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The tension is oppressive.
She keeps staring at me like sheβs already made peace with leaving. Thereβs a quiet strength in her, in the way she stands, unmoving, bracing herself. And that look? That d@mn look sheβs giving meβlike sheβs already accepted it, like sheβs already chosen to walk away, and all thatβs left is for me to say the words.
It pushes something inside me dangerously close to the edge. Something deep, something I canβt control. The desire to shake her, to make her understand what this bond means.
She lifts her chin then, those silver eyes locking on mine like sheβs daring me to speak, daring me to give her what she wants. Sheβs braced for the blow, expecting me to shatter her heart with the words that will set her free. I wish it were that simple. I wish she could just walk away from this and never look back.
But thatβs not how this works. Not for me. Not for us.
βYou want me to what?β I ask, my voice quieter than I expect. Itβs not calm. Itβs not cold. Itβs just… still.
βYou heard meβ she replies firmly, but there’s an undercurrent of something else. Something I canβt quite place, but it feels like resolve. βReject the bond. End wh@tΓ«ver this is. Let me go.β
βYou donβt get itβ I grind out, a low growl rising in my chest.
βI doβ she says, her tone soft but unwavering. βYou wonβt say it, but you donβt want this bond either. So letβs stop pretendingββ
βStop!β I bark, louder than I intend. I can see her flinch, see the vulnerability flash in her eyes before she hides it. βYou donβt get to decide for me.β
Her brows furrow, lips parting to argueβbut I donβt let her. I canβt.
βYou think if it were that easy to reject you,β I growl, stepping closer. βI wouldnβt have done it the gods-damned moment we realized we were mates?β
Her breath hitches, the air thick between us, and I see her struggle to hold it together. She doesnβt want to hear this. She doesnβt want the truth. But Iβm done hiding from it.
βYou think I want this?β My voice rises. βYou think I havenβt triedβprayedβfor a way out? That I havenβt begged the goddess to undo it?β
I donβt give her a chance to respond. I donβt care what she thinks. The pressure in my chest is too much.
βPart of the curse, little rogueβ I snap, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. βI donβt get to choose. I donβt get to break the bond. Whoever she choosesβwhoever is marked to bear the weight of my fireβis tied to me. Permanently.β
She stands still then, her face pale, like Iβve struck her with a blow that I never meant to land. But she doesnβt back away. Sheβs not afraid of meβnot anymore.
βSo youβre stuckβ she whispers, barely audible.
I nod once, the truth spilling from my lips before I can stop it. βIβm cursed to burn everything I love. And cursed to never sever the bond with the one chosen to love me.β
The silence that follows is brutal. It presses in on me, heavier than my own thoughts. My chest feels like itβs caving in, and I h@tΓ« the way it makes me feelβweak, exposed, helpless.
My breathing is too fast, too shallow. My hands are shaking, though I try to hide it, to keep it together. But I canβt. The fire inside me, the rage, the helplessnessβitβs all too much.
And through all of it, all I can think about is how much I h@tΓ« thisβthis bond, this fire, this cursed fate Iβm stuck with. How much I h@tΓ« that sheβs tied to me in a way that could destroy us both. And yet…
I h@tΓ« it, but I won’t let her go.
Not now. Not yet.
ππππππ
I donβt move.
I should. I should turn around and walk out before I say something I canβt take back.
But I just stand there, heart pounding, trying to make sense of what he just said.
Heβs cursedβchained to the bond like I am, maybe even more than I am.
Heβs not cruel by choice.
Heβs just… trapped.
I swallow the knot in my throat. My fingers twitch at my sides, unsure what to do with this new truth he threw like a blade between us.
βYou shouldβve told meβ I whisper, not out of anger nowβbut something heavier. βFrom the start.β
His eyes flash, something raw surfacing. βAnd said what, exactly? βHi, Iβm Kane, your mate. Also, you canβt leave me because if you do, we both burnβliterallyβ?β
βYou think lying was better?β I snap, fire rushing back into my voice. βYou think silence was mercy?β
βI thought distance wasβ he exhales.
I laugh, but itβs bitter and nothing like humor. βWell, that failed spectacularly.β
We stare at each other, both breathing like we just ran through hell and back.
And maybe we have.
The silence stretches, heavy and restless between us. The air feels thickβlike itβs holding its breath right along with him.
βIf Iβm tied to you for eternityβ I say carefully, βthen I think I deserve to know who exactly Iβm bound to.β
His gaze darkens, shutters slamming down behind his eyes.
βI want to know your past, Kaneβ I continue, moving nearer. βThe truth. Not the cold, clipped version you feed everyone else. You. The real you.β
He stiffens like Iβve hit a nerve, and for a second, he almost looksβ¦ scared.
But then he looks away.
Not down. Away.
And I realize Iβve touched something buried.
βIβm not ready for that chapter to be openedβ he replies quietly, the words sounding heavier than they should.
My lips part, but I donβt know what to say. Not ready? After everything? After binding us like this with secrets?
βKaneβ¦β I try again, βIβm not your enemy. Wh@tΓ«ver it is, I can handle it.β
βNoβ he says, not cruellyβbut with finality. βYou think you can. But you donβt want to know whatβs buried there.β
βI want to.β
He closes his eyes, and for an instant, I swear I see regret flicker across his face.
Then his voice hardens.
βLyallβ he calls.
The door creaks open almost immediately. Of course. Always lurking in the shadows.
βYes, Alpha?β he bows.
βEscort her back to her room.β
My chest tightens. βKaneββ
βNow.β
The word slices the air. No room for argument. No soft edges.
I clench my jaw, forcing the burn behind my eyes to disappear. I donβt want to give him the satisfaction of thinking heβs won this standoff.
As I turn and walk toward the door, Lyall nodding beside me, I steal one last glance over my shoulder.
He hasnβt moved.
Still facing the window. Still hiding from wh@tΓ«ver truth lies behind that thought of his.
Iβm not done.
Not even close.
He can lock up his past and bury it under all the stone walls he wants.
Eventually, Iβm going to unearth it.
Even if it burns us both.
β’β’β’β’β’β’
The moment Lyall closes the door behind me, silence swallows the room whole.
I stand there, unmoving, like my feet forgot how to work. The walls feel closer somehowβlike theyβre watching. Judging. Mocking.
I start pacing, each step more agitated than the last. My thoughts spiral, questions looping in maddening circles.
Why wonβt he talk to me?
Why is he hiding so much?
And why do I care this much about a man who clearly wants nothing to do with me?
But thatβs a lie, isnβt it?
Because Iβve seen it in his eyesβthe storm behind them. The torment. The ache.
If Iβm bound to him for eternity, then I deserve the truth. I deserve to know what Iβve been chained to.
I groan and run both hands down my face. My hair is a mess, a reflection of the chaos inside me. I make my way to the dresser, grabbing my brush and dragging it through the knots with forceful strokes. The rhythm is rough but grounding.
My gaze lifts to the mirror, and for a second, everything seems normal.
Until the air changes.
The soft hum of silence turns brittle, chargedβlike the moment before a lightning strike. A cold gust snakes across my skin, and thenβ
SLAM!
The window crashes open, wind howling into the room like a beast unleashed. Curtains whip violently. My heart lurches.
The lights flicker.
My breath freezes in my chest.
Then, in the mirror, I see it.
My eyes.
Theyβre no longer silver.
Theyβre burningβan eerie, deep obsidian, laced with violet flames swirling in the irises. Itβs an iridescent shade Iβve never seen before.
The hairbrush slips from my hand and hits the floor with a soft thud, forgotten.
And then, the voice slithers into my mind. Velvet smooth. Dark. Sinister.
βHello, Nevaeh.β
