All Chapters of Bound to the Capo: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

MAKENA I had no idea how long I had been in the shower as I sat there, huddled in the corner, knees drawn up to my chest, arms wrapped around them. The dress was finally off of me, lying in a pathetic heap near the drain, soaked and twisted like my insides, and the water had long stopped flowing, but I still shivered. A voice came, calling my name. It was Erika. I wanted to answer her. However, my lips would not move, and my throat was raw. Silence fell until I noticed the frosted glass of the shower door slide open and Erika's face peeking through. Her eyes widened, and whatever she was about to say died the moment she saw me. Her expression shattered, and I knew she had heard me cry. Without a word, she rushed forward. She took a towel, and I looked up at her helplessly as she helped me to my feet, slowly and carefully, as if she was afraid I would break in her arms. She wrapped the towel around me, and I leaned into her, too exhausted to pretend any longer. She didn’t as

MAKENA Arriving at the apartment, I paused at the door as that smile I’d been wearing in the car, the excited, hopeful one about my family wanting to meet Val, vanished when I reached for the handle. In its place came the crushing pain of everything I had shoved so deeply. Memories, shame, and Akira's cruel expressions. It surfaced like bruises pressed too hard, and my fingers hovered over the wood as I began to shake. Tears blurred my vision before I even realized what was happening, and I blinked rapidly, cursing myself under my breath. Pull it together, Makena. Pull yourself together. I knocked, but as Val opened the door, I lost any grip I had left. I broke into his arms without a word. He embraced me without hesitation as if he knew I would fall apart the moment he saw me. At first, he didn't say anything and simply held me. Then he lifted me, one arm beneath my knees and the other around my back, carrying me to the couch. He sat down with me on his lap, his arms still

BACK AT MAKENA’S HOME VAL "Goodnight," I said to Makena, handing the phone back to Erika, who also wished me goodnight before leaving the room. I was still at Makena's house, and despite the awkwardness with her father, she thought it best that we spend the night, as we had been invited. But because we weren't married, we were assigned separate bedrooms. I had been nervous about meeting her parents, especially given the circumstances, but I knew I had to. She was fighting for us, and I needed to do my part, so I came. But, ever since I arrived, a bad feeling had settled in my chest, and I couldn’t shake it, no matter how much I understood why her father behaved the way he did. I was no Akira, and he had every right to react the way he did to my presence. However, the bad feeling, the anxiety, refused to let me sleep, and as a result, I couldn’t wait until morning to leave. I considered sneaking into my mate’s room, but I didn’t want to risk getting caught. It would have been

THIRD-PARTY POV Erika gasped, tripping over a log and jamming her toenail in the process. The pain flared briefly, but the injury healed almost immediately. She wasn’t even sure where exactly she needed to go, but she was driven by desperation. The air was heavy, thick with an eerie presence that made her skin crawl, and with each step, her knees weakened. She feared she might be entering a vampire's lair, but Makena had no one else to turn to. She had to do whatever it took to help her. This was the forest edge where she had last picked up Makena and Val. The thought of him sent shivers down her spine. She felt foolish now that she knew what he truly was, recalling how she had thought he was just a reclusive human living alone. She rolled her eyes at the thought. "How gullible are you, Erika?" She muttered under her breath. She still didn't understand how he had a human scent, though, but her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden snap of twigs behind her, causing her to freez

MAKENA “Let him go!” I repeated, tears obscuring my vision as my father refused to move at my last command, and he eventually did. However, instead of turning to his men and giving them orders to release my mate, he moved closer. "You have to choose, Makena!" he exclaimed. "Because if you do this, choose that thing, and walk out the door with it, you will never be able to return. You will no longer be part of this family!” His voice cracked with fury, and my mother tried to speak, but her words were incoherent with my hand still buried in her chest. "You will no longer be my daughter." I forced my head up, as if I were not dying inside, as he continued, "My heir." "I have already decided." I met his gaze, my voice breaking as I watched a tear trail down his cheek. I didn’t want to lose my home, and I was afraid of losing my parents. I loved them wholeheartedly, but Val was my heart, and he was dying. With a solemn nod, my father wiped his cheek before turning to the guards a