what are you doing in here 17
910 Words
Chapter 17
Drago POV
The halls were quieter than usual. Too quiet. My boots echoed against the stone floor as I made my way toward the archives, each step heavy with the thoughts circling my mind. I hadn’t slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Amber… and heard Joy’s voice.
Mate bond. I clenched my jaw.
“No,” I muttered under my breath. “Not possible.”
But that didn’t stop the unease crawling beneath my skin. The archive doors came into view, tall and carved with markings older than most of the pack itself. Whatever answers I was going to find, they would be in there. I reached for the handle, and the door opened from the other side. Joy froze. So did I. For a moment, neither of us said a word. We just stared at each other, the tension snapping tight between us instantly.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said flatly.
Joy recovered quickly, lifting her chin slightly. “I could say the same thing.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re here for the same reason.”
It wasn’t a question. She didn’t deny it.
“Move,” she said, gesturing for me to step aside.
I didn’t. Instead, I crossed my arms. “You first. Why are you really here?”
Her expression hardened. “Don’t start this, Drago.”
“Oh, I’m starting it,” I shot back. “Because yesterday, you threw out something insane and then just walked away like it was nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” she snapped.
“Then explain it.”
Her jaw tightened, and for a second, I thought she might actually refuse. But then she exhaled sharply, running a hand through her hair.
“I felt something,” she admitted. “When they were near each other.”
“I know,” I said. “You already said that.”
“No,” she shook her head. “You didn’t listen.”
That hit a nerve. “I’m listening now.”
Joy held my gaze, and whatever she saw must have convinced her, because her tone shifted, less defensive, more serious.
“It wasn’t just a feeling,” she said quietly. “It was energy. Strong… ancient. And it wasn’t coming from just one of them.”
A cold weight settled in my chest.,“You’re saying it came from both,” I said.
“Yes.”
I let out a slow breath, trying to keep my thoughts steady. “That still doesn’t mean a mate bond.”
“I know that,” she snapped. “I never said it was one, I said it felt like one.”
“Those are two very different things,” I growled.
“And you think I don’t know that?” she fired back. “I’ve spent my entire life understanding bonds, Drago. That’s why this is bothering me.”,Silence fell between us again, heavier this time. Because she wasn’t wrong. Joy didn’t panic over nothing.
“What do you think it is?” I finally asked.
She hesitated. That alone made my stomach tighten.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I think it’s something older than mate bonds. Something tied to bloodlines… or power.”
I stared at her.,“That’s not exactly comforting.”
“Do you think this situation is supposed to be comforting?” she shot back.,I didn’t answer. Because it wasn’t. Not even close. I dragged a hand down my face, exhaling slowly before stepping past her into the archives. “Then we stop guessing.”
Joy followed immediately. “Finally, something we agree on.”
The doors closed behind us with a heavy thud. The archive was dimly lit, lined with towering shelves filled with ancient books, scrolls, and records that hadn’t been touched in decades, maybe longer. The air itself felt thick with history. If there were answers, they were here. Somewhere.
“We start with old bonds,” Joy said, already moving toward one of the deeper sections. “Anything before modern mate laws.”
“I’ll check bloodline records,” I replied. “If this is tied to lineage, there might be something recorded.”
We split off without another word, both of us moving quickly but with purpose. Minutes passed. Then longer. The only sounds were pages turning and the occasional shift of movement between shelves. Nothing. Frustration was starting to build when,
“Drago.”
Joy’s voice cut through the silence. Sharp. Tense.
I was moving before I even realized it, rounding the corner toward her. She was standing completely still, a large, worn book open in her hands. Her face had gone pale.
“What is it?” I demanded.
She didn’t look at me. “Tell me that’s not what I think it is,” she whispered.,I stepped closer, my eyes dropping to the page.
Symbols., Old ones. Ones I hadn’t seen since I was a child being warned about things we weren’t supposed to mess with. And beneath them, a single phrase. My chest tightened as I read it.
“Bound at birth…” The air in the room seemed to shift. I looked up at Joy slowly.
“That’s not possible,” I said, but even to my own ears, it sounded less like certainty… and more like denial. Joy finally met my gaze.
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
- Writer
