CHAPTER 3 — The Bond She Didn’t Choose
853 Words
Mirabel didn’t sleep that night.
How could she?
A stranger with silver eyes…
A man who wasn’t human…
A man claiming her as his mate…
had saved her, bound her, and placed her in a room she didn’t recognize.
Every sound in the house made her jump.
Every shift of the wind made her think he was coming back.
She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stop the shaking.
But it wasn’t the fear that bothered her most.
It was him.
His presence still lingered on her skin like heat.
His voice echoed in the back of her mind, the way he said little one, the way he spoke as if fate itself had obeyed his call.
She hated that he made her feel anything at all.
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A soft knock sounded on the door.
Mirabel tensed. “Don’t come in!”
The door opened anyway.
Lucian stepped inside without hesitation—calm, tall, and radiating a quiet dominance that filled the room instantly. His eyes swept over her, taking in her tense posture, her trembling shoulders, the hurt in her eyes.
Something flickered across his expression. Guilt? Anger? Desire? She couldn’t tell.
“You should be resting,” he said.
Mirabel glared at him. “You didn’t give me a reason to feel safe enough to sleep.”
Lucian studied her for a long moment, his silver eyes unreadable.
“You’re safe here.”
She laughed bitterly. “Says the man who kidnapped me.”
Lucian’s jaw tightened. “I did not kidnap you. If I had left you there, you would be a corpse.”
“And now what? I’m supposed to thank you?” Her voice shook. “I never asked for this. I never asked for you.”
Lucian’s gaze sharpened—cold, controlled.
“You’re alive because of me. And because of that, your life is tied to mine.”
“That’s not how things work!” she shouted.
“For humans,” he agreed. “Not for my kind.”
Mirabel swallowed hard. “Your kind? What does that even mean?”
Lucian stepped closer. She stepped back. He followed until her back hit the wall.
He lifted his hand slowly—giving her time to stop him—but she froze, breath catching as he brushed his fingers lightly down her cheek.
Her pulse stumbled.
Her skin tingled.
And something inside her… responded.
His eyes darkened at the reaction.
“You feel it too,” he murmured.
“Stop…” she whispered.
“I can’t.” His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. “And neither can you.”
She shoved his hand away, heart pounding. “You think I want to feel anything for you? You’re wrong. You’re—”
“A monster?” he supplied calmly.
Mirabel blinked. “You said it, not me.”
Lucian’s lips curled slightly—not quite a smile, more like a warning.
“Monsters don’t save dying girls,” he said. “They watch them die.”
Mirabel shivered.
Lucian exhaled slowly, as if trying to steady himself.
“Mirabel,” he said quietly. “The bond is new. Raw. Your emotions… your heartbeat… even your fear… I feel all of it. It pulls at me.”
She blinked. “You feel… what I feel?”
“Every spike of fear,” he said. “Every burst of anger. Every lie.”
His eyes locked onto hers.
“And every time your heart races when I’m near.”
Mirabel felt her cheeks burn. “It’s called fear.”
Lucian stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Your fear doesn’t smell like fear.”
Her breath caught. “You’re insane.”
“Perhaps.”
The air between them thickened—heavy, electric, undeniable.
But then Lucian pulled back unexpectedly.
Mirabel blinked in surprise.
“I won’t push this bond on you,” he said quietly. “Not yet.”
“Not yet?” she echoed sharply. “There won’t be a ‘later.’ I don’t want this. I don’t want you.”
Something in Lucian’s eyes hardened, the softness disappearing.
“Want it or not, the bond exists,” he said. “And denying it won’t break it.”
Mirabel’s throat tightened. “Then I’ll break it myself.”
Lucian’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“Try,” he murmured. “And you will learn exactly how strong fate is.”
A chill went down her spine.
Lucian stepped back toward the door, his voice low and final.
“Stay in this room. Don’t leave. The pack is restless… and you’re not ready to face what’s outside those walls.”
“I’m not your prisoner,” she whispered.
He looked at her with those silver eyes—cold, beautiful, powerful.
“No,” he said softly.
“You’re my mate.”
And then he left, closing the door behind him.
Mirabel stared after him, her heart racing, her mind spinning.
Mate.
Bond.
Fate.
She pressed a shaking hand to her chest.
Whatever she had become…
Whatever she was tied to now…
There was no escaping him.
Not yet.
Not ever?
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- Writer
