Chapter 160 The Bond

Chapter 160 The Bond
Luna’s POV

Crescent Valley High was in lockdown. Nobody said the word supernatural.
But everybody knew something had happened.
Police cars lined the parking lot, teachers whispered in tight circles and students sat shaking in classrooms pretending shattered windows and claw marks in the hallway were somehow normal.

Videos from earlier were already disappearing online.
They deleted, removed and covered up. ,Someone powerful was cleaning this mess fast. Too fast.
But fear still lingered in the air. And I could smell every bit of it.
I sat alone in the nurse’s office trying not to claw through the armrests of the chair.

Every sound outside irritated me, every heartbeat distracted me and every scent overwhelmed me.
The wolf inside me wasn’t sleeping anymore. It was awake, restless and hungry.
And, worst of all…It wanted one thing constantly.

Kai.
The door opened quietly and I looked up instantly before he even stepped inside.
My body reacted before my mind did and my pulse quickening and my breathing changes. Instinct locking onto him immediately and Kai noticed.
Of course he noticed.
“You shouldn’t be alone right now,” he said softly.

I laughed bitterly. “Pretty sure nobody wants to be around me right now.”

“That’s not true.”

“You saw what happened.”

His jaw tightened slightly. “Yes.”

I looked away. “I almost attacked someone.”

“But you didn’t.”

“I wanted to.”

Silence followed heavy and honest.
Kai closed the door behind him slowly. Then he walked toward me carefully.
Like approaching a wounded animal. And somehow that hurt more than fear would’ve.
“I’m becoming dangerous,” I whispered.

“You were always dangerous.”

I looked up sharply. Kai crouched in front of me, with his blue eyes steady on mine.
“But dangerous doesn’t mean monstrous.”

My throat tightened unexpectedly.
God.

Why did he always know exactly what to say? The wolf inside me reacted instantly to his voice. Closer and mine.
The thought slammed into me again. This time stronger and Kai inhaled sharply.
He heard that one too and the bond between us wasn’t leaking anymore.
It was open and raw.
My face heated immediately. “Stop doing that.”

“I’m not.”

“Then stop hearing my thoughts.”

A faint almost-smile touched his mouth. “That’s not exactly how bonding works.”

The word made my stomach flip. Bonding, it was not tension, not almost.
Maybe not. It was real. Dangerously real.
I swallowed hard. “Kai…”

His expression shifted instantly seriously again. “You almost completed the transformation today.”

“I noticed.”

“You also triggered pack-response howling across the entire territory.”

“…also noticed.”

His gaze softened slightly despite everything. “You’re handling this better than most people would.”

“I shattered school property and almost bit someone.”

“A stressful Monday.”

I stared at him. Then unexpectedly…A laugh escaped me.
Small, broken. But real.
Kai looked startled for half a second. Then relieved.
And suddenly the room felt smaller and warmer.
The pull between us deepened sharply. It was not lust and not just attraction.
It was recognition.

My wolf reacted hard to his presence now.
Not threatening. It was claiming.
I stood too quickly. Bad idea.
The world tilted slightly and Kai caught my waist immediately.
The second his hand touched me….The bond ignited.
Heat exploded through my chest. And a sharp silver mark flashed briefly under Kai’s collarbone.

We both froze and my breath caught instantly.
“No way.”

Kai looked down sharply at the glowing mark appearing on his skin.
Then back at me.

And for the first time since I met him….Kai Blackthorne looked genuinely shaken.
I backed away immediately. “What did I just do?”

His voice came quieter now. “You marked me.”

Silence. Then I stared at him. “That sounds illegal.”

Kai actually laughed once under his breath. Short and disbelieving.
Then the seriousness returned immediately. “Luna… wolves don’t mark accidentally.”

Cold panic spread through me. “I didn’t mean to.”

“I know.”

“But it happened.”

“Yes.”
I looked at the faint silver symbol still glowing against his skin. And suddenly….Everything changed. Not emotionally, but socially, politically and pack law. Wolf bonds, hierarchy and territory.
,I remembered enough from Kai’s explanations to understand one horrifying thing, that this wasn’t private anymore. If another wolf saw that mark…They would know.
“Kai…”

His eyes met mine carefully. “This changes things.”

I hated how calm he sounded. “How are you calm right now?!”

“I’m not calm.”

Fair point. Because under his controlled expression…I could hear his heartbeat too. It was fast, wild and wolf instincts respond hard to the bond.
He stepped closer slowly. “Luna, listen to me.”

“No, you listen to me,” I snapped. “Your pack already barely trusts me. Selene wants to use me for some ritual apocalypse thing. Ethan is doing… whatever psychologically concerning thing Ethan is doing lately. And now I accidentally branded you like supernatural property?”

Kai’s mouth twitched slightly. “This really isn’t funny.”

“I know.”

“Then stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like this changes nothing.” His expression softened. And somehow that was worse. Because it meant the opposite.
“It changes everything,” he admitted quietly.

My chest tightened and the room suddenly felt too small again.
Too intimate and too dangerous. Because the truth was there now between us.
No more circling around it, no more tension loops and no more almost-confessions. We were bonded. Actually bonded. And the supernatural world would react violently to that fact.

Kai stepped closer again. Slow enough for me to stop him.
I didn’t.
His hand lifted carefully toward my face.
Giving me time and choice. I leaned into his touch before I could overthink it.
The reaction was immediate and the bond surged violently through both of us.
My eyes flashed gold and Kai’s pupils sharpened wolf-like instantly.

A pulse exploded outward from the room. The lights shattered, glass burst outward and the entire building trembled. Outside…Howls erupted across Crescent Valley again. Not aggressive this time, but acknowledging, recognizing and claiming. Kai’s forehead dropped lightly against mine.
And I realized with absolute terror. That we had just announced ourselves to every wolf in the territory.

The door slammed open and Ethan stood there breathing hard.
Then froze.
His eyes dropped to the glowing mark on Kai’s collarbone.
The broken lights and the energy is still crackling through the room.
Understanding hit his face instantly and followed immediately by devastation.
“No,” he whispered.

The room went silent. And for the first time….The triangle between us finally broke. Because Ethan realized what we had become. And deep down….
So did I.