LOGINThank you for reading and supporting this story so far. Things are about to get more intense as the bond, the conflict, and the stakes begin to collide. I hope you stay with me.
I woke up to silence that didn’t feel peaceful.It pressed in on my ears, thick and heavy, like the calm before something went wrong. The room was dim, gray light filtering through the narrow window. For a moment, I didn’t remember where I was. Then the ache in my wrists reminded me.The cuffs were gone.I sat up too fast, the blanket sliding off my shoulders. My heart started pounding, not with relief—but confusion. They didn’t remove restraints out of kindness. Not here.The door opened without warning.He didn’t knock.The Alpha stepped inside like the room already belonged to him. Like I did.His presence shifted the air, heavy and commanding, the way it always did. He wasn’t angry. That was worse. His expression was controlled, unreadable, dark eyes fixed on me like he was assessing damage after a storm.“You’re awake,” he said.I swallowed. “You had them removed.”“Yes.”That was it. No explanation.I pushed the blanket tighter around myself. “Why?”He closed the door behind him
They kept me close after the attack.Too close.I learned that within the hour, when the Alpha ordered that I be moved into the inner quarters — not mine, but his. The decision was delivered like a command issued to the entire pack, not a suggestion open for debate.No one argued.That scared me more than the rogues had.The room they put me in was adjacent to his, separated by a thick stone wall and a door that didn’t lock from the inside. It wasn’t a cell. That almost made it worse.“This is temporary,” he said, standing in the doorway as guards took up position outside. “Until we identify the leak.”“And if you don’t?” I asked.His gaze held mine. “Then it becomes permanent.”I swallowed. “You don’t get to decide that.”“I already have,” he replied.The bond hummed low, not painful, but aware — like it was listening.He turned to leave.“Wait,” I said before I could stop myself.He paused.“You said the rogues were captured,” I continued. “What did they say?”His jaw tightened. “En
The first attack didn’t come at night.That should have warned us.I was in the outer courtyard under guard, allowed fresh air under the Alpha’s orders, when the bond twisted sharply — not pain this time, but alarm. My breath caught as something cold brushed the back of my neck.I wasn’t alone.The guards noticed it a second too late.A figure dropped from the upper wall, moving fast and silent, shifting midair in a blur of dark fur and limbs. Chaos exploded instantly — shouts, snarls, the crack of bone against stone.I stumbled backward as a wolf slammed into one of my guards, tearing him down. Another lunged for me.“Move!” someone shouted.I didn’t get the chance.Strong arms wrapped around me from behind, dragging me back as claws slashed where I’d been standing. The bond flared violently, heat and fear crashing together until I cried out.The Alpha.He turned with me still in his grip, his other hand striking out hard enough to send the attacker skidding across the courtyard. The
They didn’t give me time to prepare.I was escorted from the Alpha’s quarters before the sun fully cleared the treeline, guards flanking me on either side like I might bolt if given half a chance. My clothes had been changed sometime during the night — simple, neutral, nothing that marked me as pack or outsider.Nothing that protected me either.The council chamber sat at the heart of the compound, a wide circular structure carved from dark stone. I felt it the moment we stepped inside. Power lingered here, thick and heavy, pressed into the walls by generations of authority and judgment.The council was already seated.Five of them.Three men. Two women. All wolves. All watching me with open assessment.The Alpha stood at the center of the room, his back straight, hands clasped behind him. He didn’t look at me when I entered, but the bond reacted anyway — a sharp tug that steadied my steps and reminded me exactly where I stood in relation to him.Bound.Exposed.“Bring her forward,” o
They didn’t let me hide.That was the first thing I learned.By morning, the entire pack knew exactly where I was being kept. I could feel it in the way the air shifted outside the Alpha’s quarters, the steady movement of bodies that lingered just long enough to be noticed before moving on.I wasn’t a secret.I was a spectacle.A guard knocked once before entering, not waiting for permission. “You’re coming.”“Where?” I asked, my voice hoarse.“Training grounds.”My stomach twisted. “Why?”He didn’t answer. He just stepped aside and gestured for me to move.I hesitated.The bond tightened in warning.I swallowed and stood.They escorted me through the compound in broad daylight, not taking back paths or quieter corridors. Wolves stopped what they were doing as we passed. Some stared openly. Some whispered. Others looked away like I was something uncomfortable they didn’t want to acknowledge.Human.Marked.Problem.The training grounds were already crowded when we arrived. Wolves stoo
The bond hurt when I refused to listen to it.I learned that quickly.It started as a headache, dull and pulsing behind my eyes as they locked me inside the Alpha’s quarters and posted guards outside the door. I paced the room, back and forth, back and forth, ignoring the pull in my chest that kept tugging me toward a direction I didn’t want to think about.Him.The headache sharpened.I stopped pacing, bracing my hands on the table. “I won’t,” I said aloud, even though no one was listening. “I won’t give in.”The pain spiked instantly.I gasped, fingers digging into the wood as something hot and tight wrapped around my ribs, squeezing until my breath came shallow and fast. It wasn’t like being stabbed or burned. It was worse. It felt like my body was correcting me. Punishing me for stepping out of line.I slid down the side of the table until I was on the floor, knees pulled to my chest.“No,” I whispered. “Stop.”The bond didn’t stop.It eased only when I stopped fighting it long en







