CHAPTER 18 — The Pull of the Bond
716 Words
Mirabel woke before dawn, her heartbeat thundering loud enough to drown out the quiet of the pack house. Sweat clung to her skin, her breath coming in sharp, ragged bursts. She pressed her palm to her chest, trying to steady the wild rhythm inside her.
The dream again.
The same dream that had haunted her for nights.
A forest.
A burning moon.
And Lucian’s voice—calling her name like a command, like a promise, like a bond she could not break.
She dragged herself out of bed, but the moment her feet touched the floor, a sharp pulse shot through her wrist. She gasped, clutching it. The mark—the faint silver streak Lucian’s healing had left on her skin—glowed softly, humming beneath her fingers.
No matter how she tried to deny it, one truth refused to let her breathe:
She was tied to him. Bound. Claimed.
A soft knock on the door made her jump.
“Mirabel?” Lucian’s voice slipped through the crack—deep, calm, warm enough to melt the frost in her chest.
Of course it was him.
He always came when the mark glowed.
Mirabel swallowed. “I’m fine,” she lied.
The door opened anyway.
Lucian filled the doorway, tall and impossibly composed, dressed in black like the darkness itself had shaped him. His silver eyes found her immediately—sharp, searching, too intense to hold for long.
“You called for me.” His voice was low, almost accusing.
“I didn’t,” she whispered.
“Yes, you did.” He stepped closer. “Your soul did.”
Mirabel stepped back, but the moment she did, the mark burned—hot, insistent, alive. A whimper escaped her lips.
Lucian’s expression shifted. The Alpha disappeared; the man remained.
Gently, he reached out and took her wrist in his hand. “It’s reacting again.”
“It’s reacting to you,” Mirabel shot back before she could stop herself.
Silence.
His thumb brushed her glowing mark, and her knees nearly buckled. Heat shot through her veins, the bond stirring, hungry and demanding. Lucian inhaled sharply, jaw clenching.
“This shouldn’t be happening,” he muttered. “Not this soon.”
Mirabel’s voice trembled. “What does that mean?”
Lucian lifted his eyes to hers—no longer guarded, no longer distant. His voice came out rough, honest, dangerous.
“It means the bond is strengthening.
It means you’re becoming mine… faster than I expected.”
Her breath caught.
Her heart stuttered.
The world tilted.
She pulled her hand back as though burned. “I didn’t choose this.”
“You think I did?” Lucian stepped closer, the air between them crackling. “You think I wanted the moon to bind me to a woman who still dreams of the man who betrayed her?”
Mirabel flinched.
Lucian’s eyes softened instantly, regret flickering across his face. “Mirabel…”
She shook her head. “Don’t. Just—don’t.”
She tried to walk past him, but Lucian caught her arm—gently, carefully, as if she were made of glass.
His voice was barely a whisper. “Tell me what you dreamed.”
Mirabel hesitated, her chest tightening. “You,” she whispered. “I dreamed of you.”
Something fierce sparked in his eyes.
“And what was I doing?” he asked softly.
Mirabel swallowed. “Calling me.”
Lucian’s breath hitched. “Then maybe you should listen.”
Before she could respond, a howl ripped through the morning air—warning, sharp, urgent.
Lucian’s head snapped toward the window. “An intruder.”
His voice changed instantly—Alpha mode.
Commanding. Deadly.
He turned to her. “Stay inside. Lock the door. Don’t trust anyone who isn’t me.”
“Is it Esther?” Mirabel whispered.
His jaw tightened. “No. Worse.”
He didn’t explain.
He didn’t wait.
Lucian shifted into his wolf mid-stride, dark fur erupting as his massive form leapt from the balcony with a snarl.
Mirabel stood frozen, heart racing, her glowing mark pulsing like a heartbeat that wasn’t hers.
Whatever—or whoever—was out there…
It was coming for her.
And she could no longer deny it:
Her rebirth had awakened enemies she never knew existed.
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- Writer
