Chapter Two – Half-Bond, Half-Hell

The wolf who ruined me stood at the altar—as my mother’s new stepson.

My knees nearly buckled. The chapel was moving, it was filled with whispers and sharp glances, but none of it mattered. My eyes locked on his. Damon.

Storm-gray, burning. Like they’d never stopped searching for me.

The half-mark on my wrist seared to life, heat so sharp I almost cried out. Jinx whimpered inside me, low and hungry.

Mine, she moaned, stretching like a cat in heat. Gods, he looks even better now. Please tell me we get to climb him like a tree tonight.

Shut up, I snapped.

But she only purred louder. You shut up. Look at that jawline. Look at those hands. Lyric, I swear I could ride him until sunrise—

Jinx!

I immediately looked away, my nails digging into my palm. My mom was glowing at the altar, her smile so bright it lit up the whole room. Raiden Calder stood beside her, broad and stoic, repeating vows in a gravelly voice that carried through the chapel.

This was her moment. Her happiness. I couldn’t ruin it.

So I sat still, pretending I didn’t feel Damon’s eyes pinning me to the pew. Pretending my wolf wasn’t practically drooling at the sight of him. Pretending I wasn’t seconds away from unraveling.

By the time the ceremony ended, my skin felt too tight. The pack poured into the reception hall next door—wolves laughing, whiskey flowing, music loud. My mother’s hand never left Raiden’s. She looked like a woman who finally believed in love again.

I forced myself to smile for her, to hug her tight and whisper congratulations. I told her she deserved this. Every word was true.

But every second, I felt Damon.

Like a storm pressing against my ribs.

Like the bond had been waiting all these years just for this moment—to snap awake, raw and merciless.

I slipped out before my wolf clawed her way out of my chest. The night air hit me sharp and cool, but it wasn’t enough. I leaned against the wall of the chapel, pressing my hand to my wrist. The scar glowed faintly, ember-hot.

“Damn it,” I muttered.

Don’t fight it babe, Jinx whispered, almost dreamy. Let him claim us. Finish it. Gods, Lyric, I can still feel his teeth.

You’re pathetic, I hissed back. You don’t remember what it felt like when he left? When he abandoned us?

Jinx went quiet for half a beat. Then she sighed, Still worth it.

I closed my eyes, fighting tears I hadn’t shed in years.

Voices drifted from around the corner. I stiffened.

“…you disappear again, Damon, you’re cut off. You hear me?”

It was Raiden’s voice. Harsh. Razor-sharp.

Damon’s reply was low, bitter. “Cut me off? From what? You never gave me anything to begin with.”

“You got my name,” Raiden snapped. “My blood. That should’ve meant something.”

“Your blood?” Damon’s laugh was hollow. “Don’t make me laugh. You’ve never treated me like a son.”

A chair scraped. Boots scuffed against the wooden floor.

Raiden’s voice dropped, dangerously l. “You want to prove me wrong? Then stay. No running off, no ghosting me for years like you did before. That’s your only option. Because that’s what your brother would’ve done.”

There was Silence , Heavy, the kind that chokes.

When Damon finally spoke, his voice was quieter, rougher. “Don’t talk about him.”

Raiden didn’t answer.

Even from where I stood I could feel the air crackle, thick with things unsaid. My pulse hammered. I wasn’t supposed to hear this—but I couldn’t stop listening.

When footsteps approached, I panicked, flattening myself against the wall.

And then he appeared.

Damon stepped out of the shadows, jaw tight, storm eyes darker than I remembered. He saw me instantly. Of course he did. His wolf knew where I was before his eyes caught me.

My lungs seized.

“You’re still eavesdropping on conversations you shouldn’t, huh?” His voice was low, almost amused.

I straightened, glaring. “I wasn’t—”

“Yeah, you were.” His mouth twitched in something between a smirk and a snarl. “Always curious. Always sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

The mark on my wrist pulsed. My wolf purred. He remembers.

I folded my arms tight. “Stay away from me.”

He didn’t. He took a step closer, slow, measured, like a predator closing in.

“Can’t,” he said simply.

“Try harder.”

Something flickered in his eyes—pain, maybe, or rage. It was gone before I could place it.

“You think I don’t want to?” His hand curled into a fist, pressing against his chest. “You think I haven’t spent years trying to cut this bond out of me? It doesn’t go away, Lyric. It never goes away. And now that I’m near you again…” He drew in a shaky breath, his voice breaking for just a second. “…it’s eating me alive.”

My throat tightened. For one stupid heartbeat, I almost believed him. Almost forgot the years of silence, the nights I lay awake with a half-bond burning through me like poison.

Almost.

“You don’t get to say that,” I hissed, stepping back. “You don’t get to talk about pain after you left me bleeding in the dirt. After you made me carry this thing alone.”

His jaw clenched, storm clouds rolling through his expression. “You think I didn’t care?” His voice was dangerous now, low and sharp. “I left because I had to. Not because I wanted to. Not because I stopped loving you.”

The word hit me hard.

Love?.

I laughed bitterly, even as my chest ached. “Don’t you dare say that. You don’t love someone and then vanish. You don’t brand them with your mark and then disappear.”

The silence stretched. His eyes burned into mine, raw and vulnerable.

He stepped closer. Too close. Heat rolled off him, sinking under my skin. My wolf shivered, traitorous, pressing forward with a needy hum.

Ohhh, yes, Jinx moaned. Let him ruin us again. Please, Lyric.

Shut up!

“Look me in the eyes,” Damon growled, voice deep enough to vibrate in my bones. “Tell me you don’t feel it. Tell me the bond isn’t clawing at you right now. Tell me your wolf doesn’t ache for me.”

My wrist throbbed in sync with his heartbeat. My lips parted, but no words came out.

His smirk was soft, almost cruel. He already knew.

“I hate you,” I spat instead. My voice cracked. “I’ll never forgive you.”

He leaned in, so close his breath brushed my cheek. His eyes locked on mine, steady, burning.

“Hate me all you want,” he whispered. “But your wolf knows the truth.”

His lips curved into a dangerous half-smile. “You’re still mine.”

Something inside me snapped. My hand flew up before I even had time to think it through.

I slapped him hard across his cheek, sharp and final. My palm stung.

He didn’t flinch. He just looked at me, eyes burning.

And Jinx?

She purred.

Oh, gods, that was hot.

I wanted to scream.

Worse than his smirk. Worse than his words. Worse than the bond thrashing inside me.

The worst part was my wolf.

Because she wasn’t angry.

She was thrilled.