All Chapters of Bound by Darkness: Shadowborn: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Ciaran's POV She sighed in her sleep, soft and warm, curled beneath the black sheets like a secret only he was allowed to keep. Ciaran sat on the edge of the bed, shadows dancing along his bare arms, watching her with a hunger no time or rebirth had ever dulled. He touched her hair gently at first, fingers combing through the silky strands. Then, slowly, he wrapped them around his hand and tugged her head back, exposing her neck. He leaned down, lips brushing her pulse point—possessive, reverent. "Mine," he whispered into her skin. Her body responded even in sleep. A breath caught in her throat, her fingers curled into the sheets. That was all the permission he needed. Ciaran traced the slope of her collarbone, his hand lingering over her chest, then lower, pausing just above the line of her waist. He wasn't cruel; he wasn't careless. Every touch was a memory, a reclamation. He had waited lifetimes to hold her again. He whispered in the old tongue, a spell of tethering, ancient a

Ari's POV I felt the wall form before I fully understood what was happening. One moment, my voice was tangled with hers, thoughts weaving freely between us, and the next — a cold barrier slammed into place, cutting off her mind from mine. Therrin was gone. Or rather, locked away behind something cold and unyielding, leaving me stranded on this side of a vast, silent chasm. Panic gripped me immediately. My heart hammered, breath caught in my throat, and my hands trembled as I tried to push against that invisible barrier. "Therrin!" I whispered, my voice breaking with desperation. "Please, don't shut me out." No answer came. Nothing but an echo of silence. I reached deeper, clawing at the mental wall, trying to tear it down with sheer force of will. But it held firm. Every attempt to bridge the divide only seemed to make it thicker, more solid. It was like fighting shadows in a storm—futile, exhausting, but I refused to give up. The worst part was the loneliness. I had always share

Therrin's POV The cabin was quiet save for the rhythmic sound of our breathing. Morning light filtered through the cracks in the old wooden walls, but my vision wasn't bathed in gold—it was shadowed. I could see the edges of Ciaran's form beside me, clear and sharp, though the rest of the room remained smudged and soft, like a dream painted in charcoal. I should have been terrified. Instead, I was mesmerized. I watched him sleep for a moment, his lashes dark against pale skin, the faint crease between his brows smoothing only when I touched his face. My fingers ran along his cheekbone, down to his collarbone, where the sheet had slipped. His skin was cool, but not cold. Not like I'd expected from someone who commanded darkness. He stirred beneath my touch. "Are you watching me again, mo ghrá?" he murmured, voice still thick with sleep. I smiled, not answering, and brushed a strand of hair from his forehead. "You always know." "I feel you. Even when I sleep." His eyes opened, glea

Therrin's POV The forest around her breathed in slow, rhythmic pulses, a living entity shadowed by the deepening twilight. Therrin stood barefoot on the cool earth, her senses stretching outward beyond the visible—the hidden, the unseen. Her breath was steady, heart thudding a steady beat that harmonized with the shadows curling beneath the ancient trees. She closed her eyes and extended her mind, reaching tentatively at first. Then with more confidence, she called out, a soft summons threaded through the silence. "Come to me." The darkness responded. From the edges of her vision, shadows twitched and writhed as if alive, drawn to her like moths to a flickering flame. Thin, smoky tendrils drifted from the gnarled roots and branches, weaving closer until they hovered just beyond her skin, cool and restless. They did not rush or attack—only waited, expectant. Her chest tightened as a surge of raw power unfurled

Dion's POV He felt it before he saw it. The tug. The fire. The unbearable silence. The bond between him and Therrin had grown stronger over time — something raw and ancient. But tonight… tonight it burned. Wild and wrong. Like a blade sliding between his ribs, twisted just enough to keep him standing. Dion stormed into the clearing, eyes wild, scent trailing like smoke behind him, shadows whispering in retreat. The moment he crossed the old ward lines, he knew something was off. The cabin he'd built her wasn't empty. But she wasn't there. She was gone. "Where are you?" Dion whispered, but it wasn't a question. It was a plea. He was pulled by instinct more than reason — following the trail only a bonded mate could trace. His boots crushed moss and ash, his heart pounding harder with every step. Then, he fr