The Elite's Mockery And The Hidden Bond
1386 Words
Chapter 3
The next morning, Elira stood in front of her closet, fingers brushing over the wrinkled fabric of her academy uniform.
She tugged at the sleeves, pulling them down to hide her wrist.
The mark was fading… but not gone.
Neither was the heat still lingering beneath her skin.
She wasn’t ready.
Not for the stares.
Not for the whispers.
Not for the questions she couldn’t answer.
But the academy didn’t pause for personal crises.
Classes continued.
And so did the rumors.
The hallways buzzed like angry wasps.
“Did you hear? She’s his mate.”
“Kael? With her?”
“No way. She probably faked it. That light thing? Too convenient.”
Elira kept her eyes low, her steps measured.
She didn’t need to hear the words.
She could feel them.
Judgment followed her like a shadow.
Then came a new voice.
Smooth. Mocking. Cold.
“Well, well. If it wasn’t for the academy’s little miracle.”
Elira turned.
A tall girl blocked her path flawless, composed, lethal. Platinum blonde braids crowned her head. Her eyes were sharp gold, glowing with Alpha pride.
“I’m Sienna,” she said, smiling like a predator. Transferred from the Northern Ridge. My father sits on the High Council.”
She stepped closer.
“You must be Elira. The mute healer. How… adorable.”
Lara emerged behind her, arms crossed, practically beaming.
“Careful, Sienna,” she mocked. “She might blind you with her sparkle.”
They laughed.
Elira moved to step aside, but Sienna’s hand lashed out, gripping her wrist.
Heat flashed through her skin.
Not magic.
The bond. Flaring. Warning.
Sienna yanked back her sleeve.
The crescent mark had faded to a ghost, but if you looked closely, it was still there.
Sienna’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re hiding something.”
Before Elira could move, a low voice cut through the corridor.
“Let her go.”
The hallway stilled.
Alpha Kael stood a few feet away, his silver gaze fixed on Sienna, sharp as a blade.
His power surged down the corridor like a winter wind.
Sienna smiled sweetly and let go. “Just saying hello, Alpha.”
Kael didn’t respond.
His eyes flicked to Elira’s wrist… then to her face.
His jaw clenched. Hard.
Without a word, he turned and walked off, but not before Elira noticed his fingers twitching at his sides.
He was trying not to go back.
Later, in the combat hall, the atmosphere was tense.
“Pair up,” Instructor Remi barked. Three-minute sparring. Precision. Control. No power flares.”
Elira stood at the edge of the room, hoping no one would notice her.
But fate had other plans.
Sienna strode toward her with a confident smirk. “Ready to play, little glow-worm?”
Elira stayed still.
“Or are you worried you’ll faint and fall into Alpha Kael’s arms again?”
The room chuckled.
Kael entered silently through the side door. His eyes landed on Elira immediately.
Remi raised a brow. “She can sit this one out.”
“No,” Kael said, his voice like stone. “Let her fight.”
Elira’s stomach twisted.
The bell rang.
Sienna struck first.
A blur of movement from her punch grazed Elira’s shoulder. Then a sweeping kick knocked her to the mat. Hard.
Laughter echoed. A few students clapped mockingly.
Sienna knelt beside her, voice low and venomous.
“Kael won’t want you once I show him what a real Luna looks like.”
Then pain.
A white-hot burst in Elira’s chest.
The bond flared.
Not gentle. Not warm.
It tore through her like fire in her veins.
Her breath hitched.
Her vision was blurred.
Her spine arched.
“Elira?” someone called out.
Sienna backed away, startled. “What the hell?”
Kael was already moving.
Elira collapsed.
He caught her mid-fall, cradling her against his chest. Her body burned like it was aflame.
“She’s overheating,” he growled. “The bond is reacting too fast. She’s not stabilizing. Get water. Now!”
No one moved.
Because they weren’t just seeing an instructor helping a student.
They saw Kael’s mask fall.
He wasn’t cold.
He wasn’t unaffected.
He was holding her like she was the only thing that mattered.
And everyone saw it.
Elira’s skin burned.
But it wasn’t just pain, it was something deeper. Something electric. A current rushing through her blood like wildfire.
Her chest rose too fast. Her limbs twitched, reaching for something she couldn’t name.
Warmth.
Safety.
Scent.
Kael.
The infirmary wasn’t safe anymore.
Too many eyes. Too many questions.
So Kael carried her himself down to the underground quarters reserved for elite warriors and instructors.
He kicked the door open and laid her on the bed, as if she were made of glass.
Her skin was hot to the touch. Her breath came in gasps. Sweat clung to her hairline.
“Come on,” he muttered, brushing damp strands from her forehead. “Don’t crash on me now.”
Her body had nearly shut down from the bond's pressure, and he’d felt every second of it. Like a blade twisting in his own chest.
His wolf had almost broken through. Almost shifted mid-combat in front of the academy.
His hands hovered above her.
Touching her would strengthen the bond.
Not touching her might kill her.
He growled under his breath and gave in.
He placed his hand over her chest just above her heart.
A soft golden glow bloomed beneath his palm.
Her breathing steadied.
Her heartbeat synced with his.
Kael closed his eyes, jaw clenched tight.
It was already too late.
They were bound.
Elira stirred.
Her eyelids fluttered open, and she blinked at the stone ceiling, smooth, dark, unfamiliar.
This wasn’t the infirmary.
Her body still tingled.
Then she felt his hand, resting on her chest.
Kael.
He sat beside her, shirt unbuttoned, hair tousled, his face a mask of restraint.
“You’re stabilizing,” he said quietly. “The bond was overloading your system.”
She stared at him.
“You collapsed because I was too close during the match,” he continued. “The connection’s intensifying faster than I expected.”
She wanted to ask why now? Why her?
Of course, she couldn’t.
But somehow, he knew.
“You unlocked your core power. That lit up the bond. Now your wolf… recognizes mine. Every moment we’re near each other, the pull tightens.”
He exhaled slowly, pain flickering in his gaze.
“I’ve been fighting it,” he admitted. “But I can’t anymore.”
Her eyes widened. Her lips parted.
Kael’s hand drifted away but lingered close.
“You feel it too,” he whispered. “Don’t you?”
She nodded, a single tear slipping down her cheek.
Not from fear.
From relief.
She wasn’t broken.
She wasn’t imagining it.
She wasn’t alone.
Kael reached forward again, brushing that tear away with his thumb.
The touch sent warmth spiraling through her entire body.
“Damn it,” he breathed. “I wasn’t supposed to care.”
His lips were dangerously close to hers.
Elira's breath hitched. Her fingers curled into the sheets.
Then
He pulled away like he’d been burned.
“This has to stop,” he growled, standing. “I’m your instructor.” If the council finds out if anyone finds out…
He trailed off.
Elira sat up, reached forward, and grabbed his wrist.
Her eyes said what her voice couldn’t:
Don’t walk away. Not again.
Kael stared at her torn, trembling, battling himself.
“I want to protect you,” he said. But every second I’m near you, I lose control. I can't think straight.”
The silence between them pulsed like a living thing.
Finally, she released him.
Kael stepped back into the shadows, voice low.
“Stay here tonight. No one will find you. You’re safe.”
Then he turned and left, slamming the door behind him.
Far across the academy…
Sienna flipped through an old file she’d swiped from the restricted archives.
Her golden eyes scanned line after line.
Adopted.
No recorded pack origin.
No bloodlines. No surname.
She smirked.
“Oh, Elira… You’re not just some mute girl with a trick. You’re a ghost. A mistake.”
She closed the file with a snap.
And mistakes?
Are meant to be erased.
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