Chapter 3
Arielle Vale's POV:
I wake up screaming.
Not because of pain.
Because of him.
Lucien's eyes are everywhere—watching, burning, judging—pressed into the backs of my eyelids like a brand. My body jerks upright, heart hammering so violently I taste blood. The room is dark, lit only by the faint glow of moonlight spilling through a narrow slit near the ceiling.
My arm throbs.
No—burns.
I shove back the sleeve of my borrowed tunic, breath hitching when I see it.
A faint silver glow pulses beneath my skin, just below my shoulder. Not a full mark. Not yet. But unmistakable.
A claim.
"I didn't agree to this," I whisper hoarsely.
The mark pulses in response, like it heard me—and didn't care.
Panic claws up my throat. I slide off the bed, pacing the length of the room, nails digging into my palms as if I can anchor myself to something real.
This isn't fate.
This is violation.
I was raised on stories of mates like fairy tales—two souls finding each other, balance and belonging wrapped in destiny. But no one ever talks about the other side.
The side where fate doesn't ask.
The side where power decides for you.
The door opens without warning.
I whirl around, every muscle coiled.
Lucien steps inside.
The bond reacts instantly—heat flaring, awareness snapping sharp and vivid. I hate how my body knows him before my mind does. Hate how the room feels smaller the moment he's here.
He stops short when he sees me standing, wild-eyed, clutching my arm.
"It spread," he says quietly.
"Don't talk to me," I snap. "You don't get to comment on what you broke."
His jaw tightens. "I didn't break it."
"You rejected me," I hiss. "In front of everyone."
"And yet," he says flatly, "you're still marked."
That hurts more than it should.
I laugh, brittle. "Congratulations. You failed."
Something dark flickers in his eyes.
"This bond shouldn't be behaving like this," he mutters. "Not with rejection in place."
"So what—your precious laws don't apply to me either?" I step closer, fury overriding fear. "Or is it just easier to lock me up and pretend I'm the problem?"
"You are the problem," he snaps back.
The bond surges.
Pain rips through my chest, sudden and sharp. I gasp, stumbling as my knees threaten to give out.
Lucien's hand shoots out, gripping my arm to steady me.
The contact—
God.
It's like fire and ice crashing together. My breath stutters. His grip tightens reflexively, eyes flaring as if he feels it too.
He lets go like I burned him.
"Don't touch me," he growls.
"I didn't ask you to."
Silence crashes between us, heavy and volatile.
Lucien turns away, raking a hand through his hair. "You don't understand what this means."
"Then explain it," I say bitterly. "Since you've already decided my life belongs to your rules."
He faces me again, expression hard. "The bond doesn't act on emotion alone. It reacts to blood. Power. Compatibility."
My stomach drops.
"Say that again."
"You're not weak," he says slowly. "And you're not human enough for this to be coincidence."
I shake my head. "You're wrong."
"I don't make mistakes like this."
Anger flares, hot and sharp. "You don't get to decide what I am."
His gaze sharpens. "Your lineage was hidden."
My heart slams. "You don't know anything about me."
"I know the bond doesn't lie."
I laugh, the sound hollow. "Funny. It's lied to me my entire life."
Lucien studies me, something unreadable passing through his eyes. "You hate Alphas."
"Yes."
"You hate fate."
"Yes."
"And yet," he says quietly, "your soul chose me."
"That wasn't a choice," I snap. "That was a trap."
The bond pulses again, angry, almost offended.
Lucien exhales slowly. "This connection—if it stabilizes—it could kill us both."
Fear slithers cold through my veins. "How?"
"Because you're fighting it," he says. "And so am I."
A knock echoes sharply through the room.
Before either of us can respond, the door opens.
Kael Ashryn steps inside.
He freezes when he sees how close we are.
Lucien's posture changes instantly—shoulders squaring, presence flaring like a warning.
"Beta," he says coolly. "I didn't summon you."
Kael's gaze flicks to me—quick, assessing, almost… concerned.
"The pack is restless," Kael says. "They felt the surge."
My stomach twists. "They felt what?"
"The bond," Kael replies gently. "When it flares like that… it echoes."
Lucien's lips thin. "Leave us."
Kael hesitates. Just for a second.
Lucien's eyes flash. "That was an order."
Kael bows his head and turns—but not before meeting my gaze again.
Be careful, his eyes seem to say.
The door shuts.
Lucien turns on me, anger crackling. "Do not involve my Beta."
"I didn't do anything," I snap. "Unlike you, he didn't reject me like I was disposable."
The words land harder than I expect.
Lucien stills.
For a moment, the room is deadly quiet.
Then he steps closer, voice low and dangerous. "You have no idea what you're accusing me of."
"Oh, I do," I say, chin lifting despite the tremor in my hands. "You were afraid."
His eyes darken. "Of you?"
"Of needing me."
The bond roars.
Pain and heat explode through my chest, stealing my breath completely. I cry out, collapsing to my knees as something tightens, coils, locks into place.
Lucien swears, dropping beside me. "Damn it—stop fighting it!"
"I didn't choose this!" I sob, clutching my arm as the glow flares brighter. "I don't want you in my head!"
His hands hover over me, torn between touching and restraint. "If you don't let it settle, it'll force itself."
"Then let it break," I gasp.
His eyes snap to mine. "It won't."
The light surges again—hotter, stronger—and this time, it doesn't stop at my arm.
It spreads.
Lucien's breath catches.
Slowly, horrified, he looks down at his own skin.
A faint silver line pulses at his collarbone.
Matching mine.
"No," he whispers.
The door slams open.
Selene stands there, eyes wide as she takes in the sight of us—me on the floor, Lucien frozen, the glow unmistakable.
Her expression twists.
And she smiles.
"Well," she says softly, venom dripping from every word.
"It seems fate doesn't care what you want, Alpha."
Lucien rises slowly, fury rolling off him in waves.
Because the bond just deepened.
Without consent.
Without ceremony.
And in that moment, I understand something terrifying—
Rejecting me wasn't the end.
It was the beginning of a war fate intends to win.