The Pull of the Bond

Aria woke to pounding on her cabin door.

She sat bolt upright, heart racing, the bond already thrumming in her chest like a warning drum. Sunlight streamed weakly through the shutters, but her lungs had already begun to ache, the familiar tightness settling in. She knew, before she even opened the door, who it was.

Kael.

He stood there, filling the doorway, dressed in dark leathers that clung to his frame. His eyes glowed faintly gold, his wolf lingering close to the surface.

“Get dressed,” he ordered, his voice rough, clipped.

Aria narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”

“You can’t stay here.” His gaze swept the cramped little cabin, the woven baskets, the herbs strung from the rafters. “It’s too far. You’re weakening every time you push the distance.”

Her spine stiffened. “This is my home.”

“You’ll die if you keep fighting it.”

Aria folded her arms, refusing to let him see the tremor in her hands. “Maybe that’s easier.”

Kael’s jaw tightened, his nostrils flaring. For a moment, the dangerous glint in his eyes made her breath hitch. Then, softer, a growl threaded his words. “Don’t ever say that again.”

Aria blinked, startled. He wasn’t just angry — he was… afraid.

She looked away quickly, clutching the blanket tighter around her shoulders. “Why do you care?”

Kael stepped closer, the heat of him crowding her in the doorway. “Because I can’t breathe either.”

The words landed between them like a spark to dry tinder.

Her heart thundered, her chest loosening in response to his nearness. Every instinct screamed at her to push him away, to deny this strange curse. But her body betrayed her, drinking in his presence, steadying with every breath he took.

Aria shook her head, desperate. “No. I won’t move into your world. I don’t belong there.”

“You already do,” Kael said firmly. “Whether you accept it or not.”

Before she could answer, a sharp cry split the air. Wolves. Alarm.

Kael’s head snapped toward the sound, his eyes flashing. “Stay here.”

But the bond yanked at her chest the moment he moved away. Her lungs burned, her vision blurred. She stumbled forward, gasping, “I—I can’t—”

Kael swore under his breath and caught her arm before she collapsed. The heat of his hand steadied her, the air rushing back.

“Damn it,” he growled. “You’re coming with me.”

Aria wanted to protest, but her body had no choice. Wherever he went, her breath followed.

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The disturbance came from the eastern border of the territory — a skirmish with rogues testing the strength of Blackthorn’s defenses. By the time Kael arrived with Aria in tow, his wolves were already clashing with the intruders.

Aria froze, wide-eyed. She had never seen wolves in full battle before. They were massive, fur bristling, fangs flashing as they lunged and tore. Blood spattered the ground. The air reeked of iron and earth.

Kael shifted mid-stride, his body snapping into the hulking form of his wolf — obsidian fur, eyes like molten gold. The sheer size of him dwarfed the others, his roar shaking the trees.

Aria staggered back, her lungs burning the moment he leapt into the fray. The bond yanked painfully, each strike he took, each clash of fang and claw reverberating through her chest.

She cried out, clutching her heart. It was as if she were fighting beside him, feeling the toll of every movement.

When a rogue lunged for Kael’s throat, something primal tore from her lips — a scream that carried power she didn’t know she possessed. The rogue faltered, stunned, and Kael struck it down with a single crushing blow.

The battle ended swiftly after that. The rogues scattered, tails tucked, howls fading into the trees.

Kael shifted back, his chest heaving, blood streaking his arms. His golden eyes locked on Aria immediately.

She stood trembling, tears streaking her cheeks, clutching her chest as though she’d just survived the fight herself.

Their bond thrummed, wild and undeniable.

Kael strode toward her, ignoring the gawking pack members, ignoring Selene’s icy glare from the edge of the clearing. He cupped Aria’s face in his bloodied hands, his voice a low growl. “You felt it, didn’t you?”

Aria couldn’t speak. Her body shook, her lungs ragged, but her eyes gave her away.

Selene’s voice sliced through the moment. “Enough!”

The pack froze as she stepped forward, her gown untouched by battle, her beauty pristine even in fury. “This girl is nothing! She weakens you, Kael. Can’t you see it? The elders will never accept her.”

Kael’s grip on Aria’s face tightened, protective. “The pack doesn’t decide my breath.”

Selene’s eyes blazed, her mask slipping. “She will destroy you.”

Kael turned his head, his gaze cutting like a blade. “If she falls, I fall. That’s the truth you’ll have to live with.”

A stunned silence followed.

Aria’s heart pounded, her body trembling beneath the weight of his words. She hated them. She craved them. She didn’t know if she wanted to run or collapse into his arms.

But deep inside, a whisper stirred.

She was not ordinary.

Not human.

Something in her blood remembered.

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