All Chapters of Bonds at War: The Untouched is Mine: Chapter 161 - Chapter 170

TESSA I wiped my eyes with the heel of my hand. The room felt too full of his scent, so I slipped out quietly.The hallway was still, painted in soft gray dawn light leaking through the tall windows. My footsteps echoed faintly as I walked, each one feeling like I was moving farther from myself.I just wanted to go home. Home—though even that word didn’t mean much anymore. But anywhere else was better than here.I was almost at the main door when his voice broke through the quiet.“There you are.”I froze.Rowan was standing there, a little bit breathless, eyes fixed on me. The silence that stretched between us was deafening.I wanted so badly to close the distance. To touch him. I wanted to feel his arms around me again, even if it meant pretending for just a moment that everything was different.But I didn’t move.He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, a nervous gesture I’d seen some times before.I braced myself. I was waiting for the rejection.“I’m not going to reject y

TESSAI placed my hand over my lips and replayed the kiss over and over again in my mind. What I felt back then couldn’t be compared to anything I’ve ever felt in my entire life. I’ve never felt so… alive. And if it was already like that, just a small touch of the lips, then I couldn’t even begin to imagine if we… I shook my head before that thought entered my mind. Again, he had someone else he loved, and they were in a loving relationship! With that, I made the decision to head out for a run. It had been some time since I had let my wolf roam free, and after that kiss with Rowan, my inner beast had been fussier than usual. Fortunately, Zaria was back in Elite, so I didn’t have anyone breathing down my ear. Still, I took care to slip out of my room quietly, not wanting to alert those in the house.I grabbed my robe and shifted in the enveloping embrace of the forest, sighing in relief as my limbs began to transform, slowly becoming covered in soft, thick fur. I was just an ordina

TESSAIt was the last day before Winter break, and Ellana decided to go to school with me today. She was pacing a little, nervous, and I could tell why. Today, she promised she was going to tell Rowan about her mate. She didn’t want to keep it hidden anymore.I was nervous, too.Zaria had come home yesterday, her last day at Elite coming before us, and the house had been heavier ever since. When she stepped into the living room that morning, her presence made me feel smaller than before. “What’s taking you so long?” Zaria asked, leaning against the doorway, her arms crossed. Her gaze flicked between me and Ellana. “You got close?” Her words were clipped. “I told you, Ellana. You shouldn’t indulge Tessa. She likes attention.”I bit my lip. I was happier when she wasn’t here.Ellana glanced at me for a second. Then, she pressed her lips together. “We’re friends, Zaria,” she said. “And… we’re going to school together. Rowan’s driving us.” Zaria turned to glare at me for a moment bef

TESSAI woke to pain.Not the kind of dull ache that comes from overexertion or bruises after training, but a deep, suffocating pressure that seemed to live inside me. My chest burned. My body trembled as though I had been torn apart and stitched together again.Alive.I was alive.The realization struck like lightning, blinding and terrifying all at once. Then, I looked around, looking for Ellana. “Ellana!” I exclaimed. I tried to sit up, every muscle screaming in protest.The room around me was small and oddly rustic compared to the polished pack infirmaries I was used to. The walls were pale wood, shelves stacked with unfamiliar herbs, instruments too modern to belong to some rural clinic yet too old to belong in the city. A draft blew through the half-open window, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth.I didn’t recognize this place.Panic made its way up my throat. My heart hammered too hard. Where was Ellana?The accident flashed back in pieces, and I had to close my eyes

TESSA I thought my days without my parents were bad, but it got even worse when I came back. Back then, at least the loneliness was something I could swallow and learn to endure. But here, it was humiliation layered upon humiliation, each one a fresh reminder that maybe I should have never returned.Zaria told me I wasn’t arrested for the “mercy” of the pack. Mercy. What a cruel word that was. What kind of mercy was this, when every step I took was an invitation for someone to sneer, shove, or whisper lies about me? Maybe it would’ve been better to be locked up, to rot behind iron bars where at least the walls couldn’t spit in my face.Someone spat in my food. “You eat anything, right?” an unfamiliar person asked, smirking down at me without shame. The laughter that followed rang louder than the thud of my tray hitting the ground. I tried to leave, but Cameron stuck his foot out at the last moment. I stumbled, the floor biting into my knees and palms.A bruise already started bloom