Chapter 2

Tamara’s POV

Either I was having the worst hangover or I was being tortured. Except I didn’t drink. I corrected my inner voice. Then why did it hurt so much? My skin burned as if set on fire, and was that my sister’s voice? Where was I?

Everything was too loud. I forced myself to understand my surroundings, but my body felt heavy, hands pressing against me. My eyelids fluttered open, vision blurred. White coats, blue scrubs. The ceiling above cleared into focus. It all came crashing back – The Bite

A panicked voice broke through. “Tamara, can you hear me? Stay with me, dear, you’ll be fine.” Jenna. My sister’s voice, rushing closer.

My vision was too hazy to find her. Pain exploded in my shoulder, sharp enough to make me cry out. The noise around me grew unbearable. I could hear everything at once.

“She’s burning up! Help her!” Jen screamed as someone pulled her back.

I heard the doctor’s pen scratching, Jen’s frantic heartbeat, even the hum of fluorescent lights, each sound piercing, too sharp. I groaned, the fire in my veins unbearable. Wires tugged at my skin, but another sensation overwhelmed me: a pull.

“Where is he?” My lips moved on their own, eyes shut against the pain. I needed something, someone. My body demanded it. “Percy.” The name slipped out again, unbidden.

Familiar hands cupped my face. Jen’s voice trembled. “Mara… what did you say?”

Before I could answer, the doctor spoke. “Her vitals are unstable. This isn’t a normal infection.” His hand pressed against my shoulder. Gasps filled the room. “Her wounds… they’re almost healed.”

Too exhausted to understand, my eyes rolled back. Darkness swallowed me.

When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer in the hospital my body had carried me somewhere else, as if in a daze. My legs carried me to a path unknown. Bare feet staggered across the cold Gravenmoore alley stones. My vision pulsed between clarity and haze. The hospital gown clung awkwardly over my crumpled interview clothes. My heart pounded against my ribs.

“Tamara!” Jen’s voice echoed faintly behind me. “Please stop! Come back!”

But I couldn’t. I was drawn forward, compelled by something unseen. Whispers filled my head. Those eyes.

Her voice faded. My body gave out. I collapsed onto the ground. Shadows moved around me. Strong arms lifted me, their grip too steady, too powerful for ordinary men.

One of them muttered under his breath, low and certain “She’s the one. Don’t let her fall.”

My fogged mind couldn’t place them, only that they carried me somewhere I didn’t understand.

I woke to strange scents and unfamiliar faces. My vision sharpened. My eyes scanned the room. The air was thick with musk and heartbeats, each one pounding in my ears. What’s happening to me? Where am I?

An elderly woman approached, her long dark brown hair gleaming, her skin radiant. She carried herself with warmth and authority.

I tried to sit upright, elbows trembling, back pressed against the firm wall. My clothes were different now, a warm brown strapless dress. My fingers brushed my hair. The cornrows felt old, stray strands escaping the weave.

Voices murmured faintly around me. One word cut through the noise: bond.

The woman sat beside me, eyes kind. “You’re alive. The bond is burning through you.”

“Bond? What bond?” My voice cracked.

She smiled gently. “I am Tati, but the pack calls me Mother. What’s your name, dear?”

My head spun. Fear clawed at me. I remembered nothing before the phone call with my sister. Sister? Where was Jenna? And now this woman spoke of a pack? My life couldn’t possibly get worse.

Seeing my panic, Tati guided me back against the bed. Her voice softened, almost like a lullaby. “Rest properly, child. You’ll need your strength. And understand this – your blood is no longer what it was. It is changing, carrying something greater than you realize. And don’t worry about your hair. You shouldn’t trouble yourself over it now; we can always take care of it later.”

I blinked at her, disbelief twisting inside me. “Bond? Blood changing? This sounds like something out of the fantasy novels I read, not real life.” My voice shook, half‑laughing, half‑terrified. “I’m not… I’m not a character in a book.”

Tati’s smile deepened, patient. “Perhaps you are, child. Perhaps the story has simply chosen you.”

Her words soothed me despite my disbelief. I exhaled, surrendering to sleep. But before rest claimed me, adrenaline surged. The pull returned, stronger. I rose, turning toward Tati with silent questions. She only smiled knowingly.

The hall suddenly grew too bright, too loud. My veins burned like fire, every heartbeat rattling my chest. Then the doors opened.

He stepped in. Those eyes. I hadn’t expected to see him fully. I had only glimpsed him before, yet his presence commanded the room. His aura pressed against me, undeniable.

The moment his piercing blue eyes met mine, the world tilted. The bond snapped into place, a tether pulling tight, scorching through my veins. I gasped, clutching my chest, the fire overwhelming.

Whispers erupted. “The Alpha has found his mate!” The words spread like wildfire, disbelief and awe rippling through the hall.

Another voice pressed toward Percy “Alpha, you feel it too.”

Mate. The word echoed in my head. I didn’t understand it, but when his eyes locked with mine, I knew he was the bond they spoke of. Mate? What did they mean? I wasn’t theirs. I wasn’t anyone’s. This wasn’t supposed to be real… except it was.

Percy’s tattoo glowed faintly, burning against his skin. Proof. He felt it too.

But his face wasn’t joy. It was stone. His jaw clenched, eyes hard, as if the bond was a curse instead of fate.

I staggered, knees buckling, the fire searing me alive. My scream echoed, silencing the whispers.

And Percy… he didn’t move. He just stood there, cold, unreadable.

Darkness clawed at my vision. The last thing I saw was his expression, not wonder, not relief, but resistance.

He felt it. He knew. And yet… he resisted the bond.

I collapsed, the bond still burning, the hall gasping around me.