Chapter 36

Chapter 36
Alaric
The air in the house felt weird, and for all the wrong reasons too. Heaven knows I never paid attention to things like this, but today, I couldn't. Not when the atmosphere felt like its only aim was to wipe me from the face of the earth. I tried to shake it, I tried to ignore it even, but it felt too charged, and too alive.

I’d tried drowning it out, from the hum of the bond, the faint, down to the maddening echo of her pulse down the hall, but it clung to me like static. Every time I shut my eyes, I saw the same damn thing: Rhea’s parted lips, the tremor in her breath when I’d leaned in too close.

It wasn’t hunger, not entirely. There was something more I didn't want to accept, and that made it worse.

I was still standing by the window now, fingers gripping the frame hard enough to crack the wood, when I felt it, that familiar ripple of power. Smooth and serpentine, the only words that could really describe Selene.

She didn’t knock. Of course she didn’t.
The door creaked open with her voice trailing through it, honeyed and edged.

“You called, Alaric.” I could picture her wearing a smirk, even though I hadn't turned to see her yet. “That alone tells me how bad it’s gotten.”

I turned slowly, and as expected Selene stood there in her usual black, silk gloves, long coat, and that small, knowing smile. Behind her, one of her lackeys lingered, pale and sharp eyed, carrying a satchel that no doubt held more trouble than I wanted to deal with.

“Make yourself at home,” I muttered, turning back to the window. “You usually do.”

“I would, but your home feels…” she trailed off with a small frown. Her eyes traveled and bounced off the walls before she continued. “...strained.”

I didn't say anything as she stepped inside, her heels clicking against the marble floors. She was just about to make herself comfy on the couches when I cut her off.

“No.” I huffed. “My study.’

I didn't wait to see if she would follow, but she did. The moment she shut the door behind her, I caught her gaze sweeping the study like she could taste the air. Then she inhaled softly.

“There it is.” she muttered to herself more than me. “I knew I could smell it.”

“There, what is?” I raised an eyebrow.

“The echo.” She let out slowly, like she was easily referring to the alphabet. “The mark of her.”

“No.” My jaw flexed. “You’re imagining things.”

“I’ve never imagined anything in my life, darling.” Selene laughed, quiet but sharp. “You reek of her, and depending on you, that just might be a good or bad thing.”

That word, reek, hit like a slap. But she wasn’t wrong. I’d felt Rhea’s scent burning under my skin all night. Selene moved closer, circling like she used to when she was trying to draw blood without fangs.

“Tell me,” she said softly, “was it the taste of her, or the way she looked at you while you fought not to take it?”

“Selene.” My throat tightened. “You think this is funny?”

“I think it’s dangerous. You’ve always had control, Alaric.” She let the words slide past her lips with such ease. “Too much of it, if you ask me. But this…” she gestured vaguely at me, “this is slipping.”

“If I wanted a lecture,” I met her gaze, cold. “I’d have called someone less fond of the sound of her own voice.”

“You called me because you know what this means.”Selene’s smile didn’t waver. She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “You know the bond isn’t gone.”

“It's not. I only concealed it a bit.” For a long moment, I didn’t breathe. Then, quietly, “But now its fractured. I don't know how it'll remain that way.”

“Fractured doesn’t mean severed. It means it’s still alive, but twisted.” She nodded once. “Mutated, even and if you keep pretending it’s not there, it’ll take you both down.”

Her words landed like stones in my chest.
Both. Me and Rhea. The thought of Rhea, fragile, infuriating and stubborn, being dragged down by whatever was clawing at me…

No. I couldn’t allow that. I wouldn't.

“You’re afraid.”
Selene studied me, eyes softening for the first time. “I can smell it.”

“I’m many things.” I exhaled slowly. “Afraid isn’t one of them.”

“Then say her name.”I stilled. In the sickest plot twists, best believe this wasn't what I expected Selene to say.

“You called me because you needed control,” she went on. “But control only comes when you stop lying to yourself. So say it, Alaric. Say who it is. Tell me who's messing with your control.”

My hands curled into fists, and the bond flared like a live wire under my skin, pulsing in defiance of every rule I’d built around it.
And then, finally, I said it, my voice low, raw, but dangerous nonetheless.

“Rhea.”

> “Ah.” Selene’s smile faltered. Just for a second, then it curved again into something softer and knowing. “The human.”

“Maybe you should’ve let the council break it completely when they had the chance.”
She moved to the shelves, running her gloved fingers over the books. “Now it’s too late. The bond’s rewriting itself, and you’re letting it.”

“I couldn't let them do that. The book says it can't be severed.” I turned away, jaw tight. “But you said if it reawakens halfway…”

“It’ll destroy you,” she finished. “Your control, your restraint, your hunger, all of it will collapse inward. And her?”

She looked toward the ceiling, toward the faint thrum I knew belonged to Rhea’s heartbeat. “She’ll feel every piece of it.”

Before I could answer, a sharp sound split the silence. Slam! It was the upstairs door no doubt, and I could bet my many centuries on earth that it wasn't just the wind l.

“Ah.” Selene’s eyes flicked up, amusement shining in her orbs. “She knows I’m here.”

The bond twitched violently, like it resented Selene’s presence. I could feel Rhea’s anger, her stubborn refusal bleeding through the fragile connection, like a flash of heat and jealousy, raw and human.

“She feels you more than you realize.” Selene tilted her head.

“Get out,” I said quietly.

“You think this is punishment, Alaric.” She smiled again, but this time there was something sympathetic buried beneath the amusement. “But maybe it’s just the bond doing what it was meant to, forcing you to feel again. Heaven knows you could use a little joy and sunshine here and there.”

I didn't speak, but she brushed past me, the scent of smoke and metal following her as she signaled her lackey.

“Keep the doors open,” she murmured to him. “The air here’s suffocating enough.”

When she was gone, the silence hit hard.
The bond buzzed again, faint but insistent, pulling at me like a pulse I couldn’t ignore.
And upstairs, behind the slammed door, I could hear Rhea’s heart, too fast, too loud, and pounding in perfect time with mine.

What the hell was I supposed to do now?