The silence stretched until it hurt.I stood in the center of the room, arms wrapped around myself, counting breaths I couldn’t slow. Every sound outside the door—boots, voices, distant impacts—sent my pulse spiking. The bond stayed quiet at first, a low hum that felt… watchful.Then it surged.Heat rushed through my chest, sudden and sharp. I gasped, stumbling back a step as my hand flew to my collarbone. The mark burned, not pain exactly—panic. Fear that wasn’t fully mine.Something was wrong.“No,” I whispered. “No, no—”The bond pulled, hard, like a tether yanked too fast. My knees buckled and I caught myself against the stone wall, breath coming in short, frantic bursts.I felt him then.Not close.Strained.Anger bled through the connection, hot and violent, threaded with a flash of pain that made my vision blur. I cried out, fingers digging into the fabric of my dress.“Stop,” I whispered, though I didn’t know who I was begging. “Please—”The door flew open.He was there, chest
Last Updated : 2026-01-27 Read more