Chapter 9 The Bond
Amara’s POV
Huge and red in the black sky, the blood moon was rising. The clearing washed silver and red with its light. My mark scorched my wrist. Power rushed beneath my skin, making me shiver.
Kian kept a close eye on me. With his hair tied back, sword in hand, and eyes that gleamed in the moonlight like molten gold, he stood a few feet away.
"Are you ready?" he said quietly.
I swallowed hard and nodded. "I'm as prepared as I will ever be."
He brought his sword down. He put it down and remarked, "You don't need this anymore." He took a step forward and extended his hand. "Only you. Your magic. Believe me."
I paused. I then grasped his hand.
Between us, energy sparked. My mark became more radiant.
Kian didn't recoil. He gave my fingers a light squeeze. "Come breathe with me."
I shut my eyes. In and out.
Above, I sensed the red moon, patient and old, observing us. Its icy force seeped into my bones.
"Give her a call," Kian said. "Your wolf."
Desperately, I thought, Selene.
She shifted.
Power. Moonlight. Ours.
Her voice filled me, and I gasped. The temperature dropped. There was a pale light on my skin.
Kian didn't back down even though his eyes widened. "That's all," he said. "Remain with me."
I sensed that things were changing. My vision became hazy.
Kian's pulse. The chilly breeze. The moon of blood.
My electricity spiked.
Then something inside of me exploded.
I was going down.
Not on the ground, though.
Into the dark.
I was standing in a weird spot. A forest of recollection and shadows. Above, blazing like an eye, was the red moon.
Rowan was also present.
With his shoulders trembling and his head bent, he sat on his knees. He was encircled by chains of dark magic that pulsed with unsightly light.
My heart broke.
Rowan?
I was not heard by him.
His voice was harsh as he spoke to himself.
"I took her life. I allowed her to pass away. Why, mother?"
The chains swung out, stinging the ground as I attempted to move closer.
Selene said in my mind, "He's trapped." confined by guilt, through magic.
I made contact. "Rowan!"
He jumped up. He had crazy, red-rimmed eyes.
"Amara?"
I almost started crying because his voice was so broken.
He coughed and said, "You're not real." "Just another ghost."
I said, "I'm here."
At the chains, he scratched. "I apologise. I'm so sorry."
The magic pulsed black. I sensed it. Old. False.
The magic of Lilith.
I balled my fists up.
"Fight it, Rowan!"
He gave a headshake. "She restrained me. I was unable to see. I caused you pain."
My face was wet with tears.
"I understand," I replied. "I understand."
The chains shook. In the darkness, his wolf let out a terrible cry of agony.
Selene pushed him to break it.
I held up my hands. Moonlight accumulated.
The dream, however, shuddered.
The darkness cried out.
I was flung back, rolling and flying.
I made a hard landing.
Rowan's voice reverberated.
"Pardon me!"
Then everything turned dark.
I screamed as I woke up.
I was being shaken by Kian. "Amara!"
I sobbed as I inhaled. "—I noticed him."
Kian's mouth clenched. "Rowan?"
I gave a nod. "He's... shackled." within oneself. Enchantment. She restrained him."
Kian's eyes became gloomy. He drew me into his embrace.
"Observe me," he said. "You're present, alongside me."
I put my face against his chest. He had a steady heartbeat. Powerful.
He rubbed my hair. "You're secure."
However, I didn't feel secure.
Since Rowan was in pain.
I had also witnessed it.
We sat by the dwindling fire later. The red moon continued to observe us.
Kian held onto my hand the entire time.
Quietly, he said, "You shouldn't care about him anymore."
I winced.
He let out a sigh. "I apologise. It wasn't fair."
"I'm unable to switch it off," I said. "The mate bond is present."
He flinched.
I squeezed his fingers. "However, you're present. I was saved by you. You told the truth."
He took a swallow.
He looked into my eyes.
He declared, "I'm your second mate." The Moon herself made the decision. Do you not sense it?"
"Yes, I did."
Warmth radiated through my chest each time he touched me.
I was afraid, though.
I said, "I don't know how to do this."
My hair was brushed away from my face by him. "Then allow me to demonstrate."
He leaned closer.
I could feel his breath on my lips.
My heart pounded.
However, I looked about.
He stopped.
I withdrew.
"Kian," I inhaled. "I am unable to. Not quite yet."
He shut his eyes. He drew a deep breath.
"All right."
His hand remained on mine, though.
"All right, Amara."
We sat quietly. The fire broke out. Inside me, my wolf shifted restlessly.
In the meantime, far away...
In the Lichen Pack home, Rowan was standing in the chamber that had belonged to his mother.
He opened a drawer with trembling fingers.
He located the book.
Leather, old. It smelled like evil magic.
His hands trembled as he opened it.
On the page, symbols shone softly.
Binding customs.
His lips became parched.
His eyes were scorched by the words:
"To take the uncooperative partner, to make the wolf blind. To compel the bond."
Inside of him, his wolf howled.
Fury. Betrayal.
He clutched the book as he stumbled back.
"Lilith," he said to her.
The realisation came as a shock.
I was tied by her. She made me do it.
The coerced bond. The falsehoods. His veins were poisoned.
He collapsed on the ground.
Rowan let out a cry of pain and fury.
His rage rattled the walls.
Lilith, however, was not present to listen to him.
She was chanting in the distance.
Obtaining power.
Getting ready for battle.
I was lying awake in my quarters back in the Obsidian Pack.
Kian had discreetly moved away after giving me a forehead kiss.
I stroked the spot on my lips where he nearly gave me a real kiss.
My chest hurt.
Two ties.
Two partners.
Two hearts breaking in one.
Selene?
She said that we couldn't have both. Make an informed decision.
Tears streamed down my face.
The red moon watched me from outside.
And I sensed it in the distance.
A chilly wind.
A voice in the shadows.
Amara, you are mine.
The voice of Lilith.
I closed my eyes tightly.
However, I was unable to ignore it.