Chapter 17 Why?
Dravik's pov
“We’re supposed to do that?” Auren stares at me like I’ve just told her the sun is fake.
Her eyes look too big in her pretty pale face.
“Yes,” I say, studying her. “You say the words back. Otherwise the bond stays half-alive.”
“I didn’t. He just… he said it and left.” Her fingers curl into the blanket. “And something broke inside me.”
That stops me. A bound wolf isn’t supposed to feel that kind of snap. Something is off. Something is very wrong.
“Who is he?” I ask. “And what kind of idiot doesn’t know how rejection works? You, I understand. You were kept in the dark, but him? What excuse does he have? Who is the bastard?”
She swallows. “His name is Eron. Beta Eron. He is the son of Beta Isaac, a clan near us. Our beta is his uncle, and he took him in when he was a kid to train him before he takes over from his father. We grew up together.” Her voice cracks a little. “Turns out he was aiming for the Alpha title. When I lost my position, he looked for the next best thing.”
My jaw tightens. I don’t like the sound of his name. I don’t like the history. I don’t like that this man had any part of her.
“She is ours now”, Shadow’s voice rolls through me like a threat.
“Shut the fuck up”. I shove back at him.
Auren says nothing. She looks tired again and hurt.
“He’s out of your life,” I say, steady. “That’s that. What I want to know is how you knew he was your mate.”
“I felt him.”
“You felt him?” I lean forward. “How? You were bound. How old were you?”
“I was eighteen.” Her hands twist the sheet. “He was the first scent I ever perceived. When it linked me to him, we planned to keep it quiet. I started scenting other things again… and I started to heal. My uncle found out and made me drink something. I stopped feeling them after that.”
“What was in the drink?”
“He bound me.”
“Wait,” I say slowly. “You were bound twice?”
“Yes.” She nods. “I haven’t been able to heal since.”
Twice. She survived being bound twice. Any other wolf would have died or lost their mind.
She is stronger than she knows. Stronger than her uncle ever wanted her to realize.
I want to push for more answers, but her eyelids droop. She is fighting sleep after everything she endured. I stand and pull the blanket up over her shoulders.
“Rest,” I say. “I’ll come back later.”
I leave the room and shut the door quietly.
Outside, I see Brandon loitering around
“She awake?” he asks.
“Yes. She answered a few things before she crashed again.” I rub my jaw. “She said she was bound twice.”
“Twice? Are you sure?”
“She didn’t stutter.”
He exhales. “She must have some strong Alpha blood for them to need to bound her two times.”
“No doubt stronger than her uncle.” I start walking toward the house. “And that’s what scares him. That’s why she became the scapegoat for her parents’ deaths.”
He nods. “Makes sense.”
“I’m going to shower, then I’ll brief Jace and Garrick. We may need to go back to Silverveil tomorrow.”
“To return her?” he asks.
“To beat the shit out of her bastard mate.”
I leave before he can comment.
Sleep refuses to come later. I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling. Auren has only slept in my bed once but now it feels weird without her.
By six in the morning, I’m already back at the hospital, sitting beside her bed. I watch her breathe, watch her lashes tremble, watch the way she curls slightly like she is trying to protect herself from a strike even in sleep. When she finally wakes, panic flashes across her face. “It’s alright,” I say. “You’re safe.”
She nods and pushes herself upright, wincing though she swallows the sound. I wonder how many times she’s had to hide pain to survive.
She pulls up her sweatshirt, studying the long line of stitches.
“It’s big,” she whispers.
“Hope had to, You would have died otherwise.” My eyes meet hers. “I think Eron blood-tied himself to you.”
Her head snaps up. “What?”
“Blood tie,” I explain. “It happens when a rejection isn’t completed. The mate tries to cling to whatever is left by creating an additional layer of permanence so the other can’t leave. Some wolves do it intentionally to keep control. It’s rare because it can kill the other partner if the bond is unstable.”
Her breath trembles.
“The question is why?,” I continue, “why did he reject you in the first place if he was planning to do the blood tie? And why didn’t he complete the rejection. He should know how the process works, every trained wolf does. Either he tried to trap you…” My teeth grind. “…or he didn’t want to let go.”
“She is mine. I’m not letting him have her. I will tear Silverveil apart if I must”, Shadow surges forward.
I shut my eyes for a moment, steadying us both.
“Trust me,” I say quietly. “There is no way she is going back to them.”