Chapter 18: No Escape

Seraphine's POV

Kaelen froze. Turned back.

"The bond," he said. His voice was tight. "It's protesting the distance."

You've got to be kidding me.

"So what?" I forced out. "We're supposed to sleep in the same room?"

"I'll sleep on the floor. With blankets."

"That's ridiculous—"

"Would you prefer I sleep in the hallway and we both spend the night in pain?"

I glared at him. Hated how reasonable he sounded. Hated that he was right.

The rage that had been simmering since the mark appeared suddenly boiled over.

"This is insane," I snapped. "We can't even be in separate rooms without this—this thing throwing a fit?" My hands clenched into fists. "There has to be a way to break it. To get rid of it."

Kaelen went very still.

"Tell me there's a way," I pressed. The desperation in my voice made me hate myself, but I couldn't stop. "Some spell, some ritual, something that can undo this."

The silence stretched too long.

"Answer me, damn it!"

"There is," he said finally. Each word sounded like it cost him. "Witch magic. Blood magic, specifically. It's the only thing powerful enough to sever a mating bond."

Hope flared in my chest. "Then—"

"Most attempts result in death. For both parties."

The hope died.

"How many survive?" My voice came out smaller than I intended.

His jaw tightened. "Less than ten percent. And those who do..." He paused. "They're never the same. The bond leaves scars when it's ripped out. Mental. Physical. Most wish they'd died instead."

Oh.

I sank down onto the edge of the bed, legs suddenly weak.

"So we're stuck," I whispered. "Forever. No choice. No escape."

"I'm sorry."

The words were so quiet I almost missed them.

Through the bond, I felt his guilt. His regret. The weight of responsibility crushing down on him.

He didn't want this either.

That should've made me feel better. It didn't.

"Fine," I bit out. "Whatever. Just—stay on your side of the room."

He nodded once and disappeared down the hall to gather blankets.

I closed the bedroom door and leaned against it, eyes shut.

Forever. I'm tied to a stranger forever.

My legs gave out. I slid down the door until I was sitting on the floor, arms wrapped around my knees.

The sob I'd been holding back finally broke free. Then another. And another.

I can't do this. I can't—

But I had to. Because Lyralei needed me. Because there was no other choice.

Because ten percent survival odds might as well be zero.

I pressed my forehead to my knees and let myself cry—silent, shaking sobs that tore through me like glass.

Through the bond, I felt Kaelen's presence just beyond the door. Waiting. Giving me space.

But we both knew the space was temporary.

The bond wouldn't allow anything else.

---

I couldn't sleep.

The bed was comfortable. The sheets smelled like Kaelen—which should've been disturbing but my wolf found oddly soothing. The room was quiet except for the soft sound of his breathing from where he'd spread blankets on the floor near the window.

But every time I closed my eyes, I saw Lyralei.

Falling. Disappearing into darkness. Alone.

My throat tightened. Shoulders shook with silent sobs I refused to let escape.

This is my fault. All of it.

"She's your responsibility."

Kaelen's voice came from the darkness. Low. Careful.

I stiffened. "What?"

"Your sister. You feel responsible for her."

Stop feeling what I'm feeling.

"She's the only family I have left," I whispered. The words scraped out. "If something happens to her—if she's hurt or scared or—" My voice broke. "It's my fault. I should've protected her better."

Silence.

Then: "My friends will find her. Lucian has tracked wolves through worse conditions. Cordelia can heal almost anything. They're good people."

"Why are you helping me?" The question burst out before I could stop it. "We don't even know each other. You don't owe me anything."

More silence. Heavier this time.

"Because you're my mate," he finally said. "Whether either of us wanted this or not. And—" He paused. "No one should lose family."

There was something in his tone. Something dark and painful.

Through the bond, I felt it—a deep, aching grief he kept buried.

He's lost someone.

"Who did you lose?" I asked quietly.

He didn't answer.

But the sorrow that pulsed through the bond told me everything.

He knows what I'm going through. He understands.

I didn't know what to say to that. So I just lay there in the darkness, feeling his pain mix with mine through the invisible thread connecting us.

Eventually, exhaustion started pulling me under.

Just before sleep claimed me, I felt it—a gentle pulse of comfort through the bond. Not words. Just... presence. Solidarity.

We're both alone. Both grieving. Both trapped.

But maybe... not completely alone anymore.

The thought should've terrified me.

Instead, it was the first thing that hadn't hurt since this nightmare began.

---

Heat woke me.

Burning, searing heat radiating from the mark on my neck. Like someone had pressed a branding iron to my skin.

I jerked upright, gasping. My hand flew to my throat.

What the—

From the floor came a sharp, indrawn breath.

Kaelen.

He was sitting up too—back rigid, fists clenched against the floorboards. Even in the darkness, I could see the tension in every line of his body.

He feels it too.

The air in the room had changed. Thicker. Charged. Our scents mixed together—stronger than before. Intoxicating.

Oh no.

My body responded before my mind could catch up. Heat flooded through me. Every nerve ending came alive. The urge to go to him—to close the distance, to touch him, to—

Stop it. Stop.

But my wolf was clawing at my insides, desperate and wanting.

Close. Need to be close. Need to—

"Don't move."

Kaelen's voice cut through the haze. Rough. Strained.

I froze, halfway to throwing the covers off.

"If you come over here right now," he continued, still not looking at me, "I don't know if I can control it."

Control what?

Through the bond, I felt his answer. The same primal hunger tearing through me was ripping him apart too. Worse, maybe—because he was an Alpha, and every instinct was screaming at him to claim, to possess, to—

My hands fisted in the sheets. I bit down hard on my lower lip, using pain to ground myself.

This is just the bond. Just biology. It doesn't mean anything.

But my body didn't care about logic.

Kaelen's shoulders were shaking now. His back still to me, fists pressed so hard against the floor I heard wood creak.

He's fighting it too. For me. Because I asked him not to touch me.

Something in my chest twisted.

Minutes passed. Or hours. Time felt strange and elastic.

Slowly—agonizingly slowly—the heat started to fade. The mark on my neck cooled from burning to a dull, persistent ache.

Kaelen's breathing evened out. His muscles unlocked one by one.

Neither of us spoke.

What the hell was that?

But I already knew. Cordelia's words echoed in my memory.

New mates are hyper-protective. Any perceived threat triggers their wolves.

This is what she meant. The frenzy. The possessiveness.

It's only going to get worse before it gets better.

I sank back into the pillows, every muscle trembling from the effort of holding myself still.

Across the room, Kaelen remained frozen on the floor.

"Try to sleep," he said finally. His voice was hoarse. "It'll be easier tomorrow."

Liar.

But I closed my eyes anyway.

Because what else could I do?

We were both prisoners of this bond now. And there was no escape in sight.

Sleep pulled me under eventually—restless and filled with dreams of fire, falling, and a pair of deep black eyes that followed me through darkness.