Lahat ng Kabanata ng Bound To The Cursed Lycan : Kabanata 151 - Kabanata 160

THEODOSA. I left Ember later than I meant to. The others were still talking when I slipped out. Base had started another round of complaints about the kitchen staff. Beanne was laughing too hard to stop him. Afnie caught my eye once and didn’t ask where I was going. I was grateful for that. The paths felt different in the early evening light. Less confusing. Or maybe I was just too tired to care if I got lost again. I walked without a real destination until the familiar shape of the nursery cabin came into view. Huh. My home away from home. I stopped at the edge of the clearing. Children’s voices carried through the open windows. High and bright and completely unbothered by anything that had happened on the shore or in Xahen’s office. I almost turned around. Then a small face appeared at one of the windows and spotted me. The door flew open before I could decide. Three of them spilled out at once. The smallest one—the girl who’d once hung off Xahen’s arm like it was t

XAHEN.I leaned against the wall and stared at the boy in the cell across from me.Binny Fane lay on the cot with his eyes fixed on the ceiling like every last bit of fight had already left him. The silver bars threw thin shadows across his face. I stayed in the dark longer than I needed to. Watching. Studying him with more care than I liked giving the kid.The similarities kept pulling at me. Same blue eyes when the light hit them right. Same stubborn set to the jaw even in sleep. Same scatter of freckles across the bridge of the nose. In a little over a month of Theodosa being here I had never once met a living relative of Luna or Oceanne. Now there was this relentless boy who had swum currents that should have killed him, burned my ships, and still sat in my cells trying to drag her home.I could have told myself it was another ploy. Another long game dressed up as family loyalty. The thought sat there ready if I wanted it. I didn’t take it. I just stood there and let myself turn o

THEODOSA.Kane led the way without looking back to check if I followed.I did. The path toward the cells felt longer than it should have. My stomach sat tight the entire walk. By the time the familiar stretch of corridor came into view, the discomfort had settled into something sharper.There were guards everywhere.More than last time. Stationed in pairs along the walls, at the corners, near the heavy doors. Xahen’s men. Binny was his prisoner. I shouldn’t have been surprised if they turned us away on sight. I tensed as we got closer, then forced my shoulders back and tried to shake the feeling off. It didn’t work very well.Kane reached out and grabbed my elbow.I tensed harder, looking down at the point of contact. His fingers were firm without being painful. When I brought my eyes up to his face, those brown eyes coasted over mine slowly. He said nothing. His grip simply tightened and he kept walking us forward.I studied him a moment longer, then swallowed and faced ahead. If

THEODOSA.I stood there reeling from what Binny had just said.The words sat heavy between us. I might have fucked up bad. I don’t think you have the power to influence that this time. My mouth opened, then closed again. I didn’t know what to do with any of it.Binny must have seen it on my face because his expression shifted. He moved closer to the bars, careful of the silver, and dropped his voice.“Hey. Don’t look at me like that.”“Like what?”“Like you’re already planning something stupid.”“I’m not.”“You are. I know that face.” He glanced past me at Kane, who was still leaning against the opposite wall with his arms crossed, watching us like we were entertainment. Binny’s jaw tightened, then he focused back on me. His voice softened. “Listen to me. Whatever happens next, you keep your head down. Don’t pick fights you can’t win. Not for me.”“Binny—”“I mean it, T. I’ve already made enough of a mess. You don’t need to clean it up by getting yourself hurt.”I wanted to argue. The

THEODOSA.I felt disoriented before I even opened my eyes.My face felt weird. My chest felt weirder. Something heavy sat on top of both, pressing down until my brows furrowed hard against it. The weight turned more physical the longer I lay there. I forced my eyes open slowly and the second I did, awareness flooded in.The mate bond was thrumming so loud it matched my heartbeat. It tingled under my skin and left me jittery, like I’d been caught doing something I shouldn’t.I turned my head.My stomach dropped straight through the floor.Xahen sat upright on the other end of the sofa, fully dressed, wide awake, and watching me. His focus was complete. There was no mistaking it. He had been sitting there looking at me while I slept.My lips parted. Heat rushed up my neck. I lifted a hand and wiped at the side of my mouth on pure instinct, praying I hadn’t been drooling. The thought alone made everything worse.We stared at each other in the dim light. I took in his face the same way he