The Bond Refuses to Let Her Go
1076 Words
“What exactly did you do to me?”
The knife trembled in Isabella’s hand.
Rain hammered the windows hard enough to shake the glass while the kitchen lights flickered above them.
Luciano stood motionless across from her.
Bleeding.
Exhausted.
And somehow still looking at her like she was the only thing in the world capable of destroying him.
His voice stayed low.
“I tried to save your life.”
“That is not an answer.”
“It is the only one I have.”
Isabella laughed bitterly.
The sound cracked halfway through.
“Do you even hear yourself?” she whispered. “You signed me away to people who wanted me erased.”
Luciano’s jaw tightened.
“I thought the Council would suppress the bond and release you afterward.”
“And when they didn’t?”
Silence.
That silence said enough.
The knife shook harder in her grip.
“You looked for me?” she asked quietly.
“Yes.”
“For five years?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes burned.
“Then why didn’t you find me?”
Luciano finally looked away.
That scared her more than anger would have.
“Because by the time I understood what they had really done,” he said quietly, “you were already gone.”
The room fell silent except for the storm.
Isabella wanted to hate him completely.
But nothing about this felt simple anymore.
That was the worst part.
The mark at her neck burned again.
Harder this time.
Pain shot suddenly through her chest.
Isabella gasped and stumbled backward against the counter.
The knife slipped from her hand and clattered across the floor.
Luciano reached her instantly.
She tried to shove him away on instinct.
The moment the distance opened between them, agony ripped violently through her body.
A strangled cry escaped her throat before she could stop it.
Luciano caught her before she collapsed.
“Isabella.”
Heat surged beneath her skin like fire spreading through her veins.
Her breathing became uneven.
The mark pulsed bright beneath her neck.
Luciano’s expression darkened immediately.
“The bond is destabilizing.”
She gripped his shirt hard enough to wrinkle the bloodstained fabric.
“What does that mean?”
His arm tightened around her waist.
“It means separation is triggering the bond.”
Fear crawled into her chest.
“No.”
Luciano looked grim now.
“The awakening happened too violently. Your body is trying to reconnect the severed bond.”
Another wave of pain slammed through her.
Isabella doubled over with a broken gasp.
Every nerve inside her body felt wrong.
And the worst part?
The pain eased slightly when Luciano pulled her closer.
Relief spread through her body immediately.
Her stomach twisted violently at the feeling.
She hated it.
Hated herself for responding to him like this after everything.
Luciano noticed the tears gathering in her eyes.
“Look at me.”
“I hate this,” she whispered.
His voice dropped lower.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.” Her breathing shook harder. “I hate that this feels safer.”
The words seemed to hit him directly in the chest.
For one second, Luciano looked genuinely shattered.
Then alarms exploded through the estate.
Sharp red lights flooded the hallway outside.
Both of them froze.
A voice echoed through hidden speakers.
“Perimeter breach detected.”
Luciano’s entire body changed instantly.
He released Isabella carefully before reaching for the gun at his side.
Another voice followed quickly.
“Unknown movement approaching eastern territory lines.”
Luciano cursed under his breath.
Isabella’s pulse spiked painfully.
“The Council?”
“Too fast,” Luciano said. “This is something else.”
More alarms erupted downstairs.
Heavy footsteps thundered through the estate.
One of Luciano’s guards appeared in the kitchen doorway seconds later, breathing hard.
“Alpha.”
Luciano turned sharply.
“What happened?”
The guard’s face had gone pale.
“Execution wolves crossed the mountain border.”
The room went cold.
Isabella felt it immediately.
The fear.
Not from the guard.
From Luciano.
She had not thought men like Luciano feared anything.
The guard swallowed hard.
“There are at least twelve confirmed.”
Luciano’s grip tightened around the weapon.
“That many means the Council already issued authorization.”
Isabella looked between them.
“What are execution wolves?”
Neither answered immediately.
That silence terrified her.
The guard finally spoke.
“They hunt bloodline threats.”
Another sharp wave of pain tore through Isabella suddenly.
She grabbed the counter hard enough to steady herself.
Luciano noticed immediately.
His expression hardened.
“They’re getting closer.”
The guard looked confused. “Who?”
Luciano’s eyes stayed on Isabella.
“The bond can feel hostile intent.”
The realization settled heavily into the room.
The execution wolves were close enough for the bond to react already.
Another alarm blared.
Then the lights suddenly cut out.
Darkness swallowed the kitchen.
Isabella inhaled sharply.
A second later, emergency generators activated, flooding the room in dim red light.
The atmosphere instantly felt worse.
Like the house itself knew something terrible was coming.
Luciano stepped toward her again.
“Can you walk?”
“Yes.”
It was a lie.
He knew it immediately.
But before he could argue, pain ripped through Isabella’s chest again, harder this time.
She collapsed forward with a cry.
Luciano caught her instantly.
The relief that followed his touch made her want to scream.
She buried her face against his shoulder for one humiliating second before forcing herself to pull back.
But her body refused to cooperate.
The bond tightened violently.
Luciano exhaled slowly, like this was hurting him too.
“You need to stay close to me.”
“I would rather die.”
Something flickered across his face.
Not anger.
Something sadder.
“Do not say that again.”
The guard shifted uneasily near the doorway.
“Alpha, the eastern defenses won’t hold long.”
Luciano nodded once.
Then his eyes returned to Isabella.
“We’re moving to the lower quarters.”
Her stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“Because if the execution wolves enter this estate,” Luciano said quietly, “the safest place for you is beside me.”
The words should not have affected her.
But they did.
And that terrified her more than the alarms.
Another violent crash echoed somewhere outside the estate.
Closer now.
The execution wolves had arrived before sunrise.
- Writer
