Tethered Souls Novels & Stories

It consumed. This wasn’t just a ritual. It was a weapon. My fingers trembled as I turned the parchment over. There were notes scribbled in the margin, rushed. It was Wally’s handwriting. I would recognize the arrogance in his loops anywhere. But this time, the scrawl wasn't his usual calculated style. It reeked of desperation. “Soul tether: complete on third union. Bond fracture imminent. Full moon = point of severance. She must break. He must fall. The jewel awakens.”

I snap at him when Asteria sighs from beside me. “Carter, if he was to tell us me what was going to happen, it would have had a bigger impact than it did. Trust me, you can’t meddle in the threads that have been woven.” I look at her and narrow my eyes at her. How can she defend him? He fucking abandoned her. “Well, Fate can go and fuck herself.” I say when Asteria bursts out into laughter. Have I missed something? “Pretty unlikely. She is stuck in Hell where she belongs, living the same hell loop every day. The threads were woven long ago.” She tells me and I look at her in confusion.

I could actually see some streaks of white through the torn jeans as well. No wonder my knees had hurt so much. As it turned out, my flesh had already rubbed away, exposing the bones beneath. I didn't care that half my fingers were all broken, dislocated, or throbbing in pain. I did my best to put my hands together in a praying posture. Just then, Finnegan returned with a white ribbon in his hands, along with the worker. "I wish that Finnegan and Colette will be together forever." This line sounded too familiar to me. It suddenly tugged at my heart in such a painful manner that I couldn't breathe.

He nodded once; his jaw clenched so tightly it could have cracked. Evelyn turned to Varos. “What is the tether? Why do you want it?” Varos circled her like a snake tasting the air. “The tether is older than our packs. Older than the Moon Goddess herself. You are its vessel. With you bound to me, I can command any wolf. Bend any Alpha. Even corrupt the Goddess’s will.” Kael took a step forward, voice cracking with fury. “I will tear your throat out—” Varos lifted one finger.

The tether snapped into place deeper than before, wrapping around my soul like chains made of silk and steel. I slumped against him, breathless and reeling, every ounce of fight temporarily drained out of me. He caught me easily, his arms tightening like I was something precious and breakable at the same time. “The binding is complete,” he murmured, his voice sounding distant, like it came from underwater. “You can fight the tether all you want, little human. Scream at the bars of your cage until your throat bleeds. But you’ll always find your way back to me. It’s in your blood now.”

“A soul tether.” Mira stiffened. “Absolutely not.” Olivia frowned. “What is that?” “It’s dangerous,” Mira said sharply. “That’s what it is.” Caroline ignored her, turning to Olivia. “A soul tether allows someone to enter another’s consciousness—to travel into their mind and find what’s keeping them trapped.” Olivia blinked. “You mean… I could go inside his head?” Caroline nodded. “Yes. But it’s not just a simple visit. You would be stepping into whatever prison those shadows have built for him.” She closed her book with a soft thud. “If you get stuck in there… you might not come back.”

My legs folded beneath me and all at once, I was devoured. Heat scorched my insides, burning through my organs and boiling the blood in my veins. At the same time, frost began to crawl up my fingers. My teeth chattered, while my throat blistered. My arms went numb, while my chest burned. “Focus on the bond!” A strange yet familiar voice said. “The bond!” Squeezing my eyes shut, I searched within myself for the tether that bound me to Azrael, Orion, and Draco. In between the flames that raged within my body, it was there. A shining silver chord that connected me to their souls.

The Bonding Pool The Trial Masters led them to the Tethering Pool, a shallow basin carved from lunar stone, filled with moonwater and laced with rune-dust that shimmered like liquid stars. They stepped into it together. Barefoot. Bare-chested. Vulnerable. Ava’s mark pulsed against her skin. Rowan’s scars, the ones he never spoke of, glowed faintly blue. Elder Thorne raised the Binding Rod. “Begin.” He struck the pool with the rod. The water lit from beneath. And their souls collided. 3. Inside the Tether Their eyes locked—and suddenly they were inside one another. A swirl of overlapping thoughts, memories, pain.

Fail me, and I’ll unmake them. You feel it then—the tether. A thread of gold connecting your soul to theirs. One tug, and it snaps. ***Welcome home, guardian.*** The realm shifts. A throne of stars awaits. You sit.

“You’ll...get lost...” “I won’t,” Aria said, gripping his hand. “You pulled me back when I was gone. You never gave up on me. Now it’s my turn.” The Firstborn stepped back and drew a shallow rune in the air. A shimmer spread between Kael and Aria like a mirror forming in liquid. “This is the reflection tether,” it explained. “It will open a bridge between your souls. But once you enter, you must move fast. If the curse consumes too much of him before you find his core he’ll forget who you are. He’ll become something else.”