Romans de Kumar

I didn’t sleep.Not really.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw silver light flashing from my hands. I heard the elders whispering.Ancient blood.Silver Luna.Hunters.And underneath it all—I felt him.Not physically.Not even emotionally.Just… there.Like a second heartbeat echoing faintly in my chest.The mate bond.Even rejected, it refused to disappear.By morning, I was exhausted and irritated.Which meant I was in the perfect mood for “training.”A sharp knock hit my door.“It’s open,” I called flatly.Kael stepped inside.Of course it was him.He wore black training clothes, sleeves rolled to his forearms. His presence filled the room too easily.Too naturally.“Ready?” he asked.“No.”His lips twitched almost imperceptibly.“We start anyway.”I grabbed the jacket draped over the chair. “You’re enjoying this.”“Watching you glare at me? Slightly.”I scowled.He turned and walked out without waiting.Infuriating.—The training grounds were behind the estate, carved into a wid

The pain didn’t fade.It spread.From my chest to my veins, like molten silver pouring through my bloodstream. I collapsed to my knees, clutching at my shirt as if I could rip the sensation out.Kael knelt in front of me instantly.“Elena.”His voice wasn’t cold anymore.It wasn’t distant.It was sharp with urgency.“I can’t—” My breath came in shallow gasps. “Make it stop.”His hands hovered near me for a split second before settling firmly on my shoulders.The moment he touched me, the pain shifted.Not gone.But steadier.Controlled.Our eyes locked.The silver glow beneath my skin pulsed once — then softened.Kael inhaled slowly, his jaw tightening.“The rejection should have weakened the mate bond,” he muttered. “It should have destabilized it.”“Maybe it did,” I forced out.His gaze sharpened.“No.”The word was certain.“This isn’t destabilization,” he said. “This is synchronization.”I blinked through the fading haze. “That sounds worse.”“It means the bond is forming despite

I should have run.The moment the rogue wolves disappeared. The moment he said I wasn’t entirely human. The moment he decided, without asking me, that I was “under his protection.”But my legs wouldn’t move.Because the truth was—I had felt it.That power.It hadn’t been imagination.It had been real.And if I left now, I would be alone with it.“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I said, even as my voice lacked conviction.The Alpha arched a brow. “You already are.”“I don’t take orders from you.”“No,” he agreed calmly. “But the rogues will track you by scent within the hour. Alone, you won’t survive the night.”I hated that he sounded reasonable.Behind him, the other wolves — men — watched me carefully. Not hostile. Not friendly either. Just wary.Like I was something unstable.“What’s your name?” I asked suddenly.He looked mildly surprised.“You know my title.”“I didn’t ask for your title.”A long pause.“Kael,” he said at last.The name suited him. Sharp. Controlled. Dangerous

I didn’t cry.Not in front of them.Not after he said those words.I reject her.The sentence replayed in my head like a blade scraping against bone.I didn’t even understand what it meant — not fully. But my body did. My chest still ached, as if something invisible had been torn out of me. My lungs burned with every breath.The men standing behind him avoided my eyes.The Alpha didn’t.His gaze was steady. Cold. Controlled.Like he felt nothing.“Take her to the border,” he ordered.One of the wolves — no, men — stepped forward. “Alpha, the rogues—”“I said take her,” he snapped.The authority in his voice left no room for argument.Strong fingers wrapped around my arm and pulled me to my feet. I flinched at the contact, but I refused to look weak.“I can walk,” I muttered.The man released me immediately.I brushed dirt off my jeans, forcing myself to meet the Alpha’s eyes one last time.“Why?” I demanded.The question slipped out before I could stop it.A flicker of something cross

They say the Blackwood Forest swallows people whole.I used to think that was just a story adults told to scare children into coming home before dark.I was wrong.The first thing I noticed when I stepped past the rusted warning sign was how quiet everything became.No crickets.No wind.No birds.Just silence.The kind of silence that feels alive.I tightened my jacket around me and checked my phone. No signal. Of course. There never was out here. Still, I told myself I wasn’t afraid. I was twenty-one, not some gullible kid chasing ghost stories.I was here for proof.Three students from my university had disappeared in the past six months. All last seen near Blackwood Forest. The police called it coincidence. The media called it tragedy.But the locals?They called it a curse.And I needed answers.The deeper I walked, the heavier the air felt, like the forest itself was watching me. Branches clawed at my sleeves. Twigs snapped under my boots, each crack echoing too loudly in the da