Chapter 4: When the Bond Bleeds
553 Words
The forest changed before the danger appeared.
Elara felt it beneath her skin.
A shift.
Wrong.
The air grew heavy, dragging with a scent that didn’t belong—rot, damp earth… and something metallic.
Blood.
Old.
Corrupted.
Kael stopped.
Not abruptly.
Just… still.
Elara halted beside him, her senses sharpening.
The bond pulsed.
Stronger now.
She hated it.
Hated that she could feel him like this—solid, constant, unavoidable.
A growl broke the silence.
Low.
Dragging.
Elara’s gaze snapped forward.
Something moved between the trees.
Then it stepped into the moonlight.
Her breath stilled.
It looked like a wolf.
But it wasn’t.
Its body was too thin, ribs pressing against patchy fur. Skin showed beneath, gray and stretched. Its limbs bent wrong, like something had broken and forced them back.
Its eyes—
Black.
Completely black.
Her wolf recoiled.
“What is that?” she whispered.
“Tainted,” Kael said.
The word settled heavily.
The creature snarled—hollow, unnatural.
Another emerged.
Then another.
Three.
“They don’t belong to any pack,” Elara said.
“Tainted,” Kael said.
The word settled heavily.
The creature snarled—hollow, unnatural.
Another emerged.
Then another.
Three.
“They don’t belong to any pack,” Elara said.
“No.”
The first lunged.
Fast.
Too fast.
Kael intercepted it mid-air, slamming it into the ground with crushing force.
The impact echoed.
The wolf hit—
Still.
Then it moved again.
“It’s not dead,” Elara said.
“It won’t be.”
The creature twisted, bones snapping as it forced itself upright.
Elara didn’t hesitate.
She struck.
Clean.
Direct.
The blade cut deep.
The wolf staggered—
But didn’t fall.
“What the hell—”
The second attacked from the side.
Elara turned—
Too late—
Kael was there.
He slammed it into the ground, harder this time.
For a moment—
They were close.
Too close.
The bond surged.
Heat flooded her veins.
Sharp.
Distracting.
Kael stilled.
Just for a second.
He felt it too.
That hesitation—
Cost them.
The third wolf lunged.
Straight at her.
Impact.
Claws tore into her side.
Pain exploded through her body as she hit the ground hard.
Her breath broke—
And something snapped.
Not bone.The bond...
Kael froze.
Then turned.
The control in his expression vanished.
What replaced it—
Was something darker.
The air shifted violently.
Then he moved.
Feral.
The wolf didn’t stand a chance.
Kael tore through it with brutal precision, every movement lethal, every strike final.
The creature didn’t rise again.
Silence followed. Heavy, sharp.
Elara pushed herself up, her side burning.
Blood soaked through her clothes.
Kael stood a few feet away.
Still.
Too still.
His chest rose slowly, like he was forcing control back into something that didn’t want to be contained.
The bond pulsed again.
Different now.
Protective.
“What… were those?” she asked quietly.
“They shouldn’t exist.”
That didn’t help.
Elara looked at the bodies.
They weren’t still.
Not fully.
“They’re not dying.
"No.”
A pause.
"They’re spreading.”
A chill ran through her.
The bond pulsed again.
Harder.
A warning.
“Kael—”
A sound rose behind them.
Low.
Guttural.
Then another and another.
Many.
From the darkness—
Dozens of black eyes opened.
Watching.
Waiting.
Hungry.
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