Lahat ng Kabanata ng Bound by Blood, Fated to the Two Alphas : Kabanata 141 - Kabanata 150

Kael' PoVSomething's wrong with my skin.I'm climbing out of the Moon Well when I notice it. Faint lines glowing under the surface. Same pattern as the marks on Elara's arms. But these are new. Fresh. Burning like someone drew them with hot wire."What the hell?" I touch one of the lines. Feels warm. Pulses like a heartbeat."Kael." Ronan's voice sounds strange. "Look at your hands."I hold them up. More glowing lines. Spiraling around my wrists and fingers. Getting brighter every second."You too?" I ask.He nods. Shows me his arms. Same marks. Same glow. Both of us looking like we got branded with moonlight."What's happening to us?""I don't know."But I got a feeling I know who might.Elara's standing by the edge of the well holding the baby. Her marks are blazing now. Brighter than I ever seen them. But she don't look scared. Looks... peaceful. Like something that was broken just got fixed."Elara." I walk over to her. "What did you do?""I didn't do nothing. The water did it."

RONAN'S POV That smell won't leave me alone.Been four days since we saw the thing in the forest but I keep smelling it. Old leather. Something metallic like blood mixed with rain. And underneath all that something else. Something that makes my wolf pace around inside my head like a caged animal."You're doing it again," Kael says."Doing what?""That thing where you sniff the air every five minutes.""Air smells weird.""Air smells like air."I want to argue but he's probably right. Normal people don't smell stories from their childhood in random forest encounters. Normal people don't get haunted by cloaks.But then again we ain't normal people anymore."My dad used to tell me about the old wars," I say.Kael stops what he's doing. "What old wars?""Before the packs settled territories. When everything was chaos. Wolves killing wolves. No rules. No alphas keeping order.""Sounds like bullshit.""Maybe. But he swore there were protectors back then. Warriors who wore black cloaks and

KAEL'S POVThe smoke's been rising for three hours.Black column twisting up into the gray sky like a finger pointing at nothing. Coming from the northern hills where the Riverside pack makes their home. Or used to make their home."That ain't a campfire," Ronan says. We're standing on the ridge looking down at what's left of their territory. "That's everything burning.""Could be an accident.""Could be. But when's the last time you seen an accident that burns that hot?"He's right. The smoke's too thick. Too dark. Smells wrong even from five miles away. Like burning meat mixed with something chemical.The distress howl came two hours ago. Long mournful sound that made every wolf in our territory stop what they were doing and listen. Signal that means one thing. Help us or we all die."We going down there or not?" Ronan asks."Yeah. But we go careful. Could be a trap.""Everything's a trap lately."We shift and run. Four legs move faster than two when you need to cover ground quick.

RONAN'S POV The figure's back.Been watching it for three nights now from the bedroom window. Same black cloak. Same way of moving like it's floating instead of walking. Always appears right after midnight near the river that marks our territory's eastern border.Tonight I'm ready for it.Slipped out while Kael and Elara were arguing about evacuation routes. Left my rifle behind but got my fighting knife and enough anger to kill whatever's been stalking us. Time to get some answers about what happened to the Riverside pack.The figure's exactly where I expected. Standing by the old oak that got struck by lightning last summer. Perfectly still like a statue someone left by the water.I circle wide. Use the terrain to stay hidden while getting close enough to cut off escape routes. These things are fast but everything's got limits. Everything bleeds if you hit it right.Get within fifty yards before it turns toward me. Still can't see a face under that hood but I feel eyes watching. Ev

ELARA'S POV Something's wrong with my skin.I notice it first thing in the morning. New marks on my arms. They look like the symbols we saw burned into the trees. Dark lines that twist and spiral up from my wrists to my elbows.They don't hurt. That's the weird part. They should hurt, right? But they just feel warm. Like someone drew them on with heated ink."Kael," I whisper. He's still sleeping next to me. His arm is wrapped around my very pregnant belly."Mmm?" He opens one eye. Then both eyes when he sees my face. "What's wrong?"I show him my arms.He sits up so fast he nearly falls out of bed. "Holy shit. When did this happen?""I don't know. They weren't there last night."He takes my arm gently. Traces the marks with his finger. His touch makes them glow a little brighter."Do they hurt?""No. They feel... warm. Almost nice."His jaw tightens. "This isn't normal, Elara.""Yeah, I figured that out."But even as I say it, I hear them. The voices. Clearer than they've ever been.