Seraphina's POV
Not yet? I spun away from Dante, rage drowning out fear. There's no 'yet' about this! I don't care what the land thinks. I'm leaving. Right now.
I bolted into the forest.
Behind me, Dante didn't move. Didn't chase. His voice carried through the trees with infuriating calm. You won't make it far.
Watch me!
I ran harder, ignoring the exhaustion dragging at my limbs. The silver marks on my arms pulsed with each heartbeat, but I pushed the pain aside. I'd survived six weeks in a wasteland. I could find my way back to the Thornwall and
And what? Cross back into the kingdoms that wanted me dead?
I shoved the thought away. Anywhere was better than being trapped with a man who could turn into a wolf and claimed I belonged to him.
The forest moved.
A massive root erupted from the ground directly in front of me. I skidded to a stop, barely avoiding it. More roots burst upward on both sides, creating walls of twisted wood.
No! I veered left.
Branches whipped down, blocking my path. Thorny vines grew so fast I could hear them creaking, weaving together into an impenetrable barrier.
I spun around, searching for any gap. Every direction I turned, the forest sealed itself off. Trees shifted closer, hemming me in. Even the moss seemed to ripple, pointing back the way I'd come.
Back toward Dante.
Let me through! I grabbed a branch and tried to tear it aside. It wouldn't budge. I said let me GO!
The forest didn't listen.
Panic clawed up my throat. I was trapped. Actually imprisoned by trees and roots and living earth that responded to something I couldn't see or control.
Footsteps crunched behind me. Slow. Deliberate.
I whirled to find Dante leaning against a tree, arms crossed. He looked completely relaxed, like watching me panic was mildly entertaining.
Done running?
Make it stop! I hated how desperate I sounded. Tell the forest to let me leave!
I can't. He pushed off the tree and walked closer. I told you—I don't control the land's choices. Neither do you. The land bonded you to this territory the moment the Thornwall let you through. You're connected to the Wildlands now. Permanently.
That's impossible!
Is it? He gestured to the silver marks glowing on my arms. You're still claiming magic doesn't exist? After watching me shift? After the land carved runes into your skin?
I pressed my back against the barrier of branches, putting as much distance between us as possible. There has to be a way to break it. Every spell has a counter-spell. Every bond can be severed.
Something dark flickered across his face. You want to sever our bond that badly?
The hurt bleeding through his words caught me off guard. Through that invisible connection between us, I felt his emotion—sharp and raw. Like I'd just stabbed him.
I don't know you! The words came out harsher than I intended. You expect me to just accept being tied to a stranger forever? After what happened with
I cut myself off, but too late.
With your fiancé, Dante finished quietly. The one who destroyed you. I feel your pain through the bond, Seraphina. Every time you think about what they did, it bleeds into me. Your rage. Your betrayal. Your absolute terror of being controlled again.
Heat flooded my cheeks. Stop reading my emotions!
I can't turn it off any more than you can. He took another step closer. The mate bond connects us whether we want it or not. I feel what you feel. You feel what I feel. There's no privacy between us now.
As if to prove his point, his emotions crashed over me—fierce protectiveness mixed with bone-deep loneliness and desperate hope that I'd stop fighting long enough to listen.
I shoved the feelings away, but they lingered like smoke. I hate this.
I know. I feel that too.
Then let me go!
Can't. His amber eyes blazed brighter. Even if I wanted to—and I don't—the land won't release you. You could walk to the Thornwall right now, and it wouldn't open. You're bound here. The sooner you accept that, the easier this will be.
Easy for you! You chose this life. I was sentenced to it!
You think I chose to be Alpha at seventeen? His voice went cold. I watched my parents burn alive. Felt the land's consciousness slam into me while I was still covered in their blood. The magic didn't ask if I wanted this. It took me whether I was ready or not.
The raw pain in his words silenced my next argument.
Through the bond, I felt the echo of his memory—a teenage boy screaming as power too vast for a human mind invaded his body. The agony of transformation. The crushing weight of responsibility he never asked for.
I'm sorry, I whispered. I didn't know
The land takes who it needs, Dante continued, his voice gentler now. Not who's ready. I learned that seven years ago. You're learning it now.
Before I could respond, movement caught my eye.
The smoke-and-shadow creature materialized from between trees—Ash, the land spirit. But this time, instead of pressing affectionately against my leg, it positioned itself between me and Dante.
Protecting me. From him.
Dante's eyebrows rose. Ash doesn't usually take sides.
The spirit's form rippled, expanding larger. A low sound rumbled from it—not quite a growl, but definitely a warning.
I'm not threatening her, Dante told the spirit.
Ash didn't move.
I stared at the creature defending me from my supposed mate. Why is it protecting me from you?
Because it senses your fear. Dante's jaw tightened. The land spirits respond to the emotions of those they're bonded to. Right now, you're terrified I'll hurt you. So Ash is making sure I don't get too close.
The spirit pressed against my legs, purring. Warmth spread from the contact, soothing some of my panic.
The land chose you, Dante said carefully, watching the spirit. But it also respects your free will. Ash will protect you from anything it thinks is a threat. Even me.
Something about that made my chest ache. Here was a man who'd just claimed I was his mate—who could probably force me to do anything with his superior strength and magic—and he was backing off because a land spirit said I was scared.
Mate bonds haven't happened in generations, Dante continued, his voice rough. Most thought they were extinct. Dead magic from a forgotten time. Then you crossed the Thornwall and everything changed.
Why me? The question came out broken. Why would the land choose someone from the kingdoms? Someone with no magic?
You have magic. Your people just suppressed it. He gestured to my glowing marks. And as for why you... He paused, something vulnerable crossing his face. The land doesn't explain its choices. It just knows. Knows who fits together. Who balances each other's power. Who—
His words cut off as my vision blurred.
The world tilted sideways. I grabbed for the tree trunk but my hands wouldn't cooperate. Six weeks of starvation, the burning agony of being marked, the terror of the past hour—it all crashed down at once.
My legs gave out.
I felt myself falling, but couldn't stop it. The ground rushed up to meet me.
Strong arms caught me before I hit.
Dante pulled me against his chest, one hand cradling my head. I've got you.
Let go, I mumbled, but my body wouldn't fight anymore.
When you can stand on your own. His voice rumbled through his chest. Not before.
Through our bond, I felt his emotions clearly now—worry burning fierce and hot, overlaid with relief that I'd finally stopped running long enough for him to help.
You're starving, he said quietly. When's the last time you ate real food?
Yesterday. Caught a— The world spun. A beetle.
He made a sound that might have been pain or fury. You've been eating insects?
Had to survive somehow.
His arms tightened around me. Through the bond, I felt rage—not at me, but at whoever had thrown me into the wasteland to die slowly.
I'm taking you to the Heartwood, he said. You need food, water, and rest. You can hate me later. Right now, you need to not die.
I wanted to argue. To demand he put me down. To prove I didn't need anyone's help.
But darkness was already pulling at the edges of my vision.
The last thing I felt before unconsciousness took me was Dante's voice in my mind, gentle and certain:
I won't let you fall. Not ever again.
And despite everything—despite the terror and anger and absolute certainty that I couldn't trust anyone
I believed him.