The Bond Awakens

The chamber reeked of iron and smoke.

Lena staggered against the wall, her lungs dragging in ragged, burning breaths. The stone beneath her palm was slick with blood—most of it not hers. Her clothes clung to her, torn and stained, her hair wild from the fight. Every muscle trembled, but it wasn’t exhaustion that had her shaking.

It was the bond.

It pulsed through her veins, a fever in her blood. Each heartbeat throbbed with Kade’s presence, echoing his rage, his triumph, his hunger. She could feel him even without looking—he was fire at her back, a gravity she couldn’t resist.

He stood over the fallen rival alpha, chest heaving, skin splattered crimson. His golden eyes glowed brighter than the torches in the chamber, his wolf so close to the surface his jaw trembled with restraint. In his hand, he still gripped the enemy’s throat, though the body had long since gone limp.

Silence hung heavy.

Then, as if pulled by some ancient instinct, the Blackwood wolves dropped to their knees. One by one, heads bowed. The sound of submission rippled through the chamber—low growls of deference, claws scraping stone. The enemy’s death had sealed what no council, no decree could.

Kade was Alpha. Unchallenged. Absolute.

And Lena—

Every pair of eyes slid to her. Human. Marked. Standing at his side when she had no right to be.

A murmur hissed through the pack. Some voices trembled with reverence. Others curdled with hatred.

“She bleeds beside him—”

“She carries his mark—”

“She’s no wolf. This is an abomination.”

Lena’s spine stiffened. She wanted to shrink back into the shadows, but Kade’s hand snapped out before she could. He gripped her wrist, hauling her forward until she stood at his side, in full view of the kneeling wolves.

His voice cut like thunder. “Look at her.”

The chamber obeyed.

Her breath caught under the weight of a hundred burning gazes. Her throat ached where Kade’s teeth had broken skin days ago, the bond’s mark invisible now but thrumming with power beneath her flesh.

“She carries my blood,” Kade growled, each word measured, dangerous. “My mark. My claim. She is Luna.”

Gasps echoed. A few wolves lowered themselves flatter to the ground in instant obedience. But others rose halfway, snarling, hackles raised.

“Never!” one spat, eyes flashing silver. “The pack will not follow a human!”

Kade moved before Lena could blink. He was a blur of black steel and fury, slamming the wolf into the wall with such force the stones cracked. His claws lengthened, pressing against the rebel’s throat.

“You will follow her because you follow me,” Kade snarled, his voice rough with the wolf beneath. “Or you will not live long enough to follow anyone.”

The chamber held its breath.

Lena’s pulse roared in her ears. She should have been horrified—by his violence, by his savagery—but her body betrayed her. Heat licked her skin, sharp and dizzying, as though his dominance awakened something buried deep inside her. The bond pulsed, electric, demanding.

Kade’s head whipped toward her. Their eyes locked.

He felt it too.

The connection flared—raw, intoxicating. Her knees nearly buckled as his desire, his rage, his hunger all bled into her. She gasped, clutching her chest, and the wolves muttered at the sight.

“See it,” Kade growled to them, releasing the rebel wolf, who crumpled to his knees. “The bond awakens.”

A ripple of unease surged through the chamber. Some wolves dipped their heads lower, as though recognizing fate when they saw it. Others whispered feverishly, the word prophecy hissing between their lips.

Lena barely heard them. The world had narrowed to Kade—his heat, his scent, the gold of his eyes locking her in place. She swayed toward him, instinct pulling her closer, until his hand closed around her waist, steadying her.

“You feel it,” he whispered, only for her. His breath was hot against her ear. “Don’t deny it now.”

Her lips parted, a protest rising—but what came out instead was a ragged whisper, the truth clawing its way free:

“Yes.”

Kade’s growl was low and triumphant, vibrating through her bones. His mouth brushed her temple, a fleeting claim before he turned back to the pack.

“Any who question her,” he thundered, his voice echoing off the bloodstained walls, “question me. And I do not forgive.”

The chamber bowed. Even those who hated her lowered their heads, though Lena could see the fury smoldering in their eyes.

But it didn’t matter. Not tonight.

Because when Kade laced his fingers through hers and lifted their joined hands high, the bond roared inside her like fire on snow.

And for the first time, Lena Carter felt it.

Not fear. Not confusion.

Power.

The fire in the great hall burned low, shadows climbing the walls like restless spirits.

Lena sat at the long stone table, her back stiff, fingers laced tight in her lap. Across from her, wolves filled the benches, their eyes gleaming amber and silver in the flickering torchlight. The air was thick with smoke, blood, and something sharper—resentment.

This wasn’t submission. This was judgment.

Kade stood at the head of the table, shoulders squared, golden eyes scanning the council with lethal calm. He looked every inch the Alpha—blood still crusting the scar over his brow, his voice silent but carrying more weight than a hundred shouted threats.

No one dared speak until he did.

“You’ve seen,” Kade began, voice low and dangerous, each word rolling like thunder across the table. “The rival Alpha is dead. His pack is broken. Blackwood stands.”

A murmur of assent rippled through the hall. Some pounded their fists against the stone in approval. But others… others stared at Lena.

Kade’s gaze swept to them, sharp. “You’ve also seen what the bond has awakened.”

The murmurs grew louder. Whispers hissed between teeth. Prophecy. Bloodmarked. Dangerous.

Finally, one of the elders rose—a woman with hair silver as frost and eyes like ice chips. Elder Marwen. She leaned on her staff as she spoke, her voice cutting.

“We’ve heard the stories. A bloodmarked human bound to an Alpha. A curse more than a blessing. If the bond seals, it will bring ruin.”

The hall erupted. Wolves barked agreement, some snarling openly at Lena, while others growled their denial, snapping at their packmates to silence. The sound was a storm—chaos rolling in waves.

Lena’s throat tightened. She wanted to speak, to defend herself, but her tongue felt heavy. Every glare, every hiss of outsider sank into her skin.

Kade slammed his hand on the table, the stone cracking under his palm. The hall froze.

“Enough.” His voice was a growl, reverberating in the wolves’ bones. “The prophecy is nothing but words twisted by fear. She is mine. That is the only truth you need.”

“And when your truth destroys us?” Marwen shot back, her chin lifting. “What then? Will you sacrifice your entire pack for a human girl?”

The words struck like a lash. Wolves snarled in agreement, the sound like a rising tide.

Kade bared his teeth. “I will sacrifice anyone who dares threaten what’s mine.”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Lena’s heart slammed in her chest. She should have felt shielded by his vow, but instead she felt the weight of it pressing down on her. He was drawing a line in blood, and it was her name carved into the stone.

The elder’s lip curled. “Then you doom us all.”

Kade moved faster than thought. One moment he stood at the head of the table, the next his hand was wrapped around Marwen’s throat, lifting her from the floor. His claws dug into her pale skin, his eyes burning with gold fire.

“Speak against her again,” he snarled, “and I will tear out your tongue.”

The pack watched, frozen, torn between fear and fury.

“Alpha,” another councilor ventured cautiously, “if the prophecy is true—”

“It isn’t,” Kade snapped, dropping Marwen in a heap. He turned, his gaze searing across the room. “And if it is, then I will burn fate itself before I let it touch her.”

Lena’s chest constricted. His words weren’t a promise. They were a war cry.

The wolves broke into argument again, voices clashing, accusations flying. Some swore loyalty to Kade and to her. Others demanded her death before the bond could seal. The air felt alive with violence, the hall moments from erupting into bloodshed.

Then it happened.

A voice rose above the chaos, shrill and certain:

“She is already changing.”

Every gaze snapped to Lena.

Her stomach dropped.

“What do you mean?” Kade demanded, his body coiled like a predator ready to strike.

The wolf who’d spoken—a scarred male with eyes like quicksilver—pointed at her hand. “Look.”

Lena followed their stares. Her fingers were trembling on the table, her nails—

Not nails.

Claws.

Not long, not sharp, but dark, curved, undeniable.

Gasps echoed through the hall. Wolves reeled back as though struck. Prophecy. Bloodmarked. Becoming one of us.

Her breath caught, panic flooding her chest. She curled her hands into fists, shoving them into her lap, but it was too late. They’d seen.

Kade moved in an instant, slamming his hand on the table again, drawing every eye back to him. His voice was a roar of fury and possession.

“She is mine. She changes because the bond is stronger than your fear. You will not touch her. You will not speak against her again. Or I will rip your hearts out myself.”

His vow rang through the hall, savage and final.

The pack fell into silence, but Lena could feel it—the fracture splintering deeper, the war building not from outside, but within.

And as Kade pulled her to her feet, holding her against his chest, his golden eyes blazing at the pack, Lena realized something that chilled her to the bone.

The rival alpha’s death hadn’t ended anything.

It had only begun the war.