Chapter : Curse In The Blood
A thick silence swallowed the space between them. Rain's breath came in uneven pulls, his pulse hammering against his ribs as the weight of Althea's words settled into his bones.
A curse.
Nathaniel's golden eyes glowed like burning embers, his wolf fighting against the restraint he barely held onto. His power crackled in the air, the air thick with a suffocating heat, but Althea stood unfazed, as if she had expected this reaction.
"Speak." Nathaniel's voice was deep, guttural, threaded with a command that could break lesser beings.
Althea simply tilted her head, a slow smirk curling her lips. "You can command your pack, Alpha, but you cannot command fate."
Nathaniel's fingers twitched at his sides, but Rain could feel the barely concealed fury radiating from him.
"Fate," Rain repeated, his voice hoarse. "Is that what this is?"
Althea exhaled, her silver eyes flicking toward him, assessing, peeling him apart with just a look.
"You feel it, don't you?" she said softly, stepping closer. "The way the bond isn't just pulling—it's burning."
Rain stiffened as a chill ran through him.
It was true.
Each moment the bond grew stronger, it wasn't just a connection—it was consuming him, unraveling him from the inside out. He had thought it was the heat, the natural pull between mates, but there was something more—something darker beneath it.
Something hungry.
Nathaniel shifted, his aura flaring as he positioned himself slightly in front of Rain. The move was subtle, but it was possessive, protective, and Althea's lips quirked as if she noticed.
Rain clenched his fists. "Tell us what you know. No more riddles."
Althea hummed, her fingers ghosting over the edge of her cloak. "Your bond is not a gift from the Moon Goddess, little wolf," she murmured. "It is a chain forged in blood, a ritual older than any of your kind can remember. And if you let it grow unchecked, it will not bring you together."
Her silver eyes glowed.
"It will break you."
Rain's breath hitched.
Nathaniel's fingers twitched. "Explain."
Althea's smirk faded, and for the first time, a flicker of something real—something grim—settled into her expression.
"The Blood Moon bond was never meant for love," she said. "It was meant for destruction."
The wind howled through the trees, and Rain swallowed hard.
"You're lying." Nathaniel's voice was low, dangerous, but Althea only sighed.
"Am I?" she murmured.
Rain's mind spun, memories of the unbearable heat, the agonizing need, the way his body ached for Nathaniel flashing through him like wildfire.
It wasn't just desire.
It was too much.
As if something inside him was being rewritten, reshaped, forced into submission.
His stomach twisted.
Nathaniel's jaw was tight, his shoulders tense, his golden eyes dark with something unreadable.
"What do we do?" Rain forced out, his voice quieter now.
Althea studied him, then exhaled.
"You need to fight it," she said. "Or you need to give in completely."
The fire crackled between them.
Nathaniel's gaze snapped to her, his body rigid. "And what happens if we give in?"
Althea hesitated.
Rain's heart pounded. "Tell us."
She sighed, fingers tracing a symbol in the air—one that made the bond burn beneath Rain's skin.
"If you surrender to it," she murmured, "you won't just be mates."
She looked between them, and for the first time, there was something akin to pity in her gaze.
"You'll be bound in blood. In body. In soul."
She let the words settle before finishing.
"And there will be no turning back."
Silence.
Rain's throat went dry.
Nathaniel inhaled sharply.
Althea turned, the flickering light casting shadows against her sharp features. "Decide quickly," she said. "Because the longer you wait…"
She trailed off, her gaze locking onto Rain's.
"The harder it will be to resist."
Then, in a blur of silver and darkness, she was gone.
Leaving them with a choice neither of them were ready to make.
To Be Continued...