65

65
Thalia's POV

The moment the heavy doors closed behind me, the echo of murmurs still clung to my ears like gnats I couldn’t swat away. My legs carried me back to my chambers, but every step felt weighed down, as if the stares of the entire pack had burrowed into my skin and stayed there. The mark on my shoulder throbbed in time with my heartbeat, a reminder that I was bound to Jaden in ways I still didn’t understand, and that the pack had seen enough to start spinning their own stories.
Inside, the quiet wasn’t comfort—it was suffocation. My room, usually a cocoon against the chaos outside, now felt like a cage where all those whispers had followed me. I pressed my palms against the wooden table, forcing myself to breathe. The wood was cool under my hands, grounding, but the image of the elders’ eyes—sharp, probing, heavy with judgment—wouldn’t fade.
A knock came, soft but insistent.
“Come in,” I managed, though my voice cracked.
Nancy slipped through the door first, her expression a mix of pity and determination. Behind her came Nyra, silent as a shadow. Nancy hurried to me, her hands finding mine as if she feared I’d slip away if she let go.
“You held yourself well,” she said, though her eyes betrayed her doubt. “They were cruel, Thalia. They wanted to break you in front of everyone.”
“And maybe they succeeded,” I whispered.
Nyra crossed her arms, leaning against the wall with that unnerving calm of hers. “No. They didn’t succeed. You’re still standing, aren’t you? You didn’t give them what they wanted—fear made flesh.”
I wanted to believe her, but the weight in my chest told a different story. “They saw the mark,” I said, brushing my fingers against the spot on my skin where Jaden’s bond burned faintly. “They saw it spreading. I could feel the room change when they did. They think I’m weak, corrupted… maybe even cursed.”
Nancy squeezed my hands tighter. “Then let them think. We know the truth.”
“Do we?” I asked. My voice was low, brittle. “Do we really know the truth? Even I don’t. Every time I close my eyes, I feel pulled into something else. The flames, the smoke, the growls… I thought they were dreams, but now I’m not so sure.”
Nyra’s gaze flicked to me at that, sharp and alert. “Dreams can be doors. And sometimes, the bond chooses when to open them.”
I met her eyes, searching for more, but she looked away, as if she’d already said too much.
The silence thickened. I pushed away from the table and began pacing the room, each step feeding the restlessness clawing at my chest. “How long before they decide I don’t belong here at all? How long before whispers become orders, and orders become chains?”
Nancy stood, moving to block my path. “Thalia, stop. You’re not alone in this. You have us.”
Her words cracked something in me. The weight of everything—the humiliation, the judgment, the bond I hadn’t chosen—rushed up, and I buried my face against her shoulder. She held me without hesitation, her arms firm around me like iron against the storm. For the first time that day, I let myself tremble.
“It’s too much,” I whispered into her hair. “It’s all too much.”
Nyra’s voice cut through, steady, unflinching. “It’s supposed to be too much. That’s how they break people. But you’re not broken, Thalia. You’ve already endured more than most wolves could bear.”
Her words rang true, but they didn’t soothe. The bond inside me stirred, like a restless beast waking from slumber. A dull ache spread through my chest, pulling at me, tugging me toward something—toward someone.
“Jaden,” I murmured before I could stop myself.
Nancy stiffened, pulling back to look at me. Her eyes were wide, searching my face as if the name itself had poisoned me. “He’s pulling you again, isn’t he?”
I nodded, my throat too tight to speak.
“Then fight it!” she urged. “Don’t let him drag you deeper into his curse. You’re stronger than that.”
But the truth was, I didn’t know if I was. The bond didn’t ask for permission. It demanded, it consumed, and no matter how hard I resisted, it clawed its way through.
I staggered back toward the bed, clutching my temples. Images flashed—flames leaping higher, houses collapsing, shadows lunging with teeth bared. My body shook with the force of it, and I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out.
Nancy rushed to me, but Nyra held her back with a firm arm. “Let it happen,” Nyra said.
“Let it happen?” Nancy snapped. “Can’t you see it’s tearing her apart?”
“She won’t know her strength if we keep shielding her,” Nyra replied.
Their voices blurred as the visions deepened. This wasn’t just a dream—this was the curse realm pulling me in again. I could smell the smoke, feel the ash on my skin, hear the deafening growls circling me. And through it all, a presence pressed closer, heavy and unyielding.
Jaden.
His voice wasn’t spoken aloud, but it was everywhere, threaded into the fire, woven into the growls. You can’t escape me.
“I don’t want this!” I screamed into the void, though my body never left the bed. “I never asked for it!”
The flames parted, and there he was—Jaden’s wolf form, silver eyes burning with an intensity that pinned me in place. He didn’t attack, but he didn’t retreat either.
“You’re bound,” he said, his voice echoing both inside my mind and across the fiery landscape. “And so am I. Fighting won’t change it.”
I shook my head, tears streaming down my real cheeks though my dream-self stood defiant. “I have a choice. I always have a choice.”
His gaze softened for the briefest second. “Then choose me, Thalia. Not because of the bond. Because of what’s real between us.”
The world trembled. Flames roared louder. I staggered, torn between the pull of his words and the fire threatening to swallow me whole.
And then, just as suddenly, it was gone.
I jolted awake in my bed, sweat plastering my hair to my face. Nancy was beside me, clutching my hand, her eyes red from crying. Nyra stood near the window, arms folded, her expression unreadable.
“You screamed his name,” Nancy said, her voice trembling.
I couldn’t deny it. The taste of his presence still lingered on my tongue, heavy and undeniable.
“I don’t know how much longer I can fight this,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.
Nyra finally turned, her eyes dark with something I couldn’t name. “Then maybe it’s not about fighting. Maybe it’s about learning what this bond really is—and what it’s trying to make of you.”
Her words sank into me like stones into wate
r, leaving ripples I knew would never fade.