much difficulty.”

He traced his finger along the marked area.

“This section is our best starting point. It's roughly five square kilometers.”

Lana studied the map.

“Five square kilometers is still a lot of ground to cover.”

“It's better than searching the entire forest.”

She looked up at him.

“And if the house isn't there?”

“Then we'll look somewhere else.”

His answer was simple, but his expression told her he understood what was at stake.

Lana folded the map carefully.

“Then that's where we'll start.”

For the first time since discovering the truth about her origins, she felt that she was moving toward something instead of merely reacting to one terrible revelation after another.

But someone else had noticed their conversation.

Adrian watched them from across the bus.

His eyes narrowed as Lana leaned toward William, smiling at something he had said.

An unfamiliar tightness formed in Adrian's chest.

Jealousy.

The feeling was so sudden that he almost dismissed it as anger.

Why should I care?

William was her Keeper. He was supposed to protect her.

There was no reason for the sight to bother him.

And yet it did.

Adrian looked away, clenching his jaw.

That bond is bringing us closer and closer.

He pressed a hand against his chest.

But I won't let anyone decide my life for me.

Not even fate itself.

After several hours, the buses finally arrived at the campsite.

The students climbed out, stretching their legs and carrying their bags and equipment toward the designated area.

One of the supervisors gathered everyone together.

“You can set up your tents here. Once you're finished, you'll have some free time to explore the campsite, but stay within the designated area. Nobody goes into the deeper forest without permission. Is that understood?”

A chorus of agreement followed.

The students quickly began setting up their tents.

William worked on the tent while Sarah helped him. Nearby, Mark was assisting another student with a stubborn tent pole.

Lana glanced around the campsite.

Then she noticed Adrian.

He was standing alone, looking toward the tree line.

Her heart skipped.

This is my chance.

She glanced at Sarah.

“I need some air.”

Sarah paused, studying her face.

Then her gaze shifted toward Adrian.

Understanding dawned in her eyes.

“Of course you do,” she murmured.

Lana gave her a warning look.

“Don't.”

Sarah raised both hands innocently.

“I didn't say anything.”

Lana turned away before her friend could tease her further.

She walked toward the back of the campsite, moving slowly enough not to attract attention. The voices of the other students grew quieter behind her as she stepped beneath the trees.

She stopped in a small clearing.

Sunlight filtered through the branches, scattering across the ground. The air smelled of damp earth and pine, and the forest seemed almost peaceful.

For a moment, Lana forgot about the Blood Bond, the approaching deadline, and the terrifying world she had only recently discovered.

She thought only of Adrian.

She had spent so long wondering whether he might feel something for her that she had almost convinced herself she should give up.

But now he was here.

And for once, she had the chance to speak to him without a crowd surrounding them.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

He'll come.

A small smile appeared on her lips.

“One…”

She waited.

“Two…”

The forest remained silent.

“Three…”

She continued counting, feeling a little ridiculous.

What if he didn't follow her?

What if he didn't even notice she was gone?

She opened her eyes briefly, then closed them again.

Come on, Adrian.

Just this once, notice me.

Back at the campsite, Adrian suddenly realized Lana was no longer among the students.

His gaze swept across the tents.

Then he saw a gap between the trees where she had disappeared.

She was alone.

His pulse quickened.

Finally.

For a moment, he remained still, fighting the hesitation that had been growing inside him.

He remembered the mission.

He remembered why he had come to the human world in the first place.

Lana was the girl he had been sent to kill.

The girl whose existence threatened the plans of powerful people in his world.

He had already failed once.

He wouldn't fail again.

Adrian turned toward the trees and followed her.

Lana reached ten.

“Ten.”

She waited one more moment.

Then she heard footsteps behind her.

“Hey.”

A smile immediately appeared on her face.

She had known he would come.

At least, she had hoped he would.

She kept her eyes closed for another second, gathering the courage she had been searching for all morning.

Then, with a quiet, almost playful voice, she whispered,

“What took you so long?”

She slowly turned around.

And there he was.

Adrian.

Standing only a few steps away.

For one suspended moment, neither of them moved.

Lana saw the boy she had been hoping to get closer to.

Adrian saw the girl he had followed into the forest to kill.

Neither knew how close they were to destroying the future the other was desperately trying to protect.