ROSALIA’S POV
What does he mean by bond with him?
His uniform was a Salvador Pack uniform, I realised.
Another one of Spain’s most powerful packs, rivaling the Ramirez Pack.
“Who do you think you are to just storm into my private matters?” I demanded.
“You don’t need David specifically, do you? Any sentinel will do, right?” Helio asked.
“Stand behind me, Miss Moncaro.” David stood in front of me, protecting me from Helio.
“Wouldn’t it be easier for you to form a bond with someone who wants it willingly rather than forcing someone?” Helio reasoned.
He had been listening in on my conversation with David.
My eyes narrowed as I eyed the man.
Tall and brooding, his golden eyes seemed to stare into my soul.
“Leave.” My command was clear and showed no fear.
“It seems you’re not interested,” he said, but he didn’t turn away.
An unreadable expression was on his face.
“She told you to leave!” David exclaimed.
Helio continued to stand his ground.
After a second, David lunged toward him.
“David, wait!” I tried to stop him.
His wolf’s claws extended, and he aimed to strike Helio.
Helio didn’t extend his claws, however.
Instead, he stepped forward, and he grabbed David’s arm and struck him in the neck and under his arm, in quick succession.
David yelled out in pain, and his claws suddenly retracted.
Helio spun David around so his back was against his torso.
He took out a mid-size knife from a sheath at his waist and brought it to David’s neck as he looked at me.
“How did you do that?” David asked in shock.
Who was this man?
That didn’t look like a particularly powerful hit, so why was David disarmed so quickly?
I thought to myself.
It was odd for a wolf to use a weapon rather than their own claws.
“I want you to form a bond with me,” he stated once more.
My jaw tightened as I worried for David.
He nervously looked at me.
“I hate to threaten violence. It’s nothing personal, but if you leave me no choice, I’ll take it there. ” Helio said.
I was running out of time, and if I missed this chance, Alpha Ramirez would keep me.
Helio knew this.
Perhaps this was my karma for trying to use David.
Could the plan still work with this man?
He was from another pack with unknown intentions.
“Did Alpha Salvador send you?” I asked.
“No one sent me; I came on my own,” he told me.
Pack politics were not something to play around with.
It was a delicate balance.
My plan with David was already risky as is.
Any setbacks were not ideal.
“But what do you want? Why are you doing this?” I demanded him to explain.
“I have someone I want to save.” He replied.
“And you think I can help you?” I asked, bewildered.
What on earth would give him the impression that I can help?
“It’s a chance I’m willing to take,” he claimed.
“That makes no sense why me out of countless other women?”
“Since you have the prophesied power, I’m sure there’s a higher chance you can help,” he went on.
My eyes widened in disbelief.
What is he talking about?
“I don’t have any power, only my sister. I can’t help you,” I lied.
“I saw your hands glowing in the garden that evening of your engagement party.” He explained.
David looked at me in surprise.
My throat went dry.
Had he seen me use my powers?
It clicked to me that David and I thought someone had been watching us that evening, but we couldn’t smell anyone.
It was him.
“You’ve got it wrong.”
“Do I?” He asked
Just when I thought I was escaping one man who wanted to use me as a tool, this happens.
“You claim to be acting alone, but with what you’ve just claimed, how can I believe that?” What if Salvador Pack wants my power?
“I assure you that no one sent me. But at the end of the day, it’s up to you how this bonding will go,” he told me.
I bit my lip in frustration.
The bonding with Alphonso and Patricia might end any time now.
“Fine, leave him alone,” I yielded.
He was a sentinel like David, so the plan for the most part will work the same.
“Miss Moncaro, you don’t have to,” David apologised.
“If you try anything, I won’t hesitate to incapacitate you,” he threatened David.
“Do as he says,” I pleaded with David.
Helio may be one man, but there’s an uneasy aura about him.
Helio let David go and drew closer to me.
He was massive: tall, with broad shoulders and a muscular frame.
He was even taller than Alphonso.
Something was familiar about him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
He came and stood in front of me.
Another thing I noticed was he didn’t have a scent.
David and I didn’t pick up a scent that day either.
Was I really going to say my vows to this man?
My heart was hammering in my chest.
“I think it would be best if you left,” I noted.
“What’s that?” Helio asked.
“If I’m going to bond you, then it’s best David leaves. He might get in trouble by association. ”
I had a plan for when I bonded David, but that doesn’t protect him if we don’t bond.
Helio contemplated for a moment.
“You can go,” he told David.
“Miss Moncaro, I can’t leave you!” David screamed my name once more.
“It’s okay, David. I’ll still pay you as we agreed,” I assured him.
His eyes narrowed in suspicion
“Please, I’ll be fine.”
“Aren’t you kind?” Helio commented.
“Shut up,” I snapped.
David warily left the room, and Helio and I were alone.
“Shall we proceed?” Helio asked.
We started reciting the bonding spell to each other.
With each sentence, I began to doubt the whole plan.
But it was too late now; better to commit.
I felt a sharp pain in my heart as the bond began to form, and at the same time the sound of footsteps from outside caught my attention.
Someone was coming.
“We now have to seal the bond, don’t we?” Helio asked me as we finished saying the spell.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I snapped, knowing what he meant.
Sealing the bond involved physical contact and exchange of blood once the vows were done.
It could be done in several ways, but for simplicity, weddings kept it at a kiss where one draws blood.
“You hear them coming, don’t you?” Helio warned as the faint sound of footsteps outside drew closer.
I let him place his lips on mine.
First gentle, then we sank our teeth into each other’s lips to officially seal the bond.
I should feel his wolf from the bond.
Oddly enough, I didn’t sense anything from him.
How odd.
A wave of images hit me.
It was Helio breathing fast, covered in blood, standing over what I assumed was a body.
The dressing room doors suddenly opened.
“What is the meaning of this!” I heard Alphonso’s voice yell out.
I pulled away from the kiss as the vision ended and fell to the ground.
The bond was sealed.
Helio looked down at me with a blank expression.
This man.
This man was dangerous.
I may be escaping from Alphonso, but what have I gotten myself into now?