WEAKENED BONDS

Elaris’s POV

The heavy sheets of silk that covered the guest suite of the Alpha felt foreign upon my skin, every breath that I drew rasping against my throat as my weak body tried to heal from the essence extraction.

Every inch of me felt empty, as though something essential had been taken from me and not returned.

Sela crept quietly into the room and her black eyes looked worriedly at the pulse that was rapidly fading at my wrist. She furrowed her brow at the prolonged time her fingers stayed there, as if trying to feel something that was under my skin.

“Elaris, your wolf is starving,” Sela spoke quietly, depositing a hot potion on my nightstand. “Since Caedmon cut off your connection to him, he has taken more than just your blood—your inner wolf refuses to repair itself.”

“I see.” I glanced back at her. “Is the severing of the mate bond capable of doing this?”

Sela was hesitant about replying. “The bond that was formed for many years will not simply vanish because one partner decided to break it. Your wolf has known Caedmon as its second half. Perhaps it will take some time until it accepts his death.”

The door to the bedroom opened, and Averic came in, and his imposing form seemed to throw shadows all around the grand room.

His eyes traveled from Sela to me, and the worry in his eyes increased when he saw how pale I was.

As soon as I tried to sit up in order to bow, Averic came up to me in two steps, and put a hand to my shoulder to force me back into lying down position.

"You don't bow to anyone who is under my roof," said Averic with authority, and I couldn't help but shiver, and feel a thrill going through me.

He lifted the cup with the herbal medicine, checking its temperature and gave it to me, and his fingers brushed my own for just a moment.

The spark that went through me from his touch surprised me so much that I snatched my hand away, trying not to show how I felt.

Tears filled my eyes as I looked down at the dark liquid in the cup, confessing how Caedmon had called me a killer and abandoned me because of the sacrifice I'd done for him in order to save his life.

Averic’s jaw was clenching so tight a muscle pulsed in his cheek, rage flashing through his eyes but still keeping his touch to my hand gentle beyond belief.

“He called you a murderer after you gave up your baby for him to live?”

Averic spoke in such a quiet tone, barely audible through the air.

I dropped my eyes down to the floorboards beneath me, ashamed by my actions. “He said I had no right to have made the decision to myself.”

“And it was right of him to cast you out for saving him?”

There was nothing to say.

“Caedmon is a fool, unworthy of your devotion,” Averic continued his protective tone growing deeper as he leaned towards me. “You are going to stay in this palace as long as you wish, Elaris. No one will ever cast you out again.”

I looked at him. “It is not your place to give me such promises.”

“And why not?”

“Because promises can be broken.”

His eyes grew dark.

“My won’t.”

I gazed into Averic's fiery and protective eyes, feeling an odd, fearful warmth fill my chest—a first stir of emotion I dared not voice. It was the first time in a long while that I questioned how it would be to finally find a place to fit without having to give away a part of myself.

Then Sela glanced toward the door.

"Alpha," she murmured. "There is something else you should know."

Averic glanced at her.

"What?"

The woman's gaze drifted downward to where I stood.

"The bond is weakening quicker than it should."

Before I could ask what she meant, sharp pain ripped through my chest—the tenuous link with Caedmon severed completely and blood filled my mouth as I fell sideways onto the bed.

"Elaris!"

Averic caught me as I started falling off the bed, but the pain did not abate.

Deep within me, my wolf cried out.

And Sela screamed.

“Alpha… her wolf is disappearing.”