The Pull Of The Bond

Aria's POV

Before dawn, the world is quiet in a way that feels sacred.

Everything stills — the trees, the wind, even my breath — like nature itself is holding its pulse for what comes next.

I stood in the clearing behind the estate, fog curling around my ankles, my body wrapped in borrowed leggings and a long-sleeved shirt that smelled like Lucien. The air was cold enough to make my teeth chatter, but I was burning from the inside out.

He was already waiting for me.

Lucien stood shirtless, barefoot, carved from shadow and strength. The rising sun lit the edges of his body like fire, turning his golden eyes to molten metal.

"You came," he said, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"I said I would."

"And you're on time."

"Don't sound so surprised," I shot back, lifting my chin.

He stepped forward, and for a moment, all the nerves I'd buried under sarcasm surged to the surface.

This wasn't just about training.

This was about trust. About change. About the choice I'd already made — even if I hadn't admitted it out loud.

⸻

Lucien didn't go easy on me.

He started with basic self-defense, showing me how to stand, how to center my weight, how to anticipate movement.

Then came evasion — duck, pivot, step aside. Over and over again until my legs ached and sweat soaked my back.

He didn't touch me much, but when he did — correcting the angle of my elbow, or the turn of my wrist — it was electric. Like lightning crawling beneath my skin.

"You're fast," he said between drills. "Faster than most."

I blew out a breath, trying to ignore the heat in my cheeks. "Maybe adrenaline. Or fear."

He stepped closer, brushing a strand of hair from my face. "It's instinct. It's the wolf waking up."

⸻

That stopped me cold.

"The wolf?"

Lucien nodded. "It's already there, under the surface. You're not shifting yet, but your senses are sharpening. You're adapting."

I swallowed, suddenly parched. "What happens when I do shift?"

He didn't answer right away.

Instead, he turned away and walked to a nearby boulder, resting a hand against it like he needed something solid to ground himself.

"When it happens, the bond between us will become complete. You'll feel everything I feel. And I'll feel you."

He turned to face me. "There'll be no hiding. No walls. Just… us."

That terrified me more than the rogue.

Not because I didn't want it.

But because I did.

⸻

Later that morning, after a long shower and a quick breakfast I barely tasted, I found myself wandering the halls of the estate again.

It still didn't feel like home.

The ceilings were too high, the doors too heavy, and the air carried the weight of ancient promises I didn't understand.

As I passed the war room, I caught voices behind the door.

"…the eastern ridge was breached last night. No damage, but it was a test."

Thorne.

I stepped closer, pressing my ear to the wood.

"We should retaliate," Caleb said.

"No," Lucien replied, his voice sharp. "That's what he wants. We don't make the first move. We defend. Strategically. Carefully."

"Then what do we tell the pack?"

There was a pause, then Lucien again. "We tell them to prepare for war."

⸻

That night, I dreamed of fire.

Of wolves circling me.

Of Lucien standing beneath a blood-red moon, his eyes glowing like embers.

When I woke, the bond thrummed through my chest like a second heartbeat.

Stronger than ever.

I woke before the sun, drenched in sweat and tangled in too many blankets.

My heart was racing again.

I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to breathe through the pull — that invisible thread stretching between Lucien and me. It throbbed with every beat, every breath, every half-formed thought.

I knew it was him.

Somewhere out there, Lucien was awake too. And worried.

Something had changed overnight.

Something was coming.

⸻

By the time I made it to the kitchen, the entire estate felt different. Quiet, but not peaceful — like everyone was holding their breath, waiting for something to crack.

Caleb was leaning against the counter, muttering to a Beta I hadn't met. He gave me a cursory glance and then looked away. Not rude, exactly — just cautious. Like I was still a question no one had answered yet.

"Morning," I said, keeping my voice light.

He nodded. "Lucien's waiting for you in the council room."

I blinked. "Council room?"

Caleb's expression didn't change. "You're not just a guest anymore."

⸻

The council room was nothing like I expected.

Long stone table. Tall windows. Maps and weapons lining the walls. It felt old. Sacred. And I felt… out of place.

Lucien stood at the far end, flanked by three elders and two pack officers. When I walked in, everyone turned.

Lucien's eyes met mine first. Relief. Warmth. And underneath it, that same tension humming in my bones.

"Aria," he said, beckoning me forward.

I stepped beside him, shoulders squared. Trying not to flinch when one of the elders raised a skeptical brow.

"This isn't protocol," the older woman said. She had pale eyes like smoke and a voice that could cut glass. "She's not one of us."

Lucien's voice was calm. "She's mine."

Those two words settled over the room like thunder.

The woman didn't blink. "She's not mated. She hasn't shifted. She's not even marked."

"She will be," Lucien said.

I swallowed hard.

Not out of fear.

But because he said it like a vow.

⸻

After the meeting, Lucien and I walked together in silence. The sky had turned steel-gray, and a cold wind whistled through the trees.

"I'm sorry," he said finally.

"For what?"

"For dragging you into all this. For making you a target. For forcing you to make choices you shouldn't have to make."

I stopped walking and turned to face him.

"You didn't drag me anywhere. I chose to stay."

His jaw clenched. "You didn't know what you were choosing."

"No. But I do now. I'm choosing you. Even if that means I have to fight."

Lucien reached for me then, both hands on my waist, pulling me closer.

"I don't deserve you," he whispered.

I tilted my head. "Maybe not. But I'm not going anywhere."

⸻

That night, the attack came.

Not in the woods.

Not on the ridge.

But at the estate itself.

It started with a howl — long and low and broken.

Then came the scent — smoke, blood, and magic.

Lucien shifted mid-run, his form tearing into the massive black wolf I remembered from the night I first saw him change. Caleb followed, and half the pack surged out of the estate into the darkness.

I grabbed the silver dagger Lucien had given me — just in case.

My hands shook, but I didn't hide.

Not this time.

I ran toward the fire.

⸻

In the chaos, I saw it.

A shadow in the flames.

Tall. Twisted. Not a wolf. Not a man.

Something in between.

Eyes like burning coal. A grin too wide for any human face.

"Aria," it hissed.

I froze.

It knew my name.

Lucien's howl split the air behind me — rage and fear wrapped in sound.

Then the creature lunged.