Bloodbound

Promises Kept

I didn’t sleep that night.

I sat perched on my cot, clutching my bug-out bag like it was my last thread to sanity. A few outfits, hygiene essentials, and my spare boots—nothing fit for war. But I wasn’t planning to run.

Not without Heath.

Not while any of my people were still chained beneath this place.

I had already sent Ashley and Ron down the path toward freedom. I prayed to the Moon Goddess they made it. I prayed even harder for their unborn pup.

At exactly 4 a.m., hell broke loose.

Screams pierced the air—raw, shattering cries of pain and heartbreak. Not just any screams. Mating bond screams. A soul losing its other half.

I had made that sound once too. When they told me Elijah wasn’t coming home.

But now, I could do something about it.

I shot up from my bed, adrenaline drowning out fear. My bare feet padded down the hallways I’d come to know too well. The scent of iron clung to the air, and the whole manor shook with chaos—fighting, shouting, death.

No one noticed the girl slipping into the kitchen, slipping a butcher knife into her waistband.

Good.

The dungeon was worse than usual. The smell of rot made my stomach flip, but I kept moving.

“Heath!” I cried out, panic mounting.

“Chloe?” His voice was shredded from pain and disuse. “No—run! Get out of here!”

I reached the bars and nearly dropped to my knees. He looked barely alive, skin covered in bruises and fresh welts, wrists bleeding from silver shackles.

“We’re leaving together or not at all,” I said, voice trembling. “You hear me?”

He didn’t argue again. He just nodded, broken and barely holding on.

But there were no keys. No guards.

I turned, ready to run and find something to break the chains when a shadow detached itself from the hallway.

A man in black, eyes glittering with malice.

“Well, well,” he drawled. “Is this your little mate, boy? The broken orphan playing hero?”

I stepped between him and Heath, hand gripping the hilt of the knife. My heart thundered in my chest.

“If you so much as breathe wrong, I will gut you.”

He grinned. “I was sent to kill the mutt. But if this is his girl, maybe I take something more first. You the kind who likes to watch, kid? You should be.”

“Get the f**k away from her!” Heath bellowed, tugging against his chains until blood poured down his arms.

“Oh, I will take everything from you,” the assassin hissed. “Your parents, your pack, your mate. You’ll beg for death before I give it to you.”

I planted my feet. “You talk too much.”

He blinked, caught off guard.

Then he lunged.

I waited until the last second and slammed the knife upward, catching him just under the ribs. He howled. I yanked the blade out and pivoted, trying to s***h again, but he caught my arm and slammed me against the wall.

Stars exploded in my vision.

“You b***h!” he snarled, clutching his side.

Heath screamed my name, yanking so hard at the chains his skin sizzled.

I didn’t wait. I drove my knee into the man’s gut and stabbed again, this time low and fast. He fell to his knees with a grunt.

One more strike to the temple with the hilt of the knife and he was out cold.

Blood dripped from my hands.

“That was for my best friend,” I muttered. “And for every life you ruined.”

I turned to Heath, fumbling at the man's coat until I found the keys. My fingers shook as I unlocked his shackles.

He collapsed forward and I caught him with a sob.

“Are you okay?” I whispered.

“No,” he croaked. “But I will be.”

I helped him slide into a sweatshirt from my bag and rubbed Phantom scent on his pulse points to mask his trail.

“I owe you my life, Chloe,” he whispered as he leaned against me.

“No,” I said, tightening my grip on his arm. “We owe them hell.”

We limped up the stairs, unsure what waited above. The house was still in chaos. But then—someone stood in our path.

oh boy, not again.

Heath growled, pushing me behind him with what little strength he had left.

But the figure dropped to his knees. His shoulders shook.

“Brother?” Heath rasped.

The man pulled back his hood.

“Elijah,” I breathed.

He was alive.

“Elijah!” I cried, throwing myself into his arms. He caught me, holding me so tightly I felt the broken pieces inside me begin to knit back together.

The three of us stayed like that—just breathing. Just being real. Alive.

Elijah’s voice was hoarse. “We couldn’t wait for the Council. Not when we heard whispers that you two were still alive. Packs from all over—Red Willow, Iron Fang, the Eastern Ridge—joined us. We stormed the stronghold.”

He looked at me, hand cupping my cheek. “Your brother made it. He’s upstairs right now, making sure your path out is clear.”

Tears fell freely.

“I missed you so much,” Elijah whispered. “I died without you.”

“I have so many questions. They said you were both dead. Where have you been?”

“Jackson smuggled me out. I was badly injured. We took refuge in Red Willow until we could plan. We were told you both hadn't survived either. We have been training and waiting. Waiting for the right time.”

He stiffened. “And now we need to move.”

He reached for my hand. Heath gripped mine on the other side.

Together, we ran toward freedom.

Up the stairs, through corridors painted with blood and broken bodies.

At the door, someone was waiting.

“Little wolf!” Jackson’s arms caught me in a fierce hug, nearly knocking the air from my lungs.

“Jackson,” I choked out. “You’re okay!”

“I am now,” he said. “But we don’t have time. Darius and Alexa fled like cowards. But they’ll pay. What they did was an illegal overthrow. No Council approval. No trial. They murdered our families.”

He turned to Elijah. “We take back what’s ours. We rebuild"

“I want my piece of vengeance too,” Heath growled.

“You’ll get it,” Jackson promised.

“But first,” Elijah said firmly, “we get Chloe to safety.”

“I’m not leaving,” I snapped. “I killed a man tonight, and I’m ready to kill more. I’m not running.”

“Then let’s get upstairs,” Elijah said, pride flickering in his eyes. “You’re mine and you always were.”

Heath looked down at himself, bloody and bruised. “I’m not changing or showering. I want the Council to see what they did to me.”

“I’ve got my own battle scars to show,” I added.

“If it weren’t for Chloe and the Phantom I’d be dead,” Heath said quietly.

Elijah’s gaze sharpened. “Then let’s make sure they never hurt you again.”

Together, we stepped out into the dawn.

Whatever happened from here on out I had a family again. I would die defending them and they would for me.

“Guys one thing. Alexa is mine” I said firmly

All three smiled and agreed.