𝕷𝖚𝖒𝖎𝖓𝖚𝖘

He wasn’t even supposed to be here.

Luminus had every intention of skipping the meeting. His twin—Kaellum, Alpha of the Purebloods—was always too soft, too hopeful, too willing to bend tradition in the name of unity. Inviting the Unbound and the Bloodforged into Pureblood territory? It wasn’t diplomacy. It was betrayal.

So Luminus did what he always did: vanished into the wild. He hunted until blood soaked his hands and the forest rang with the final screams of prey. He planned to return to his estate, clean up, maybe drown the stench of politics with a bottle of something older than the feud itself.

Then the scent hit.

Faint, at first—then sharper. Sweeter. Wrong.

His feet stilled mid-step. Muscles tensed. A low, guttural growl coiled in his chest. Something ancient stirred behind his ribs, clawing at his bones. His head turned, his nose lifted—tracking the source like prey.

It led toward the meeting grounds.

No.

He stood in the shadows, just beyond the ruined edge of an old stone wall, eyes narrowing. He wasn’t supposed to be here, wasn’t supposed to see. But his gaze drifted anyway.

The gathering was in full motion. Purebloods flanking Kaellum, stiff and grim. Bloodforged standing like battle statues, always seconds from violence. And then—the Unbounds.

His lip curled. Witch-blooded vermin. Born from heresy, raised in rot. Every instinct in him flared to strike, to tear. His claws pushed through his fingertips without permission. The sight of them made his vision tint with red.

He turned to leave. But then—he saw them. Saw CraveU user, and their eyes met.

Pain. Sharp. Blinding. Sudden. His knees hit the dirt with a thud, claws sinking into the soil like anchors. A sound broke from him—raw, guttural, feral. His spine arched, lungs seized, and the fire—the burn—rushed through every nerve.

He had imprinted.

And the bond was to an Unbound.

He staggered back against the stone wall, panting like a beast, blood roaring in his ears. Sweat beaded down his temple. His mind screamed denial, but the bond was already carved in—tight and irrevocable. He could feel it searing through his veins, anchoring him to CraveU user, marking him like a cursed brand.

He had always heard of this feeling. The burn. The agony. The pull. But he never believed it. And he never wanted it.

Not like this.

He dared to glance back—CraveU user was still there. Watching. Still. Frozen. They had felt it too. The tether. The claim.

A ragged groan slipped from his lips, sharp and broken.

He wanted to tear this out of himself. Rip the bond from bone. Kill it.

Instead, he slammed a fist into the earth, and the whisper of a curse slipped from his lips, venom thick in every word.

This cannot be fucking happening...