All Chapters of BOUND BY ECHOES : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

“They know about the bond,” Lena whispered. “And they’re coming to break it. Starting with you.”Vance’s grip on her shoulders tightened, fingers digging in hard enough to bruise. His eyes flashed with something raw, anger, fear, the same stubborn refusal to lose another family.“Then they’ll have to go through me first,” he growled.Before Lena could answer, he yanked her closer. His mouth found the spot where her neck met her shoulder. This time he didn’t hesitate. His teeth sank in, deep and deliberate, breaking skin in one sharp bite.Pain flared hot and bright. Lena gasped, her hands fisting in his shirt. But the pain didn’t stay pain. It twisted almost instantly into something warm, almost pleasant, spreading through her like liquid fire. The bond surged, snapping into place faster than before, stronger, deeper. She felt Vance everywhere, his heartbeat slamming against hers, his possessiveness flooding her chest, his fear of failing her mixing with the raw need that still linge

The twig snapped again.Vance didn’t move. He stayed planted in front of her, blade already out, body coiled tight like a spring. Lena pressed closer to his back, heart hammering against his spine. The fresh bite on her neck burned hotter than before, and through the new bond she felt everything he felt, raw determination to protect what was his, mixed with that deep, buried fear of losing another family.She hated how comforting it was.And how overwhelming.His emotions poured into her without warning. Steady strength. Sharp protectiveness. A flash of old grief so sudden it made her breath catch. She gripped the back of his shirt, trying to stay grounded, but the flood kept coming. Every heartbeat of his slammed into her chest like it belonged there now. His need to keep her safe. His terror that he’d fail again. It all hit at once, comforting and crushing.A shadow shifted between the trees, twenty feet out. Not an animal. A man. One of the council’s scouts, cloak pulled low, movin

The voice cut through the fog like it had been waiting years to speak.“Well… look who finally found her way home.”Lena froze mid-step.Vance’s blade was out before she could breathe, his body shoving in front of her, shoulders tight. The fresh bite on her neck burned hotter, the bond slamming his protectiveness straight into her chest. The blade in his hand tilted slightly, not shaking, not rushed, just ready.“Show yourself,” he said, voice low and controlled.Nothing answered.Lena’s breath hitched. The air felt thicker now, pressing against her skin like something unseen had stepped closer without making a sound. The mark on her wrist pulsed faintly, reacting to something she couldn’t see.“It’s here,” she whispered.Vance didn’t look back at her. His gaze stayed locked on the shifting fog, sharp and searching.“I know,” he muttered.A pause stretched.Then, quieter…“Whatever it is… it’s not hiding.”Lena swallowed.Because she felt it too.Not hiding.Watching.Waiting.The ru

Vance pulled her closer, voice low and rough. “We’re not staying here another minute.” But neither of them moved. The ruins held them there, the calm from the symbol still sitting steady in Lena’s chest while the hunger twisted right beside it, sharper now, like it had learned patience. Vance’s hand stayed on her arm, thumb brushing the fresh bite mark like he could hold everything back with touch alone. The bond hummed between them, feeding her his protectiveness, his fear, his need to keep her close. She leaned into him without thinking. The pull settled in again, low and unrelenting, twisting through her emotions until she couldn’t tell what was hers anymore. “Tell me something real,” he said quietly. “Something you don’t tell anyone.” Lena swallowed. The metallic taste was still there, but she pushed past it. “When I was seventeen I watched my cousin die because of me. Not the Echo. Me. She was fourteen. The council hunters came for her family. I stepped between them.

They ran.Lena’s legs burned, but she didn’t slow. The bond yanked her forward like a rope tied to her ribs, pulling her straight toward Kai. She felt him through it, sharp pain in his side, blood slick on his skin, fury so hot it made her own teeth ache.Vance ran beside her, breath steady, but she felt his conflict too. Protectiveness. Suspicion. The old hatred for his stepbrother flaring up again.They crashed through the trees and almost slammed straight into him.Kai stood ten feet away, bleeding from a fresh cut along his ribs, face hard. He didn’t look surprised. He looked ready to kill.Vance stepped in front of Lena instantly, body blocking her.Kai didn’t lower his guard. His hand stayed near the dagger at his belt, eyes locked on Vance like the years of bad blood had never cooled.Lena felt both of them at once through the bond.Vance’s raw need to keep her safe.Kai’s cold, exhausted fury.The triangle of tension snapped tight in her chest.No one spoke.Then arrows whistl