Twisted Bonds

Chapter 4

Morning light spilled across my room, soft and cold like it was afraid to touch me. The echo of last night’s laughter still clung to my skin. No matter how many times I blinked, I could still see the ring of faces around me, the dirt at my feet, the way the moonlight had turned my humiliation into a spectacle. Grandma Lyra was already downstairs grinding herbs. The scent of sage and smoke wrapped around the kitchen like armor.

Morning Grandma.

I said rushing out. Wait, come back dear.

“Eat,” she said without turning.

“I’m not hungry.”

“You will be. Wolves heal faster on a full stomach.”

Really Grandma ??

I almost laughed. Wolves. The word didn’t feel like mine anymore. I felt like I did not belong there again. Though I just laughed it out.

I took a little part of the food, just to please grandma though and headed out.

The walk to school seemed calm. The town looked normal enough, children played near the bakery, a radio hummed behind the shop windows,but i just knew that Eldergrove itself remembered what had happened to me.

Serena caught up halfway down the street, clutching two paper cups.

“I brought coffee,” she said carefully, like a peace offering.

“I don’t need pity.”

“It’s not a pity. It’s caffeine. You’re welcome.”

“ You are so sweet serena”

I couldn't keep it to myself I just had to let it out

At least you acknowledged me she smiled.

She always made me breathe a little easier.

And we made our way to the school.

Inside the school, the whispers continued i know it was too early for everyone to forget . I kept my head high, moving alongside Serena, but inside, every nerve felt raw. They had seen the video; I could tell by the way some of them smiled too fast, turned too slow, or stared for one heartbeat too long.

I mean, definitely people would record that night. Who wouldn't want to have a video of a public humiliation especially when it involves those who were great.

We reached the hallway near the older storage rooms, and I slowed down, I pulled Serena gently by the arm.

“Go ahead,” I whispered. “I’ll catch up.”

Serena frowned looking at me suspiciously

Ummm… where are you going to that you don't want me to know Aria ??

Just run along i'll catch up.

And she gave a small nod before disappearing around the corner. I stepped into the shadowed corridor, i just wantef to have some peace you know breathe in and out then carry on with my daily live.

……………

“…Too soon guys too f*****g soon She doesn’t need to know yet,” guysssssss. Not again.

Luca’s calm tone tried to temper the storm.

I looked above the wooden cabinet, behold it was Zane, Luca and Draven.

I wasn't sure of what they were arguing about again but I decided to stay still and listen cause I wanted to clarify things I heard last night. Who knows, maybe it will help me remember some things about them again.

“She’s not supposed to decide who gets to her first!” Draven’s voice spat through the door like sparks from a fire.

“Enough, Thornhart!” Zane’s growl reverberated against the walls. “This isn’t a game to you, she.

The word “game” made my whole body freeze. My stomach dropped.

“She’s going to choose. She always does. I’m not waiting for anyone to hand her to me,”

Draven’s words were sharp, like really really sharp do they know if people could hear them ??

I pressed my back against the wall, with my heart beating really fast then i remembered the mentioned something about “Bet?” I whispered under my breath.

“We agreed,” Zane continued, “Whoever wins her trust first… controls.”

Luca’s voice interjected, calm but strained. “It’s too early. She’s not ready for this. None of this is hers to hear.

My fingers scale through my bag as a wave of irritation and confusion hit me. How could they even think this was okay? How dare they plan my life like I was some pawn in their game?

“Zane, we have to be careful. If she finds out now…” Luca’s voice trailed, almost pleading.

“Too late,” Draven snapped. “She’ll hear eventually. Might as well get ahead.”

I turned to leave quietly, wishing I could disappear into the shadows and erase what I’d just heard from my mind.

But a floorboard creaked under my foot.

“Riel?” Zane’s voice, low and sharp, sliced through the corridor. Panic, anger mixed at the same time.

Luca’s voice joined him immediately. “Wait! Don’t….

My instincts screamed at me to run, but I couldn’t move fast enough. The door burst open, and I saw Zane’s storm-gray eyes lock onto me. Draven’s expression twisted.

“It’s not what you think!” Zane shouted before I could even speak.

“I…. I… My throat closed, words disappearing before they could form.

“You were eavesdropping,” Luca said, not angry, just curious if i had heard what they were saying, like he’d been expecting this moment. “But you shouldn’t have heard that. None of that was for you yet.”

I stepped back, trying to keep my voice steady. “Why… why are you all, why am I…?” “Why is my life a bet to you?”

Draven moved forward, It’s not like that. Riel just that

Uh…mmm

Please stop just stop Draven Then why call it a bet? Answers please!!! I snapped. “You plan to, decide who gets me first?” oh really, like are you guys for real??

The anger in my voice surprised me, my words were unfiltered. I could feel the weight of their stares, the tension between them radiating like fire.

Luca stepped between us, hands raised. “It’s complicated. Riel please just calm down. We thought that…

You know what, none of us wanted you to get involved, right? Zane, Draven, calm down. Riel…” He hesitated, searching my face. “You weren’t supposed to hear that part.”

“I don’t even understand half of what I just heard,” I admitted, trembling. “And you’re all acting like I’m… I’m just a prize to be won.”

Zane’s eyes softened slightly, but only slightly. “You’re not a prize, Riel. Not to me.”

Draven’s tone was low, almost reluctant. It’s just, He stopped. “We’re trying to protect you. That’s all it is.”

But the words rang hollow. Every sentence, every pause, pushed me further into confusion. My body felt like it was being pulled in three different directions at once, Zane, protective and furious; Draven, aggressive and insistent and Luca, calm, steady, trying to hold them all together.

I turned, intending to leave, to escape the suffocating tension that had erupted within us.

But as I stepped into the hallway, I felt movement behind me.

“Wait! Riel!” Zane shouted, his voice carrying panic like anyone could tell easily….

“Riel!” Luca’s voice echoed behind him, commanding, desperate.

The corridor seemed to stretch endlessly before me, shadows long and menacing. My mind raced, heart thundering in my ears. Every step I took felt like stepping into unknown territory, dangerous, unpredictable, and entirely their world I had just been dragged into.

“It’s… it’s not what you think!” Zane’s voice called out again, sharper this time, full of raw urgency.

I spun around, caught between wanting to run and wanting to demand answers, every instinct screaming at me. But I knew, even as panic clawed at my chest, that I couldn’t escape this.

Somewhere in the quiet, I heard Draven muttering under his breath, frustration laced in every syllable. “She wasn’t supposed to hear that…” His voice cut off, like he was reconsidering everything he had just said.

Luca stepped closer, his calm presence grounding me somehow. “I know it’s a lot to take in,” he said softly. “But we never wanted you to feel like this. You’re not a part of a bet, you’re the center of our concern, Riel. That’s all it is. I swear.”

I wanted to believe him. I really did. But the mixture of anger, confusion, and betrayal simmering in my chest made it impossible to just nod and say okay.

Zane’s hand brushed against the doorframe, tension radiating off him. “We’ll explain everything. Later. Just… trust that it’s not what it looks like.”

I wanted to trust him too. I wanted to believe them. But my gut told me that trusting them now could mean stepping straight into the game they were all so desperate to play.

And yet, even as I stood there, trapped between them, the pull toward Zane, Draven, and even Luca was undeniable. Each of them held a piece of something I couldn’t name yet, a memory, a feeling, a promise that had always lingered in the background of my mind.

The shadows of the three boys were across the walls, looking like ghosts from the past I couldn’t forget, and the game, this bet, whatever it was….was only beginning.

And somewhere, deep inside, a quiet, unyielding voice told me one thing for certain: I was not walking away. Not this time.