Vanessa The silence between us stretched too long. I remained curled on the couch, covered in Nina’s blanket, but the heat from Alec’s presence had already replaced any comfort it offered. I didn’t look at him. I didn’t have the strength.His voice broke through the quiet. “What did you take?”I stayed still. My lips pressed together.He stepped closer. “That was a deliberate attempt to poison yourself.”I blinked up at the ceiling. If I opened my mouth, I might say too much. The truth was bitter on my tongue. But my thoughts betrayed me. Why would Olga give me something that made me bleed?And then the answer sat in my chest like a stone.Because if it worked, the bond would decay without ritual. No breaking ceremony. No madness. Just slow death.He sat on the arm of the couch. His eyes scanned my face. “Are the servants getting enough to eat?”I scoffed quietly. “What do you care?”His jaw twitched. I turned to him, glaring at him.“We used to run this land. We bled for it. Now we’
A sharp crack of footsteps snapped us out of it.I tore away from his mouth, breathing hard, lips swollen and wet with everything we shouldn’t have done.The light of a torch spilled onto the edge of the garden path.Shit.I ran.I didn’t even look at him. I turned and bolted in the opposite direction. I ducked through a side gate, cut across the yard, and didn’t stop until I slammed the door to the servant quarters behind me.I stood in the dark. My hands trembled. My body still throbbed where he’d touched me.What had I done?Shame wrapped around me like cold fingers. My wolf pulsed in my chest, wild and needy and angry with me for leaving him.I staggered into my bedroom and locked the door. On the table, still untouched, sat the small, corked bottle Olga had left me. The liquid inside was black. I’d asked her for something to help with the pull. Just something to numb the damn bond.My fingers shook as I uncorked it.I took only a mouthful. The right dose. Enough to dull the sense
AlecIt felt like my feet were glued to the floor as I watched Vanessa vanish down the stairs. My body still reacted like she was right in front of me. I hated that. I hated how she walked off like she had a choice. Like she could somehow outrun this cursed bond.She wasn’t immune. I knew that. Her blood carried the same Alpha rage mine did. This was her problem too. But she carried it like she had already won something.I pushed my wolf down, but he kept snapping at the inside of my ribs, restless. He didn’t shut up. I started pacing, dragging my fingers through my hair. Her scent still clung to the air. It pissed me off.I moved to the nightstand and picked up my mother's perfume bottle. Jasmine and vanilla. I hated how soft it smelled, but I sprayed it anyway.I needed a different memory.The scent hit me, and the flashback of screams cutting through the courtyard hit fast. I’d hidden behind a pillar, too scared to move. I’d seen my mother fall. Her knees hit the stone, hands clut
Amma didn’t look back. Her steps kicked up the dust behind her, and her fists clenched at her sides like she was dragging her anger with her. I stood still. My chest felt hollow. The rage rolling off her had knocked the wind out of me, and now all I could do was stare.I didn’t move at first. My legs didn’t listen. It took everything to shift one foot forward, like walking through thick mud. Amma was supposed to understand. She was supposed to comfort me, not make me feel like I’d burned the entire village.I turned away and started walking slowly. The trees swallowed me, and each step felt heavier than the last. I didn’t rush. I didn’t want to get home.Why did she react like I reached out to the goddess and begged for the bond? I didn’t. I never wanted it. I never wanted him.But Amma didn’t wait to hear that. She didn’t ask questions. She looked at me like I betrayed her. Like I betrayed all of them.The house buzzed when I arrived. The higher-ranked females were preparing for a p
Alec Gary shook his head. “You quote that like it’s gospel.”“It is gospel,” Lucas snapped.“Things are changing. Traditions are breaking,” Gary said, taking a calm sip. “Same-sex mates used to be exiled. Now most packs don’t blink.”Lucas scoffed. “This isn’t about gender.”“It’s about the old rules that were made to control what people didn’t understand. Just because it’s written doesn’t mean it’s true.”“That’s easy to say when it’s not your future on the line.”Gary leaned forward. “Then what do you suggest? Kill her? Mark her? Throw her out and lose your mind while the bond eats you alive?”“She shouldn’t have been here in the first place!” Lucas growled. “Her father killed Alec’s mother. Or have you forgotten that part?”Gary’s jaw tightened. “Don’t you think I remember?”Lucas shoved the chair back halfway. “Then don’t talk like she’s just some servant girl with a pretty face. That girl’s bloodline is cursed.”“Enough.” I stood before either of them could lunge. My voice cut b
Alec I was dying inside.Not literally, but this forbidden, volatile bond between Vanessa and me was eating me alive from the inside out.I hadn’t rejected it. I hadn’t accepted it either. But staying in the middle wasn't safe or smart. It was a fucking lie. A coward's game. And now, after what happened in the hall, I was unraveling.The second our bodies touched, her scent hit me like a weapon. Wild and sweet. It clung to my skin and filled my lungs. The bond was devilish. My cock hardened instantly. I clenched my fists and shut my eyes, like that would stop it.It didn’t.I could smell her arousal and feel it pulsing through the bond. She begged me to step away. Because my fiancée was behind that door.But I couldn’t.I wanted her more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.When she used her Alpha aura on me, it startled me back to myself. She ran. I didn’t chase her. I stood there, half-crazed, rock hard, and burning.I had tried to fix it the only way I knew. I summoned one of
VanessaIn the middle of the night, when every being who had peace in them was asleep, I tossed and turned in bed. The sheets beneath me felt rough against my skin. Groaning in annoyance, I slid to my knees on the floor, staring at the corner of the room, blank-eyed.“Just say something,” I whispered.I needed to pray, but I didn’t even know who I was talking to. I shut my eyes tightly and tried again. My lips moved without sound; my throat was too dry. I swallowed and forced the words out.“Dear Goddess...”Ugh.It wasn’t working. She was not dear to me. She felt far, like a stranger. My hands twisted together. I had forgotten how to pray, and somehow that sent a wave of shame through me. My mother used to say the Goddess listened even when we didn’t speak, but I didn’t believe that anymore.I used to pray beside her before bed, before everything fell apart. I used to believe the Goddess cared. A broken laugh escaped my lips. My belief died when they took everything that made me happ
AlecIt felt like my feet were glued to the floor as I watched Vanessa vanish down the stairs. My body still reacted like she was right in front of me. I hated that. I hated how she walked off like she had a choice. Like she could somehow outrun this cursed bond.She wasn’t immune. I knew that. Her blood carried the same Alpha rage mine did. This was her problem too. But she carried it like she had already won something.I pushed my wolf down, but he kept snapping at the inside of my ribs, restless. He didn’t shut up. I started pacing, dragging my fingers through my hair. Her scent still clung to the air. It pissed me off.I moved to the nightstand and picked up my mother's perfume bottle. Jasmine and vanilla. I hated how soft it smelled, but I sprayed it anyway.I needed a different memory.The scent hit me, and the flashback of screams cutting through the courtyard hit fast. I’d hidden behind a pillar, too scared to move. I’d seen my mother fall. Her knees hit the stone, hands clutc
Vanessa In the middle of the night, I sat cross-legged with papers spread across the floor of my room. My fingers glided over the inked words from the parchment Olga had given me earlier.The Alpha bloodline is chosen by the moon. Enforced by myths. Preserved through fear.I scoffed under my breath. Of course they'd say that. That was their poetry for tyranny.I picked up another paper. A diagram. The Blackmoor pack structure. Alphas. Betas. Gammas. Deltas. Omegas. And then, at the very bottom—us.The rejects.Even their omegas lived better. We were the hands that cleaned their fields, the mouths that fed their hunger. Disposable.My eyes landed on another title: The Rebellion of Valen Hunter: A Warning to Future Traitors.My chest clenched. I leaned forward and read line by line, every word slow.Valen Hunter was executed for crimes against the bloodline. May the goddess silence his lineage.I squeezed my eyes shut.They were jokers. What crime did he commit? They didn’t even say. J