The training yard smelled of damp stone and old blood, the kind that never really washes away. Dew clung to the cracks between the flagstones, glinting like shattered glass in the pale dawn light. My breath came fast, my fists still clenched from the fight with Draven. I hadn’t used magic. Not once. Just my body—trained, hardened, ready. And it had been enough.
But now?
Now Kaelen stood before me, golden eyes burning, claws extended, the air around him crackling with raw power. He hadn’t fully shifted—no fur, no full fangs—but the wolf was close, prowling just beneath his skin. His chest rose and fell with controlled breaths, his stance low, predatory. The chain between us pulsed, warm and insistent, as if it knew what was coming.
“You’re not serious,” I said, voice steady despite the hammering of my heart.
“Dead serious,” he growled. “Fight me.”
“You’re an Alpha. I’m—”
“You’re the woman who took down a corrupted enforcer with a spell that should’ve killed him,” he interrupted. “You’re the woman who read the truth in that book. You’re the woman the Contract chose.” His gaze locked onto mine. “Now prove you’re not just a threat to the Council. Prove you’re not a threat to me.”
My blood ran hot. Not from fear. From fury. From the unbearable weight of being tested—again—by a man who already had too much power over me.
“You want a fight?” I said, spreading my arms. “Fine. But don’t expect me to go easy on you.”
A flicker of something crossed his face—approval? Amusement?—before it vanished behind the mask of the predator.
He lunged.
I dodged, rolling to the side as his claws sliced through the air where I’d stood. My magic flared, instinctive, unbidden. A sigil sparked at my fingertips—crimson, sharp—but I didn’t release it. Not yet. I wasn’t fighting to kill. I was fighting to survive.
He came at me again, faster this time. I sidestepped, but his hand caught my wrist, the chain between us tightening like a vice. Heat shot up my arm, not from pain, but from the bond—deep, insistent, hungry. My breath hitched. My body leaned into him, traitorous, drawn.
“You’re slow,” he said, voice low, rough. “Distracted.”
“I’m not distracted,” I lied, wrenching free.
But I was.
Because every time he touched me, the bond responded. Every pulse of magic, every near-miss, every breath we shared—it fed the connection between us, stoked the fire that had been burning since the moment we were bound.
And now, it was getting harder to ignore.
I raised my hands, summoning a shield of energy—just enough to block his next strike. His claws slammed into it, sending shockwaves through my arms. I gritted my teeth, holding it. Sweat beaded on my forehead. My muscles trembled.
He wasn’t holding back.
And neither would I.
I dropped the shield and lunged, not with magic, but with my body. I drove my shoulder into his chest, knocking him back. He stumbled, surprised. I didn’t give him time to recover. A kick to the ribs. A punch to the jaw. He grunted, but didn’t fall.
Then—
He smiled.
Not a kind smile. Not a warm one.
A hunter’s smile.
And then he was on me.
His hands gripped my waist, lifting me off the ground, spinning me—until my back slammed against the stone wall. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs. His body pressed against mine, solid, unyielding. One hand pinned my wrist above my head. The other gripped my hip, holding me in place.
“You’re strong,” he said, voice a low growl in my ear. “But strength isn’t control.”
My heart hammered. My breath came in short gasps. His scent—pine, smoke, wild earth—wrapped around me, thick, intoxicating. The bond pulsed between us, a low, steady thrum. Heat unfurled in my belly, spreading lower, coiling tight.
“Let me go,” I whispered.
“Make me,” he said.
And then—
The chain burned.
Not metaphorically.
It burned.
A wave of heat shot up my arm, straight to my core. My vision blurred. My knees weakened. I gasped, my body arching into his, desperate for relief, for contact, for something.
Bond-heat.
But worse than before.
Stronger. Deeper. Uncontrollable.
“Kaelen—” I managed, my voice trembling.
“You fought the bond,” he said, his breath hot on my neck. “You denied it. And now it’s punishing you.”
“I didn’t—”
“Yes, you did. Every time you pulled away. Every time you refused to touch me. Every time you called me a monster.” His thumb brushed the pulse at my throat. “The bond doesn’t care about your hatred. It only cares about the truth.”
“And what truth is that?” I gasped.
“That you want me.”
My breath caught.
“No—”
“Don’t lie,” he said, pressing closer. “Your pulse is racing. Your scent—” He inhaled, eyes flaring gold. “—is drenched in arousal. Your body is begging for me, Blair. Even if your mind won’t admit it.”
And he was right.
Because despite the pain, despite the fever burning through my veins, despite the humiliation of being pinned like prey—
I wanted him.
Not just the bond. Not just the magic.
Him.
The man who had signed the Contract under duress. The Alpha who had saved his enforcer. The predator who looked at me like I was the only thing worth hunting.
And that terrified me.
Because caring was weakness.
And weakness got you killed.
“Let me go,” I said again, voice breaking.
“No,” he said. “Not until you stop fighting it.”
“I can’t—”
“Yes, you can.” His hand slid from my hip to my waist, then higher—just beneath my breast. “You just won’t.”
My breath came faster. My body arched into his touch, desperate, hungry. The heat in my veins was unbearable now—feverish, pulsing, driving me to the edge of sanity.
“Please,” I whispered.
“Please what?” he murmured, his lips brushing my ear. “Please stop? Or please don’t?”
And then—
A scream.
Not from me.
From the corridor.
High-pitched. Terrified.
Kaelen froze. So did I.
Then he released me, stepping back just as the door to the training yard burst open. A young fae servant stumbled in, her face pale, her hands trembling.
“Alpha,” she gasped. “There’s—there’s been an attack. In the lower halls. A vampire—armed with silver. He’s taken two guards. The Council is in emergency session—”
Kaelen was already moving. “Blair, stay here.”
“Like hell,” I said, pushing off the wall.
“You’re in no condition—”
“I’m fine,” I snapped, even as another wave of heat tore through me. My vision blurred. I swayed. Kaelen caught me before I fell.
“You’re not fine,” he said, voice tight. “You’re burning up.”
“Then lock me in a cell,” I said, shoving him away. “But I’m not staying here while someone’s out there killing your people.”
He stared at me—gold eyes blazing, jaw clenched. Then, without a word, he scooped me up, one arm under my knees, the other around my back.
“Put me down!” I struggled, but my body was weak, uncooperative.
“Stop fighting me,” he growled. “Or I’ll carry you through the entire Court like this.”
I glared, but I stopped struggling. Because the truth was—
I didn’t want him to put me down.
His body was warm. Solid. Safe.
And the bond—
It was quieting.
Not gone. Not broken.
But calmer.
Because proximity. Touch. Connection.
The very things I’d been fighting.
And now, in his arms, I was surrendering.
—
The lower halls were chaos.
Guards in full armor patrolled the corridors, their weapons drawn. Council members huddled in紧急 meetings, their voices sharp with fear. And at the center of it all—
Cassian.
He stood in the grand atrium, surrounded by advisors, his silver hair gleaming under the chandeliers. When he saw us—Kaelen carrying me, the chain between us visible, my face flushed with fever—his lips curled into a smile.
“Ah,” he said. “The bound pair. How… domestic.”
Kaelen set me on my feet, but kept a hand on my arm, steadying me. “What happened?”
“An intruder,” Cassian said. “A rogue vampire. He breached the eastern gate, took two guards hostage. Demanded the release of a prisoner from the Blood Cells.”
“And?” Kaelen asked.
“We complied,” Cassian said. “The prisoner was released. The guards were returned. Unharmed.”
“Then why the emergency?” I asked, voice weak but sharp.
Cassian turned to me, his smile fading. “Because the prisoner was you, Blair. Or rather, someone claiming to be your ally. A witch, captured three months ago for trafficking forbidden magic. She said she had information about your mother.”
My breath caught.
Elara.
My mentor. My only link to the past. Captured. Used as bait.
“Where is she now?” I demanded.
“Gone,” Cassian said. “Escaped with the vampire. We don’t know who he was. Or why he helped her.”
“You let her go,” I said, stepping forward, my body trembling with more than fever. “You used her to draw me out. To test me.”
“I ensured the safety of my Court,” Cassian said coldly. “And I exposed a traitor.”
“She’s not a traitor,” I spat. “She’s the only one who ever told me the truth.”
“And look where that got her,” Cassian said. “Captured. Escaped. Now a fugitive.” He stepped closer, his voice dropping. “Just like you will be, if you don’t learn your place.”
Kaelen moved in front of me, shielding me. “She has a right to know what happened to her mentor.”
“She has no rights,” Cassian said. “She is a challenger. A threat. And until the bond is stabilized, she remains under your supervision.” He looked at Kaelen. “Keep her close. Keep her controlled.”
Then he turned and walked away.
I stood there, shaking—not just from the bond-heat, but from rage, from fear, from the crushing weight of loss.
Elara was gone.
And I was alone.
—
Kaelen brought me back to the suite, the chain between us tugging with every step. I didn’t fight him. I couldn’t. The fever had taken hold, deep in my bones, in my blood. My vision blurred. My skin burned. My thoughts scattered like leaves in a storm.
He laid me on the bed, then barred the door. The fire was out. The room was cold. But I was burning.
“You need to rest,” he said, kneeling beside me.
“I need to find Elara,” I whispered, my voice raw.
“Not like this,” he said. “You’re in bond-heat. If you leave this room, you’ll collapse in the hall. Or worse—you’ll trigger a magic surge. And if that happens in front of the Council—”
“I don’t care,” I said. “She’s all I have.”
“You have me,” he said.
I turned my head, looking at him. His face was hard, unreadable. But his eyes—gold, fierce—held something I hadn’t seen before.
Not pity.
Not duty.
Concern.
“Why?” I asked. “Why do you care?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he reached for my wrist—the one bound by the chain. His fingers were warm, calloused. He pressed his thumb to the silver band, just as he had in the suite after the ritual.
Heat flared.
But this time, it wasn’t pleasure.
It was relief.
The fever in my veins eased. The ache between my thighs quieted. My breath slowed.
“The ward,” he said. “It can be adjusted. Calmed. But only with touch. With intent.”
“You’re doing this for the bond,” I said. “Not for me.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But does it matter?”
He kept his hand on my wrist, his thumb stroking the sensitive skin beneath. Another wave of calm. Another pulse of heat—not from desire, but from connection.
“You don’t have to pretend,” I whispered. “I know you don’t want me. I know you only see me as a threat. A tool. A—”
“Stop,” he said, his voice rough. “Stop trying to push me away. Stop pretending you don’t feel this.”
“I don’t—”
“Yes, you do.” He leaned closer, his breath hot on my skin. “You feel it in your bones. In your blood. In the way your body burns for me, even when you hate me.”
My breath caught.
“And I feel it too,” he said. “Not because of the bond. Not because of magic. Because of you. Because you’re fierce. Because you’re brave. Because you’re the only person who’s ever looked at me and seen the man, not the Alpha.”
Tears burned my eyes.
Not from pain.
From the unbearable weight of being seen.
“Then why does it hurt so much?” I whispered.
“Because love is pain,” he said. “And you’re falling, Blair. Just like I am.”
And then—
He kissed me.
Not hard. Not violent.
Soft. Slow. Aching.
And the world—
It stopped.
The chain between us pulsed—hot, heavy, alive.
And for the first time—
I didn’t fight it.
I kissed him back.
And the fever didn’t matter.
The bond didn’t matter.
The Contract didn’t matter.
Because in that moment—
I wasn’t the challenger.
I wasn’t the destroyer.
I was just a woman.
In the arms of the man she was meant to hate.
And it felt like coming home.
But then—
The door burst open.
We broke apart.
Riven stood in the doorway, his dark eyes wide. “Kaelen. We have a problem.”
Kaelen didn’t move. Didn’t speak.
Just stared at me.
And I—
I knew.
The real prison wasn’t made of stone.
It wasn’t made of silver.
It was made of desire.
And I was already trapped.