登入The night didn’t bring peace.It never did.I didn’t realize when I fell asleep again.Or if I ever really did.Because the bond didn’t rest.It never quieted completely—it only dimmed, like something waiting beneath the surface, patient and watchful.And sometime deep into the night…It pulled.Hard.My eyes snapped open.Darkness.Cold.And something else—Him.Not physically.But close.Too close.My breath hitched as I sat up slowly, the sheets tangling around my legs. The room was silent, the faint glow of moonlight slipping through the curtains, painting everything in silver and shadow.But the bond—It wasn’t quiet anymore.It was restless.Unstable.He’s awake, Raven said immediately, her voice tense.“I know,” I whispered.But this wasn’t just awareness.This was… agitation.It crawled under my skin, sharp and suffocating, like something clawing to get out.“What is he doing…?” I murmured.Raven didn’t answer right away.And that scared me more than anything.Because Raven al
The rest of the morning passed in a strange, uneasy quiet.I stayed in the dining hall long after Hunter left, staring at the half-eaten food on my plate and trying to make sense of everything that had just happened. The bond still hummed in my chest, but it felt… different now. Less like a storm and more like a steady, unrelenting tide. I could feel him somewhere in the mansion, restless and pacing, the same way I had the night before. The connection between us had changed. Not softer—never softer—but more honest. Raw. Exposed.Adrian didn’t return.I was grateful for that.I wasn’t ready to face whatever game he was playing, whatever warning he thought he was giving. The way he’d looked at me—like I was both a curiosity and a threat—made my skin crawl. And the way he’d spoken about Hunter, about what the bond might do to me… it had planted a seed of doubt I couldn’t shake.*He’s not wrong,* Raven said quietly.“I know.”*But he’s not right either.*I sighed, pushing my chair back an
Sarah's POV The silence after that felt… different.Not empty.Not tense in the same explosive way as before.But heavy.Like something had shifted between us, quietly, dangerously, without either of us fully understanding what it meant.I forced myself to eat.Slowly at first—small bites, mechanical, just to prove a point. But the more I ate, the more I realized how hungry I actually was. The food settled something restless inside me, grounding me just enough to think clearly again.Hunter didn’t sit back down immediately.He stayed by the window, arms crossed, staring out like he was trying to keep himself together by sheer force of will.Or maybe trying to stay away from me.The bond didn’t like that.It stretched.Pulled.A quiet, constant pressure in my chest that made it hard to ignore him even when I wanted to.Raven stirred.*He’s distancing himself on purpose.*“I can feel that,” I muttered under my breath.Hunter’s shoulders stiffened.Of course he heard.He always did.Aft
“Breakfast?” he suggested, as if nothing had happened.“I’m not hungry,” I said.“You are,” Hunter said again.I crossed my arms.“You don’t get to decide that.”“No,” he agreed. “But the bond does.”My stomach twisted.And right on cue—It growled.Loudly.Adrian burst out laughing.“Oh, that’s perfect.”Heat rushed to my face.“I hate both of you.”“That’s fair,” Adrian said easily.Hunter just looked… satisfied.Which somehow made it worse.“Come on,” he said, already turning toward the dining hall. “Eat something. Then you can go back to pretending you don’t need anyone.”I hesitated.Every instinct told me to walk away.To put distance between us.To breathe.But the bond—It pulled.Not forcefully.Not painfully.But persistently.Like a quiet voice reminding me that running wouldn’t change anything.Raven sighed softly.*You can’t avoid this forever.*“I know,” I whispered.And with that—I followed them.Back into the heart of the mansion.Back into the storm.—The dining hal
Sarah's POV The moment we stepped back inside the mansion, the air changed.It always did.Outside, everything had felt… distant. Manageable. Like the world had softened just enough to let me breathe. But here—Everything sharpened again.The bond.The tension.Him.The grand doors shut behind us with a low, echoing thud that seemed to seal something in place. My chest tightened instinctively, like my body already knew there was no escaping whatever this was.Hunter didn’t look at me as we walked.But I could feel him.Every step.Every breath.Every flicker of control he was forcing onto himself.Raven shifted uneasily.*He’s holding back again.*“I can feel it,” I murmured under my breath.Hunter’s head tilted slightly, just enough to show he heard me.“Good,” he said quietly. “Then you’ll know when to stay out of my way.”I stopped walking.“So that’s it?” I snapped. “We have one almost-normal conversation, and now we’re back to this?”Hunter stopped too.Slowly, he turned to face
The stillness didn’t last.It never really did in a place like this.Even when everything looked calm on the surface—sunlight spilling through the trees, birds singing like nothing in the world was broken—there was always something underneath. Something shifting. Waiting.I felt it before I heard him.The bond tightened.Not painfully.But sharply enough that my breath caught in my throat.Raven stirred instantly.He’s close.My fingers curled into the fabric of my sweater as I sat up straighter on the bench, my spine going rigid. My pulse picked up, each beat echoing too loudly in my ears.“I know,” I whispered.And then—Footsteps.Slow.Measured.Heavy enough to belong to someone who didn’t bother hiding their presence.Hunter.Of course it was him.I didn’t turn immediately. I couldn’t. Something inside me resisted—the memory of last night still too fresh, too raw. His rage. The way his hands had tightened around the beta’s throat. The darkness in his eyes.And then the way he had
I looked down at my wrist again.The bruises.The evidence.“And what about this?” I asked quietly.Raven’s tone darkened slightly.That… is instinct.“Possession.”Yes.“Control.”Yes.“Danger.”A pause.Yes.I let out a humorless breath.“Great.”Silence settled again.But this time—It wasn’t em
“I’m not,” I repeated, slower now, stronger. “You don’t get to decide that.”Hunter stepped closer again.Now there was no space left.None.His presence pressed into me fully, suffocating, overwhelming, but I refused to move.“You think this bond is a suggestion?” he asked, his voice dropping even
Still threaded with that growl, like it lived in his throat now. I blinked, my thoughts scrambling to catch up. The adrenaline was still rushing through me, my wrist throbbing where the beta’s fingers had dug in, the faint redness already darkening into bruises. “I’m fine,” I said automatically, th
Sarah's POV The crack echoed louder this time.Not just through the washroom—Through me.Bone.It wasn’t subtle. It wasn’t imagined. It was sharp, sickening, final—like the sound of a branch snapping under too much weight. The beta’s scream tore out of his throat, raw and broken, a sound that did







