I dreamed of blood.
And when I woke, he was watching me.
The dream felt too real to be just a dream.
I stood in a dark field under a crimson sky, the Blood Moon pulsing like a living heart above me. The air smelled of iron.
And then I saw her.
A girl.
She looked like me.
Same height. Same hair. Same trembling hands.
But her eyes — God, her eyes — were empty.
"Run," she whispered.
My body wouldn't move.
"Run."
And then something tore her apart.
I couldn't see it. Just teeth. Claws. A scream that didn't end.
Blood soaked the ground, warm against my bare feet.
I woke with a scream.
My lungs burned as if I'd been holding my breath for hours. Sweat clung to my skin, cold despite the heavy furs covering me.
And Kael was there.
Sitting in the chair by my bed like he'd been waiting.
Watching me.
"Get out," I rasped, pulling the blanket to my chest.
"You were screaming," Kael said, his voice low, calm.
"I don't care."
"You should."
I glared at him. "Do you just… sit there and watch me sleep?"
His lips twitched — not quite a smirk. "When you dream like that? Yes."
My stomach churned. "What was that?"
"A nightmare."
"That wasn't just a nightmare."
He didn't answer.
I threw the blanket aside and swung my legs off the bed. "You know something. Tell me."
"No."
"Kael—"
"Don't say my name like that," he said sharply, standing.
"Like what?"
"Like you have the right."
I froze.
The room felt smaller.
I tried again, softer. "The girl. In my dream. Who was she?"
Kael's jaw tightened. "No one."
"That's a lie."
He took a step closer. "You don't need to know."
"Stop saying that!" I shouted.
His claws extended slightly, not in threat, but instinct. "Do you want the truth?"
"Yes!"
His gaze locked with mine, and for a moment, I thought he might actually give it to me.
Then: "She was the last Chosen."
My blood ran cold.
"The one who died," I whispered.
Kael didn't nod. Didn't deny it.
"You saw her," he said. "In the dream."
"How?"
"The bond," Kael said simply. "It's opening you."
"Opening me?"
"To what you are."
I swallowed hard. "And what am I?"
His expression darkened. "Not ready for that answer."
I hated him.
And yet, when he stepped closer, part of me didn't want to move away.
"Why are you doing this to me?" I whispered.
"Doing what?"
"This." I gestured at my neck, at the invisible chain between us. "This bond. This—whatever it is."
Kael's hand rose slowly, brushing his fingers against the mark. I flinched but didn't pull away.
"It's not me," he murmured. "It's the Blood Moon."
"I don't care!" My voice cracked. "I didn't ask for this."
"Neither did I."
That made me blink.
He'd said it before, but this time… it sounded real.
"Then break it," I said.
"I can't."
"Don't want to, or can't?"
His gaze softened, just barely. "Both."
I opened my mouth to scream at him, to curse him, but then I felt it.
The mark.
Burning.
Not like before — not sharp pain.
Heat.
Spreading through my neck, down my arms, to my fingertips.
I staggered back, clutching at my throat. "What—what's happening?"
Kael caught me before I fell.
"Breathe," he said.
"What's happening?!"
His hand gripped the back of my neck, steadying me. "The bond is changing you."
"Changing me into what?"
Kael's silver eyes glowed faintly.
"Into what you were meant to be."
The words rattled in my bones.
My vision blurred, my body trembling with a heat that wasn't mine.
"I can't—"
"You can."
His voice was different now. Softer. Like he wanted me to believe him.
"Why are you helping me?" I whispered.
Kael's jaw clenched. "Because if you die before the Choosing, it will be for nothing."
My head spun. "For what?"
He didn't answer.
Of course he didn't.
And then it happened.
The mark on my neck flared so bright I could see it through the edge of my vision.
My hand shot to my arm — and froze.
Glowing.
A new mark.
A thin line of silver curling down my forearm like a vine.
"Wh-what is this?" I gasped.
Kael didn't move. Didn't blink.
"The bond," he said quietly. "It's growing."
I shook my head. "No. No, I don't want this—"
"You don't have a choice."
I wanted to fight. To scream.
But my body betrayed me.
And the last thing I heard before the darkness swallowed me was Kael's voice.
"You're becoming what you were meant to be."
Cliffhanger:What is she becoming — and why is Kael so desperate to keep her alive for the Choosing?