Chapter 225 The Bond Totem

Chapter 225 The Bond Totem
Adrian's POV 

Sebastian kept approaching until we were nose to nose. 

His breath was hot on my face, eyes burning with possession. “I have come to collect my mate. Didn’t I warn you? I want my woman or everyone in this kingdom will taste my wrath. The only reason I held back and didn’t attack after the first time was because I am a gentleman after all. I wanted to give my mate time to cut off whatever connected her to this rotten place. My patience has run out. I have come to take her home.”

My wolf snarled viciously inside, trying to surge forward and rip Sebastian’s head clean off. I clamped down hard…couldn’t afford one wrong step. Not with Kira right here. Not with her father watching.

“Move out of my way,” Sebastian growled.

Thomas stepped up beside me, growling low. The other men flanked us immediately. “What right do you have to lay claim on the Queen of Draven?” Thomas demanded.

“She is my mate,” Sebastian spat back. “Not the Queen of Draven.”

I felt Kira’s grip on my robe tighten like a vice. Through the mindlink, her voice came small and desperate… “Should we just elope?”

I almost laughed out loud despite everything…the absurdity of it cutting through the tension like a blade. “Don’t worry. I’ll fix this.”

I stared Sebastian dead in the eyes. “Kira is my mate. She has my mark and I have hers. I advise you to stand back so we can resolve this quietly before it gets any uglier.”

Sebastian’s lips curled into a smirk. His hand dipped into his pocket and pulled out a small, ancient-looking totem carved with the exact same symbol that marked Kira’s arm. He waved it slowly while still smiling.

The effect was instant. Kira, as if pulled by an invisible string, stepped out from behind me. Her eyes locked onto Sebastian and the totem. 

What I saw in her eyes hit me like a punch to the gut…recognition. Deep, soul-stirring recognition. Like she’d just found a missing piece of her life she’d been searching for her whole existence.

The corridor fell into a chilling quiet.

Then Tristen’s laugh broke it…low, triumphant, and icy. He whispered, “I told you she belongs to Sebastian… didn’t I, Draven?”

The words hung in the air like a death sentence. My heart hammered. Kira stood frozen between us while Sebastian smiled like he’d already won. Tristen watched with cold satisfaction. And I felt the entire world tilting on its edge, ready to shatter.

The second that recognition deepened in Kira’s eyes, something primal snapped inside me. No. That is not happening.

I shot my hand out quickly, fingers wrapping around her wrist, and tugged her back to my side with enough force to break whatever pull that damn totem had on her. 

She stumbled into me, and I immediately gripped her face with both hands, tilting it up so she had no choice but to look at me. Her eyes were glassy, distant.

“Adrian?” she whispered, blinking slowly like she was waking from a deep trance. “What’s… what’s going on?”

I didn’t answer with words. I pulled her into a tight hug, burying her face into my neck right where her mark sat. My scent flooded around her, warm and familiar, wolf and man mixed together. 

I held her there, one arm locked around her waist, the other cradling the back of her head. Come on, baby. Feel me. Not that thing.

I’d figured it out. That had to be a binding totem. 

Tristen must have made a blood pact with Sebastian or his father years ago, swearing Kira to him in marriage. Bound by blood, carved into that symbol. If that was the case, Kira’s soul would recognize it, feel that ancient pull whether she wanted it or not. The thought made my stomach twist with rage.

I ground my teeth together so hard my jaw popped as I felt Kira inhale deeply, then exhale. Her body slowly settled into my warmth, melting against my chest like she was coming back to herself. Her fingers clutched my robe tighter. Good. Stay with me.

Tristen’s face twisted in pure fury. “How dare you!” he raged, voice booming through the corridor like thunder. The walls seemed to shake with it.

Sebastian lunged forward, reaching for Kira again, that totem still clutched in his fist. But Thomas and Philip moved like lightning, stepping directly in front of us and blocking his path completely. Sebastian snarled, trying to shove past them, but they stood firm like a wall of muscle and loyalty.

Tristen’s voice dropped to something cold and deadly. “I’m sure you know what a bond totem is, Draven. There’s nothing you can do about it. As long as I’m alive, Kira must come home. Back to where she belongs. By Sebastian’s side.”

“Not on my watch,” I growled back, voice low but ringing with every ounce of kingly authority I had.

“Kira is my mate. My wife. The mother of my child. The Queen of Draven. Nothing can ever change that. Not some dumb totem. Not some age-long fury. No one is having Kira in this life or the next.” 

I stared him dead in the eyes. “I’ve been trying to be patient ever since you and your people got here…because of the debt my family owes you. But don’t force my hand further, Tristen. My tolerance has a limit… even for my father-in-law.”

Sebastian roared and launched forward again, still holding that cursed totem high like a weapon. 

Thomas moved faster than I expected. He blocked Sebastian’s arm, slammed him hard into the nearest wall, and pinned him there with a forearm pressed against his throat. Sebastian struggled wildly, boots scraping against the stone floor, veins bulging in his neck as he fought to break free.

“She is mine!” Sebastian yelled, spit flying. “Mine! And this totem bears me proof!”

I yelled right back, voice raw with fury. “My mark on her neck bears me proof that she is mine!”

Kira raised her head like she wanted to say something, but I gently but firmly pushed her face back into my neck. I couldn’t risk it. One more look at that totem and she might slip away again. Her breath was warm against my skin, steadying.

Tristen’s rage boiled over. His face turned a dangerous shade of red, fists clenched so tight his knuckles were white. “I am leaving here today with my daughter,” he spat, words stubborn and unyielding, “even if the whole world wants to collapse around us!”

Kira tugged at my hand, her voice muffled against my neck. “Adrian… I’m fine now.”

I didn’t let her go completely, but I loosened my grip enough for her to turn and face her father while staying safely tucked at my side. Her voice cracked with raw emotion as she spoke.

“I wanted my father to be here so badly,” she said, her eyes moist. “With Mom gone, I thought at least you could do me the favor of walking me down the aisle to marry the man I chose.”

“No,” Tristen said flatly. “Sebastian is the one for you. He was chosen for you to help our pack—”

“Father, I chose Adrian,” Kira cut in, voice strong despite the tears. “Can’t you respect that?”

Tristen growled deep in his throat, glaring at me with pure hatred. “This is all your fault. You’re turning my daughter against me.”

“Father, look at me,” Kira pleaded, stepping slightly forward but still holding my hand. “I’m the one talking to you, not him.”

Tristen’s eyes glistened with pain as he looked at her. “Kira… they took my life. Destroyed my people. Led to my separation with your mother. And you still choose to side with him? Over me?”

“I’m not siding or picking sides,” she whispered, voice trembling. “I just want us to settle this. Leave the past behind and forge a better future.”

I moved her gently back to my side and faced Tristen fully. “I’m truly sorry,” I said again, voice sincere and heavy. “For everything my family put you through. I take responsibility and I’m willing to spend the rest of my life making it right.”

All the while, Sebastian kept struggling against Thomas’s iron grip, snarling and thrashing. “She is mine! Mine!” he kept yelling, the words echoing off the walls like a madman’s chant.

A sudden distraction pulled my attention…people from the coronation hall were peering their heads out, curious about the commotion. Guards rushed to push them back inside, voices rising in a chaotic murmur. In that split second, I didn’t see Tristen move.

I didn’t see his claws raise, sharp and deadly, aimed straight at my throat.

Neither did I see Kira moving before I could register it. She stepped in front of me, shielding my body with her own as Tristen’s claw landed.

A scream tore out of me…raw, guttural, filled with pure terror and guilt.

No… Please… No.