Chapter Three: The Unbreakable Bond

The burning hit my arm like boiling water.

My head spun, and everything went dark around the edges. A sharp, terrible pain ran up my arm and straight toward my chest.

Nightshade poison was made to kill shifters almost instantly. For a human like me, it was game over.

"Lyra!"

Valen’s voice sounded muffled and far away. He pulled me into the corner of the carriage, shielding me with his body as two more arrows crashed through the broken window and stuck in the wooden wall.

"Protect the carriage! Get the shooters!" Valen roared. Outside, swords started clashing, and people started shouting.

Valen pressed his hand hard over my arm, trying to stop the dark blood from pouring out.

"Are you crazy?" he growled, his gold eyes wide with panic. "Why did you push me?"

"Because," I gasped, barely able to breathe, "you can't help me get revenge... if you're dead."

"Be quiet." Valen closed his eyes, and a faint silver light started glowing from his palm as he tried to push the poison out of my skin.

It was a simple healing trick, but the moment his skin touched mine, something went wrong.

POP.

A wave of air blasted through the carriage.

The silver light turned into a bright gold flash. A burst of heat knocked the small table over and cracked the wooden walls.

Valen pulled his hands back quickly, staring at me in shock. "What is that?"

My arm didn't hurt anymore. Deep in my chest, something that had been asleep my whole life suddenly woke up.

I heard a loud, clear wolf howl inside my head. It felt huge and powerful.

The black poison on my skin dried up and turned into dust. My blood started glowing slightly, and the cut on my arm pulled itself closed, leaving behind a small mark shaped like a crescent moon with gold lines around it.

Valen stared at my shoulder, completely frozen. His eyes turned almost pitch black.

The air inside the carriage suddenly smelled like fresh rain and pine trees, the sign of a True Mate Bond.

"No way," Valen whispered, his voice shaking. "You're my mate?"

"No," I breathed, sitting up as a wave of energy rushed through my body. I didn't feel weak anymore. I felt stronger than I ever had in my life. "That isn't just a mate mark."

Valen reached out and touched the mark on my shoulder. The second he made contact, a rush of old images flashed through my head.

He pulled his hand away fast, his face turning completely pale.

"You aren't a stray," Valen said, his voice dropping to a whisper. He pulled out his pocket knife and held the flat side up so I could see my face in the reflection.

My eyes weren't dark brown anymore. They were glowing bright purple.

"Purple eyes," Valen said, staring at me with a mix of surprise and anger. "That's the royal mark of the family my people wiped out two hundred years ago. You aren't just a reader, Lyra. You're the last blood of my family's worst enemies."

Before I could say anything, the carriage tipped over hard. Metal crunched, wood snapped, and we tumbled sideways off the road.

We slammed against the roof as the carriage landed upside down in the dirt.

Through the broken wood, a loud, ugly voice shouted from the woods.

"Pull them out!" Marcus called out. "The King is shot, and the girl is trapped! Finish them both!"

Valen wiped a bit of blood from his forehead and looked at me across the broken carriage. The mate feeling was pulling at both of us, even though our families hated each other.

"Well," Valen said, a small, dark grin showing on his face as he held out his hand. "Looks like we have to fight them off before we figure out what to do with each other."