Feeling The Daughter’s Bond

Feeling The Daughter’s Bond
Both continued to shot forward at the same time—two blurs disappearing into the dense forest at the edge of ShadowFang territory. The four supervising warriors ran along the trees, keeping their distance yet watching closely.

The moment Damon crossed into the forest, an unnatural chill swept through the air. He paused for half a second, sniffing the winds. Something’s off… this forest feels different today.

Elina felt it too. The deeper she ran, the stranger the forest became. The usual animal scents were faint, like the creatures had fled. The wind carried a sharp metallic smell—danger. Deadly danger.

Then the forest reacted.

A low, eerie growl vibrated from the shadows, followed by the heavy thud of something massive moving between the trees. Damon spun around, muscles tensed. The supervising warriors slow down and continued monitoring from afar, already aware of how close the threat truly was because it was set up by Damian who didn't want any of the set easy for the participants.

Elina crouched low near a stream, spotting fresh deer tracks, when she suddenly heard Damon’s warning growl echo through the woods.

“Elina—move!”

She barely did a flip forward before a huge shadow-like animal lunged from behind. A rogue bear—eyes wild, foam dripping from its fangs—charged at her. It was normal.... its aura was on point for killing.

Elina rolled forward, narrowly avoiding its jaws. Damon leaped in at the same time from the opposite side, slashing its flank to divert its attention. The beast roared, furious, and stormed deeper into the forest rather than attacking again.

The two warriors stood there panting for a heartbeat.

“That wasn’t natural,” Elina muttered.

“Someone drugged or provoked it,” Damon replied, scanning the environment. “This wasn’t part of the challenge.”

But they didn’t have time to investigate. The competition clock was ticking. And the warriors urge them to continue.

Without another word, they split off again, both determined not to lose.

The forest seemed alive now—branches snapping behind them, shadows shifting like they were being watched. Something or someone was in the forest, observing their every move. But neither could stop—not with hundreds watching, not with the stakes so high.

Damon caught a rabbit first, tying it quickly. Elina seized two birds with a swift lunge and returned to sprinting.

The supervising warriors followed silently, impressed—and proud.

Then, just as they approached the forest edge, the air trembled with their energies sweeping through the trees. Elina felt her skin getting warmer. Damon stopped for a fraction of a second, eyes narrowing sharply.

But the moment passed, and the arena came into view.

With one final burst of speed, Elina and Damon shot out of the forest—both crossing the finish point at the exact same second, their prey in hand.

Gasps rose among the audience. Even Damian’s eyes widened slightly, though only for a brief second.

“A tie!” Liam announced, stepping forward with shock in his voice. “Stage One ends in a tie!”

The crowd erupted into cheering.

But up on the platform, Damian’s expression slowly broke into a soft smile — he knew it was going to be competitive for both hence the spicy up of things.

Liam stepped forward, clearing his throat as he prepared to announce the second stage of the competition—when a sudden stir rippled through the crowd.

Heads turned. Whispers rose like scattered wind.

Theo Lambert and Mina finally appeared at the arena entrance escorted by two guards stationed at the pack’s gate.

Theo looked tense, breath slightly uneven from rushing. Mina, on the other hand, walked proudly as if she expected the entire arena to pause in admiration of her arrival, while Lambert sulk behind her.

The moment Theo stepped forward, he bowed deeply to greet Damian.
Damian gave him only a short nod—polite, distant, and cold.

Theo hurried to take a seat among the invited officials with Lambert closely behind him. It's better he sits with him.

But Mina… She marched straight toward Ella’s section with an arrogant tilt of her chin, fully intending to sit beside the Luna of ShadowFang Pack as though she belonged there.

She was only two steps away when Damian’s eyes snapped to her.

Just a single narrowed glance. A deadly, quiet dismissal.

Mina froze, the aura hitting her hard. Panic flared in her eyes, and she instantly changed direction—almost tripping over her own dress as she scrambled toward Theo instead. The murmuring among the pack members rose louder. Some scoffed. Others snickered openly. A few didn’t even bother hiding their disgust.

Theo closed his eyes for a second, completely mortified. He shot her a sharp glare the moment she finally dropped into the seat beside him.

Leaning closer, his voice low but furious, he hissed, “Must you shame me everywhere we go? You delayed us with your pompous unnecessary dressing, and now this? Mina, can’t you control yourself for once?”

Mina folded her arms, rolling her eyes as if he were the problem. “You’re lucky I even came with you. Stop whining,” she muttered back. “Besides, who cares what these wolves think?”

“Mina—” Theo began, but she cut him off with a dismissive—

“Mind your own business.”

He clenched his jaw, forcing himself to face the arena instead. Frustration simmered in him, but he swallowed it down. Then, instinctively, his eyes drifted toward the competition field.

Toward the girl smirking at her competitor.

The moment he saw her standing poised and calm, her aura bright even after the dangerous first round, something inside him cracked open. Warmth—strange, overwhelming, consuming—flooded through his chest. His breath caught.

His wolf stirred violently, pressing against his skin as if trying to leap free.

Theo’s fingers dug into the armrest.
No… not here. Not now…

He forced himself to breathe through it, but the pull toward her only grew stronger, more undeniable with each passing heartbeat. It felt like a bond—something ancient and instinctive—reaching for her.

Up on the dais, Damian watched the entire scene unfold.

His expression remained unreadable to the crowd, but deep within his dark eyes… a glint of triumph flickered. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

Just as my investigation revealed… Theo’s wolf reacts to her. And today, he finally feels it himself.

The pieces were falling into place.

And Damian—the king of shadows—was watching every one of them.