Bound by Fate, Doomed by Fear

Lorien

Cassius had been furious.  

I saw it in the way his jaw clenched, in the storm raging behind his dark eyes. When our bond was revealed, he didn’t just reject me—he recoiled, as if the Moon Goddess had played a cruel joke on him.  

“A mistake,” I had heard him mutter under his breath before he stormed out of the hall, his heavy boots echoing down the corridor.  

That was about two hours ago, but his reaction still burned. My mate—the one person who was supposed to love me, cherish me—had looked at me like I was nothing. Less than nothing.  

I curled up on my cot, staring at the ceiling of my tiny dorm. The night was quiet, but inside, my thoughts were anything but. Was this it? Was I doomed to feel this pain for the rest of my life? The mate bond was unbreakable—at least, not without rejection.

Honestly, I might have been more surprised than him at finding out we were mates. It almost never happened that a man was mates with another man. It was almost unheard of, and it was seriously looked down on. 

Especially in a pack like mine that thrived on dominance and patriarchy, it wasn't even a subject of discussion. 

I understood Cassius' fear. 

Would Cassius officially reject me? Would he stand before the pack and strip me of the one thing that tied us together?  

I swallowed against the lump in my throat. No. He wouldn’t even need to. The pack already hated me—an omega, the only male one in generations. No one would fight for me. No one would care if my mate abandoned me.  

A sharp knock at my door made me freeze. My heart lurched in my chest, and for a moment, I thought I had imagined it.  

Then, another knock. Harder this time.  

I sat up, my breath shallow. Who would be here this late?  

Slowly, I swung my legs over the bed and approached the door. My fingers trembled as I turned the handle.  

Cassius stood on the other side.  

My breath caught. The hallway’s dim lighting cast sharp shadows across his face, highlighting the tension in his expression. His hands were clenched at his sides, his whole body rigid, as if he were barely holding himself together.  

“Cassius—”  

“Let me in,” he said, his voice rough, barely above a growl.  

I hesitated. He had spent the entire day rejecting this bond, rejecting me. Why was he here now?  

Something dark and desperate flashed in his eyes. “Lorien,” he said, his voice lower this time. Almost pleading. “Please.”  

I stepped aside.  

The moment he was inside, he shut the door behind him, locking it. My pulse quickened.  

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.  

Cassius exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his hair. He looked like he was at war with himself, pacing the small space like a caged animal.  

“I shouldn’t be here,” he muttered.  

“Then go.” I hated how weak my voice sounded, how much I wanted him to stay despite everything.  

Cassius stopped. His gaze locked onto mine, and for the first time since this nightmare began, I saw it—the struggle. The way his chest rose and fell unevenly, the way his fingers twitched like he wanted to reach for me but couldn’t bring himself to.  

“I can’t,” he admitted.  

My heart clenched.  

His breathing was ragged now. He took a slow step forward, then another, until we were close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off of him.  

“The bond,” he ground out. “It won’t let me stay away.”  

I swallowed hard. “So what? You’re here because you have no choice?”  

His hand shot out, gripping my wrist. Not painfully, but firm. His fingers were warm, his touch sending an electric jolt through me.  

“I don’t want this,” he said, his voice tight. “I don’t want you.”  

It shouldn’t have hurt. Not after everything. But it did.  

I tried to pull away. “Then let me go.”  

He didn’t. Instead, he yanked me forward. I gasped as my chest collided with his, my hands instinctively landing against his firm chest.  

“Cassius—”  

His lips crashed against mine.  

It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t gentle. It was a clash of desperation, anger, and something deeper that neither of us could name. My mind screamed at me to push him away, to fight back against the cruel way he had treated me, but my body betrayed me. The mate bond roared to life, and I melted against him.  

Cassius groaned, deepening the kiss. His hands found my waist, gripping me tightly as if anchoring himself. His touch was searing, leaving behind an invisible mark, and I hated how much I wanted it—how much I wanted him.  

“Damn it,” he breathed against my lips. “Why does it feel like this?”  

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I was drowning in him, in the way his fingers dug into my skin, in the way his lips moved with desperate need.  

Then suddenly, he lifted me. My legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, my back pressing against the cool wall as he held me up with ease. I gasped, but he swallowed the sound with another bruising kiss.  

“You hate this,” I whispered between breaths. “You hate me.”  

His grip on me tightened. “I don’t—” His voice broke. “I don’t know what I feel anymore.”  

I squeezed my eyes shut. Because I knew.  

I had loved Cassius for years. I had watched him from afar, knowing he would never look at me the way I looked at him. And now, for the first time, he did. Even if it was only because of the bond. Even if he would regret this the moment morning came.  

I should have stopped this.  

But I didn’t.  

I let him claim me that night.  

And for a few fleeting hours, I let myself believe that maybe—just maybe—this meant something.  

**********

I woke to the soft glow of morning light filtering through the window.  

My body ached in ways I never thought it could, but it wasn’t pain. It was a reminder of everything that had happened.  

Of him.  

I turned, my heart hammering in anticipation. Cassius was already awake. Sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to me.  

A rush of emotions flooded me—hope, fear, the tiniest sliver of something that felt like happiness. Maybe now, after last night, things would be different. Maybe he—  

He stood abruptly.  

I sat up, reaching for him. “Cassius—”  

Then he turned, and I froze.  

His expression was blank. Cold. As if nothing had happened.  

As if we had never happened.  

“This never happened,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion.  

My stomach dropped. “What?”  

He met my gaze, his eyes like ice. “Last night. It was a mistake.”  

A mistake.  

The word sliced through me like a blade.  

“I—” My throat tightened. “You don’t mean that.”  

He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “I do.” His tone was final. “No one can know about this. No one will know.”  

I felt like I was going to be sick. “Cassius, please—”  

But he was already walking to the door.  

I scrambled to my feet. “Was any of it real?”  

He hesitated, his hand on the doorknob.  

For a second, I thought—hoped—he might take it back. That he might turn around and see me, really see me.  

Then, without another word, he left.  

The door clicked shut behind him, and I

was alone.  

I pressed a hand to my chest, where my heart still raced from the night before. But now, it wasn’t from pleasure.  

It was from pain.