☠️𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑨𝑳𝑷𝑯𝑨’𝑺
𝑭𝑰𝑬𝑹𝒀 𝑭𝑨𝑻𝑬🔥
{𝑩𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒚 𝑭𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔}
Written By, 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧_𝐀𝐩𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞
𖣘𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟓𖣘
{𝑩𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝑬𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆}
─━━━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━━━─
The tension is oppressive.
She keeps staring at me like she’s already made peace with leaving. There’s a quiet strength in her, in the way she stands, unmoving, bracing herself. And that look? That damn look she’s giving me—like she’s already accepted it, like she’s already chosen to walk away, and all that’s left is for me to say the words.
It pushes something inside me dangerously close to the edge. Something deep, something I can’t 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 she’s daring me to speak, daring me to give her what she wants. She’s 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 that’s not how this works. Not for me. Not for us.
“You want me to what?” I ask, my voice quieter than I expect. It’s not calm. It’s not cold. It’s just… still.
“You heard me” she replies firmly, but there’s an undercurrent of something else. Something I can’t quite place, but it feels like resolve. “Reject the bond. End whatever this is. Let me go.”
“You don’t get it” I grind out, a low growl rising in my chest.
“I do” she says, her tone soft but unwavering. “You won’t say it, but you don’t want this bond either. So let’s stop pretending—”
“Stop!” I bark, louder than I intend. I can see her flinch, see the vulnerability flash in her eyes before she hides it. “You don’t get to decide for me.”
Her brows furrow, lips parting to argue—but I don’t let her. I can’t.
“You think if it were that easy to reject you,” I growl, stepping closer. “I wouldn’t have done it the gods-damned moment we realized we were mates?”
Her breath hitches, the air thick between us, and I see her struggle to hold it together. She doesn’t want to hear this. She doesn’t want the truth. But I’m done hiding from it.
“You think I want this?” My voice rises. “You think I haven’t tried—prayed—for a way out? That I haven’t begged the goddess to undo it?”
I don’t give her a chance to respond. I don’t care what she thinks. The pressure in my chest is too much.
“Part of the curse, little rogue” I snap, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. “I don’t get to choose. I don’t get to break the bond. Whoever she chooses—whoever is marked to bear the weight of my fire—is tied to me. Permanently.”
She stands still then, her face pale, like I’ve struck her with a blow that I never meant to land. But she doesn’t back away. She’s not afraid of me—not anymore.
“So you’re stuck” she whispers, barely audible.
I nod once, the truth spilling from my lips before I can stop it. “I’m cursed to burn everything I love. And cursed to never sever the bond with the one chosen to love me.”
The silence that follows is brutal. It presses in on me, heavier than my own thoughts. My chest feels like it’s caving in, and I hate the way it makes me feel—weak, 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 can’t. The fire inside me, the rage, the helplessness—it’s all too much.
And through all of it, all I can think about is how much I hate this—this bond, this fire, this cursed fate I’m stuck with. How much I hate that she’s tied to me in a way that could destroy us both. And yet…
I hate it, but I won’t let her go.
Not now. Not yet.
𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐄𝐇
I don’t move.
I should. I should turn around and walk out before I say something I can’t take back.
But I just stand there, heart pounding, trying to make sense of what he just said.
He’s cursed—chained to the bond like I am, maybe even more than I am.
He’s not cruel by choice.
He’s 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.
“You should’ve told me” I whisper, not out of anger now—but something heavier. “From the start.”
His eyes flash, something raw surfacing. “And said what, exactly? ‘Hi, I’m Kane, your mate. Also, you can’t leave me because if you do, we both burn—literally’?”
“You think lying was better?” I snap, fire rushing back into my voice. “You think silence was mercy?”
“I thought distance was” he exhales.
I laugh, but it’s bitter and nothing like humor. “Well, that failed spectacularly.”
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 thick—like it’s holding its breath right along with him.
“If I’m tied to you for eternity” I say carefully, “then I think I deserve to know who exactly I’m bound to.”
His gaze darkens, shutters slamming down behind his eyes.
“I want to know your past, Kane” I continue, moving nearer. “The truth. Not the cold, clipped version you feed everyone else. You. The real you.”
He stiffens like I’ve hit a nerve, and for a second, he almost looks… scared.
But then he looks away.
Not down. Away.
And I realize I’ve touched something buried.
“I’m not ready for that chapter to be opened” he replies quietly, the words sounding heavier than they should.
My lips part, but I don’t know what to say. Not ready? After everything? After binding us like this with secrets?
“Kane…” I try again, “I’m not your enemy. Whatever it is, I can handle it.”
“No” he says, not cruelly—but with finality. “You think you can. But you don’t want to know what’s buried there.”
“I want to.”
He closes his eyes, and for an instant, I swear I see regret flicker across his face.
Then his voice hardens.
“Lyall” he calls.
The door creaks open almost immediately. Of course. Always lurking in the shadows.
“Yes, Alpha?” he bows.
“Escort her back to her room.”
My chest tightens. “Kane—”
“Now.”
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 don’t want to give him the satisfaction of thinking he’s won this standoff.
As I turn and walk toward the door, Lyall nodding beside me, I steal one last glance over my shoulder.
He hasn’t moved.
Still facing the window. Still hiding from whatever truth lies behind that thought of his.
I’m not done.
Not even close.
He can lock up his past and bury it under all the stone walls he wants.
Eventually, I’m going to unearth it.
Even if it burns us both.
••••••
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 somehow—like they’re watching. Judging. Mocking.
I start pacing, each step more agitated than the last. My thoughts spiral, questions looping in maddening circles.
Why won’t 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 that’s a lie, isn’t it?
Because I’ve seen it in his eyes—the storm behind them. The torment. The ache.
If I’m bound to him for eternity, then I deserve the truth. I deserve to know what I’ve 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, charged—like the moment before a lightning strike. A cold gust snakes across my skin, and then—
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.
They’re no longer silver.
They’re burning—an eerie, deep obsidian, laced with violet flames swirling in the irises. It’s an iridescent shade I’ve 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.
“Hello, Nevaeh.”
