Chapter 9 An Unexpected Bond

• The day had started like any other. I woke up early, as usual, and stared at the ceiling, waiting for the weight of another day to settle in my chest. It was my eighteenth birthday, but it felt like any other day—unremarkable, just one more day in a long, drawn-out existence that I couldn’t escape.
• Turning eighteen should have been a milestone, something worth celebrating, but for me, it felt like a countdown to an inevitable disaster. I could already feel the weight of the pack’s expectations, of the whispers that followed me everywhere. They had no idea about the bond, about Nicolai, and how it still twisted in my chest despite his cruel rejection.
• I pushed the thoughts away, willing myself to get out of bed. Today, I had promised Bea I would join her for a run in the woods. A small thing, but it was a reminder that not everything about this pack was suffocating. Not everything in my life had to be tied to Nicolai.
• I pulled on my clothes and stepped outside. The early morning air was crisp, and the sunlight filtered through the trees, casting shadows on the ground. As I walked toward the clearing where we usually met, I tried to focus on the simple pleasure of being in nature, of the wind brushing against my skin. But it was hard. My mind kept wandering back to that bond, to the fact that I could still feel it pulling at me, even when I didn’t want it to.
• I didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand how I could still feel Nicolai, even after everything. The bond was supposed to fade once he rejected me, right? That’s what everyone had said. But it didn’t. It was still there, a constant hum in the back of my mind.
• I pushed through the clearing, my feet crunching over the fallen leaves. Bea was already there, stretching her legs as she waited for me. She flashed me a bright smile when she saw me approach.
• “Hey, birthday girl,” she said, her voice full of warmth. “You ready to show me you’ve still got it?”
• I forced a smile. “Let’s see if I can keep up with you.”
• She laughed, and for a moment, everything felt normal. We set off together, running through the woods, the only sounds being the rhythm of our footsteps and the occasional chirp of a bird. The bond was still there, tugging at me like a thread tied around my heart, but I tried to ignore it, focusing on the run instead.
• But then, just as we reached a bend in the trail, I felt it—a sudden, sharp jolt of energy that made me stumble, as if the world had shifted beneath my feet. My breath caught in my throat, and I froze, my eyes scanning the woods.
• “Amelia?” Bea asked, her voice laced with concern. “What’s wrong?”
• I couldn’t answer. The sensation was so overwhelming, so unmistakable. It was him. Nicolai. I could feel him like a wave crashing over me, the bond flaring to life with a force I had never experienced before.
• Before I could react, I saw him—Nicolai, stepping into the clearing, his eyes locking with mine. I felt my heart race, my pulse quicken. His presence was like a storm, something I couldn’t escape, something that had always had a hold on me, even after everything.
• Bea tensed beside me, her body going rigid. “What the hell is he doing here?”
• I didn’t have an answer. I didn’t even know how to begin to explain what was happening, what I was feeling. The bond was pulling at me harder than ever, like I was being dragged toward him, unable to stop it.
• Nicolai’s eyes were cold, emotionless. He didn’t seem surprised to see me, but there was something in his gaze that made my chest tighten. The bond, still as strong as ever, flared between us, and I could feel him—his anger, his confusion, his indifference. It was suffocating.
• I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came. The bond was too loud, too overpowering, drowning out everything else.
• “I thought I told you to stay away from me,” Nicolai’s voice cut through the silence, sharp and bitter.
• I flinched at his words, a wave of hurt washing over me. I had known he would be cold, but hearing it like that, hearing the finality in his voice—it stung more than I’d expected.
• “I don’t—” I stopped myself, shaking my head. “I don’t understand. I thought you rejected me. I thought the bond would—” I broke off, unable to finish the sentence.
• His gaze flickered for just a moment, a flash of something unreadable passing through his eyes. But it was gone as quickly as it came.
• “I didn’t want the bond,” he said, his voice low, controlled.
• The words hit me like a punch to the stomach. The bond was still there, still pulling me toward him, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I wanted to scream, to demand answers, to tell him how much I hated this, how much I hated that he still had this power over me.
• But I couldn’t. Instead, I stood there, trembling, my body caught in the invisible thread between us, and I felt the sting of the bond as if it were a wound that would never heal.
• Bea stepped forward, her eyes narrowing at Nicolai. “What the hell is your problem?”
• Nicolai’s eyes flicked to Bea, his expression hardening. “Stay out of this,” he growled. “This is between me and her.”
• I could feel the anger radiating off of him, the tension thickening the air around us. Bea looked like she was about to snap back at him, but I reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her. The last thing I needed was for Nicolai to turn his fury on Bea. She had enough to deal with.
• “Nicolai, what do you want from me?” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the roar of the bond in my ears.
• He looked at me for a long moment, his jaw clenched, his fists at his sides. Then, as if it took everything in him to control his emotions, he spoke again.
• “Once I become Alpha, you’ll be banished. The pack doesn’t need someone like you. Especially not with the bond still lingering!”
• The words hit me harder than anything else he had said. Banishment. He was going to cast me out, just like that.
• “W-What?” I stammered. “You can’t do that.”
• His eyes glinted with something dark, something dangerous. “I can and I will. You’re nothing but a reminder of a mistake I never wanted to make in the first place. Once I’m Alpha, you’ll be nothing but a memory. And I’ll make sure it stays that way.”
• His words sliced through me, leaving me breathless, speechless. I could feel the bond, the pull toward him, but his words, his rejection, made me want to rip it from my chest and never think about
• it again.
• But I knew better than to think I could ever escape it.