I left Kael before sunrise.
His arm was still heavy around my waist, the warmth of his body making it harder to move. I
slipped out from under him, heart pounding, trying not to wake him. The room smelled like him—woodsmoke, wild air, and something deeper, older. I didn't want to breathe it in.
Not after what we'd done.
Not after what he said.
"You're not just mine. That's what terrifies me."
I grabbed my boots and opened the door just enough to slide out into the hallway.
The corridor was dim. The lanterns still burned low, untouched since last night. My feet were quiet on the stone floor, but every sound felt louder than it should've. I kept waiting to hear
footsteps behind me. His voice. Anything.
But Kael didn't follow.
I slipped outside through the east gate and headed toward the old stream that ran through the back edge of the training grounds. The forest was quiet this early. Birds were just starting to call.
The air was sharp with dew and pine. I pulled my sleeves down over my hands and walked faster.
I wasn't just running from Kael. I was running from everything that happened.
From the dream.
"If you don't choose soon, the curse will choose for you."
Celeste's words had settled deep into my chest, coiled there like a blade I couldn't pull out.
Even now, I don't know what it meant. Only that it felt true.
My shoulder still ached where the mark had flared. And even though the bond hadn't completed, something inside me felt different. Like something had been opened.
Something that wouldn't close.
I reached the stream and crouched beside the water. My reflection stared back—messy hair,
flushed cheeks, a flash of gold still faint in my eyes. I didn't recognize her. Not really.
I splashed cold water on my face, trying to wash away the heat that was still lingering from Kael's touch. It didn't help.
I straightened—and nearly ran straight into Riven.
He was leaning against a tree, arms crossed, jaw clenched. Like he'd been there for a while.
My body locked up.
"Following me now?" I asked, trying to sound calm.
He didn't answer immediately. Just studied me. His eyes flicked down to my shoulder, then back up.
"Kael wasn't in his room last night."
I didn't respond.
"You were with him," he said flatly.
It wasn't a question.
I met his gaze. "What do you want, Riven?"
His jaw flexed. "To see if you survived it."
I bristled. "I'm not some experiment."
"No," he said quietly. "But you're still changing."
He stepped closer.
And the second he did, my mark flared under my shirt.
Not like with Kael. Not like it wanted him.
Like it wanted him gone.
A spike of heat stabbed through my side. I flinched.
Riven's eyes narrowed. "You feel that too."
"Back off," I said, stepping away. "You tried to reject the bond. You almost died.
Remember?"
His expression darkened. "I remember everything."
I turned, but he moved fast—faster than I was ready for. His fingers caught my wrist, just
lightly, but the pain that flared through me was immediate. I gasped, yanking back hard.
Riven winced, shaking out his hand. "It's unstable."
"No," I snapped. "You're unstable."
We stared at each other for a long moment, both breathing hard. The bond between us wasn't quiet. It was anger. I didn't want to connect. I wanted to fight.
Then something shifted behind us.
A presence.
Low.
Watching.
I turned, scanning the trees.
"Did you feel that?" I asked.
Riven's head tilted slightly. His wolf was closer to the surface now; I could see it in his eyes.
"We're being followed."
But not by a wolf.
The presence wasn't alive in the normal way. It moved like smoke. Cold. Slow.
Then it vanished.
Riven looked at me. "You should get back."
"I'm not going anywhere until you answer one thing."
He waited.
I swallowed hard. "Why did the bond try to destroy us? Why you?"
He didn't hesitate.
"Because I don't want you."
He disappeared into the woods before I could reply.
I stood alone by the stream, heart pounding again for a completely different reason.
Whatever this curse was—whatever the bond was becoming—it wasn't just about love.
It was about power.
And it was waking up.
I stayed by the stream long after Riven disappeared.
The air was too still. The shadows were too thick. Whatever presence I'd felt wasn't gone—it was just waiting.
And it wasn't a wolf.
Not pack.
Not alive.
The hairs on my arms stood up. My wolf stirred uneasily under my skin, pacing. Growling low in my chest. I backed away from the tree line slowly, careful not to turn my back fully.
Then a twig snapped behind me.
I spun, claws instinctively slipping from my fingertips—half-shifted, half-controlled.
But it wasn't a shadow.
It was Thorne.
He stepped out from the trees shirtless, sweat glistening on his neck, his chest rising with slow, deep breaths. He must've been training. Or hunting. Or maybe both.
I dropped my hands, claws retreating as quickly as they came.
He stared at me for a long second. "What the hell are you doing out here alone?"
"I needed air."
He didn't look satisfied with the answer. "You're marked. Vulnerable. You think Kael would've let you out of his sight if he knew where you were?"
I flinched at Kael's name, the guilt crawling up fast.
Thorne saw it.
"Don't worry. He didn't tell me anything. I could smell you were with him."
I turned away. "It's none of your business."
"Unfortunately," he said, voice low, "it is."
He stepped closer. I felt it the moment his body heat reached mine—something inside me tightened. The bond stirred. Not Kael's bond.
His.
I staggered back half a step.
Thorne caught my arm.
The moment his skin touched mine, the air snapped.
I gasped.
My shoulder flared. But not the same way it had with Kael. This heat was rawer. Rougher.
Like fire licking the inside of my skin.
Thorne's jaw clenched, but he didn't let go. His eyes locked onto mine. Darker now. Dilated.
His wolf was close.
"You feel it too," he said.
"I don't know what I feel."
He didn't release my arm. "You're glowing."
I looked down.
The mark was glowing again, just under the skin—different than before. Not Kael's color.
A new one.
I yanked free and stumbled back. "No."
"Rory—"
"You can't all be—" My voice broke. "That's not how the mate bond works."
His stare didn't waver. "Apparently it does now."
We stood there for a long second, just breathing, staring at each other like the world had tilted
beneath us.
"I kissed you once," he said quietly. "That night by the fire. You flinched."
I remembered. He'd caught me watching him. He'd stepped close. Bold. Testing. And I hadn't been ready. Not then.
"I thought maybe it was just instinct," he continued. "Just heat from the full moon."
"And now?"
He stepped forward again. Slow. Careful. Like he was giving me a choice.
Now, I didn't flinch.
"I shouldn't want this," I whispered. "You're Kael's brother."
"I didn't ask to want you."
His hand reached up—hovered just near my face.
I felt the heat spike again. A low burn deep in my core, slow but undeniable.
We didn't kiss.
We didn't have to.
The tension between us was electric. A slow throb between my ribs. My wolf was howling now, not in fear, not in pain—but in hunger.
Thorne dropped his hand.
"I won't push you," he said. "But this thing between us? It's real."
Then he turned and walked away, leaving me trembling by the water.
By the time I reached the edge of the courtyard again, the sun was fully up. The day had
begun. I was supposed to be in training—or with the elders, or locked in my room, hiding
from whatever I'd become.
Instead, I moved along the far wall of the council building, head down, trying not to draw
attention.
But as I passed the windows, I heard something that made me stop cold.
Celina's voice.
I ducked below the open window, heart in my throat.
"…she's already pulling them apart," Celina said. "It's happening faster than we thought."
A pause. Another voice replied, too soft to catch clearly.
Then Celina again: "She doesn't even know what she is. The Gate is opening. She's just the
keyhole."
My stomach dropped.
I pressed closer, trying to hear more, but they moved further into the room. The voices faded.
Gate?
I'd heard that before. Twice now.
Celeste whispered it in the dream.
The elder said it to the seer.
And now Celina.
What the hell was I?
I backed away from the window, eyes scanning the courtyard.
Something in me said not to confront her yet.
Not now.
But I knew one thing.
Whatever the Gate was… it was inside me.
And Celina wasn't working alone.
_______________________________________________________________________________
I didn't sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the glow of Thorne's bond flaring through my skin. I saw
Kael's mouth, his hands, the weight of him over me. And now… Celina's words.
"She doesn't even know what she is."
I stayed by the training hall long after the voices faded. But I never saw who Celina had been
speaking to. The shadows were too deep. Whoever it was—whoever she trusted enough to
share that with—they were gone before I could move.
By morning, my head throbbed. My body ached in strange ways. Not bruises. Not pain. More like… pressure building in my chest, in my spine. My wolf was pacing again, restless under
my skin.
I pushed through the halls quietly, trying to avoid attention. Kael hadn't come looking for me.
Neither had Thorne. I wasn't sure if that helped or made it worse.
I was almost to the stairs that led to the healer's wing when it happened.
A crack of sound, like stone splitting.
Then a scream.
Not human. Not wolf.
Something older.
I ran.
The corridor narrowed as I hit the corner and nearly collided with two guards already
drawing weapons. They were facing the Seer's chamber.
And inside—she was standing.
Eyes wide. Glowing white.
Hair floating like smoke.
Her voice pierced the air like a blade.
"RORY!"
The name slammed through me, sharp and final.
The guards stepped back as the Seer began to shake. Her hands clawed at her throat like she was choking on something. Then she dropped to her knees, pointing directly at me.
"Two threads pulled… one thread bleeding!"
My shoulder ignited.
I gasped and hit the floor. The pain wasn't like before.
This was burning.
My shirt shredded as the mark on my shoulder pulsed and bloomed outward.
The second bond was sealing.
I screamed.
And everything went dark.