His Eyes, My Scar

Chains bit into my wrists as the guards shoved us into the great hall.

The air inside was suffocating, thick with the scent of power, blood, and smoke. Torches burned along the stone walls, throwing shadows that danced like wolves waiting to pounce. My heart pounded, each beat echoing in my ears as we were forced to our knees.

And then I felt it.

The bond.

It slammed into me like a storm, crushing my lungs, burning through my veins. My scar seared as if the blade had pierced me again. Every nerve in my body screamed one name.

Cain.

I forced my head down, hiding my face beneath the hood. I couldn’t look at him. Not yet.

Heavy footsteps echoed across the hall. Slow. Confident. Predatory.

And then he was there.

Alpha Cain.

I didn’t need to see him to know. His presence filled the room, pressing down on all of us like a weight too heavy to bear. Wolves bowed their heads lower. The prisoners trembled. My wolf whimpered, torn between fear and the sick pull of the bond.

I gritted my teeth and kept my head down.

“Rogues,” his voice cut through the silence, deep and steady. “Thieves. Cowards. You cross my borders, and you think I won’t notice?”

Even without looking, I could feel his eyes moving over us. Cold. Calculating. The same eyes I remembered in the flames.

One of the guards kicked a prisoner forward. “Caught them stealing livestock, Alpha. Thought you might want to decide their fate yourself.”

Cain’s boots stopped in front of us. The sound alone made my chest tighten. I could feel his aura pressing closer, demanding submission. Around me, the others lowered themselves, baring their throats, trembling.

I stayed still.

My wolf howled at me to bow, to yield, to surrender to the Alpha our bond recognized. But I bit my tongue until I tasted blood, forcing myself to stay upright.

His footsteps moved again. Closer.

And then.

“Look at me.”

The command sliced through me.

My body shook, refusing and obeying at the same time. Slowly, trembling, I raised my head.

And met his eyes.

The world fell away.

Dark, sharp eyes, the color of night, locked onto mine. They were the same eyes I’d seen above me as I bled out. The same eyes that watched the life leave my body. But now, they weren’t cruel. They weren’t mocking. They were searching.

For a heartbeat, neither of us moved. The bond roared between us, silent but violent, a pull that dragged my soul toward his.

I hated it.

I hated him.

And yet, my chest ached with something else, something I refused to name.

Cain tilted his head slightly, as if trying to place me. His gaze lingered too long, sharp and unsettling, before he finally looked away.

“Too weak,” he muttered, almost to himself.

The guards laughed. One yanked me back by the chain, forcing me to my knees again.

But Cain raised his hand, and the laughter stopped.

“Not this one.” His voice was calm, final.

The guards stiffened. “Alpha?”

“She doesn’t die with the others.” His eyes flicked back to me, narrowing. “There’s something… different.”

My stomach turned. Different. He felt it too. The bond.

I dropped my gaze quickly, hiding the fury in my eyes before he could see it. My heart hammered so loudly I was sure the guards could hear it.

Cain stepped closer. Too close. His shadow fell over me, his scent flooding my senses, cedar, smoke, and blood. My wolf whimpered again, betraying me, aching for him.

I wanted to claw my own chest open just to rip the bond out.

Cain crouched slightly, his voice low, meant only for me. “What’s your name?”

My throat went dry. For a moment, I almost answered with the truth. Lyra.

But Lyra was dead.

“...Lina,” I whispered, the first name that came to mind.

His eyes lingered on me another moment, as if weighing the lie. Then he stood, his voice cold again.

“Take the rest to the cells. This one stays.”

The guards hesitated, then obeyed. The prisoners cried out, begging for mercy, but Cain didn’t flinch. The chains rattled as they were dragged away, their voices fading down the stone corridors.

Until only I remained.

The hall felt too big, too empty, with just the two of us.

Cain turned to face me fully. His expression was unreadable. “Why did you not bow?”

I forced my voice steady, though my insides shook. “Because I am not afraid.”

It was a lie. I was terrified. But I would rather choke on fear than let him see me break.

For the first time, something flickered in his eyes. Amusement.

“Not afraid,” he repeated softly. “Interesting.”

He stepped closer again, his presence suffocating. I could feel every inch of him, every ounce of his power pressing against me. The bond burned hotter, clawing at my chest, begging me to move closer, to surrender.

I stayed perfectly still.

Cain studied me, his gaze sharp enough to cut. “You’re hiding something.”

My breath caught. Did he know? Could he see it in me, the scar, the rage, the truth?

I lowered my head quickly, masking my expression. “I’ve already lost everything. There’s nothing left to hide.”

Silence.

Then, a faint sound. Cain exhaled through his nose, almost like a laugh, though no warmth touched his face.

“Very well. You’ll work for me. Prove your worth, or die trying.”

My stomach twisted. Work for him?

Every instinct screamed at me to refuse, to spit in his face, to tell him who I was and end it right here.

But that would be foolish.

I had come here to kill him. And now fate had handed me the perfect chance.

I bowed my head at last, hiding the venom in my eyes. “As you command, Alpha.”

Cain watched me for a long moment, as if trying to see beneath the words. Then he turned, striding back toward the throne at the end of the hall.

The chains on my wrists clinked as the guards dragged me after him, but I hardly felt them.

Because I knew what this meant.

I was inside his pack. Inside his world.

Close enough to kill him.

But as I walked behind him, my scar burning, the bond pulling, one truth gnawed at me like a curse:

The Alpha who killed me… was also the Alpha fate had bound me to.

And I didn’t know if I could survive the war between hate and destiny.