I groaned as I staggered a step, my hand reaching to grip to my chest as the pain intensified.
I’d never felt something like this before.
I could feel something was weakening.
The bond, my bond with Lina.
It felt thinner, like a forcing was pulling against it.
My wolf surged violently inside my head, a deep, furious growl rattling my skull.
She’s been marked by another.
Noctis warned.
My breath hitched.
“What?” I muttered, panic gripping me.
“That’s not possible.” Marks didn’t just happen.
They were deliberate, intimate.
Lina had already been marked by me, but if another wolf forced a second mark on her, then…
Fuck!
Cold fear wrapped around my spine.
If someone had forced a second mark on her, it could kill her.
Slowly or fast, depending on the strength of the wolf who did it.
The least that could happen was her losing her wolf.
My heart raced harder as another scent hit me, painfully familiar.
Kain was close.
My eyes widened as the realization hit me.
Was this his doing?
“No,” I breathed.
“He wouldn’t.” But my wolf was already moving, power flooding my limbs as rage took control.
The world blurred as I rushed out of my quarters.
I’ve never been this scared in my life, I couldn’t explain the emotions going through me at the moment, fear, rage, panic.
I tracked their scent, reaching there in no time.
I turned the corner, and my vision blurred from the sight before me.
Lina was in his arms, his hand was locked around her, his face buried in her neck, his fangs still embedded in her skin.
Her body was slack, and her scent and presence had weakened.
I couldn’t even think straight, i launched forward with everything I had.
My fist connected with Kain’s face in a sickening crack, the force ripping him away from Lina and sending him flying into the wall.
He hit it hard, the wall cracking from the force.
Lina collapsed, and I quickly caught her before she hit the ground, her body laying limp against my chest.
Her skin was cold and pale, blood stained her neck where his fangs had been.
My chest burned, I didn’t even realize my eyes were watery until I noticed the tears blurring my vision.
I shouldn’t have let her go alone.
Fuck, what was this feeling.
I turned to Kain, rage clouding every bit of reasoning I had.
“Are you insane?” I snarled, stepping forward.
“Do you want to kill her?” Kain pushed himself up slowly, blood running from the corner of his mouth, his eyes were wild, and that only made me even more angry.
“She’s my mate,” he growled back.
“You don’t do this to your mate, you fool…do you have any idea what you’ve done to her?
I swear,if anything happens to her…
I’ll kill you.” Kain laughed, low and rough.
“You’re too late,” he said, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
“The bond chose me.
You felt it weakening, didn’t you?” My grip tightened around Lina instinctively, my arms curling around herprotectively.
Her breathing was shallow, uneven, and I knew she didn’t have much time left if I didn’t quickly do something..
“You’re delusional,” i gritted.
“She was already bonded.
You forced that mark.” His eyes flickered just for a second, something close to guily, but then it vanished, replaced by something darker and more desperate.
“And what makes you think you deserve to mark her more than me?” he snapped.
“Besides, she never really accepted you as her mate, otherwise my bond with her wouldn’t have reconnected after she rejected me already.” Noctis roared inside my head, violent and unrestrained.
He was just as angry as I was.
I don’t remember your brother to be this wreckles and stupid.
Just let me Louis, I need to teach this fool a lesson.
He wasn’t wrong.
Kai wasn’t someone to act this way.
I’ve known him for years and not one day had he shown interest in Lina.
Whatever this was, it was just because he couldn’t bear a broke ego, she rejected him, and that turned him into an absolute mad man.
“We need to save her first, and there’s only one way.” I responded to Noctis.
Lina stirred faintly in my arms, a soft sound slipping from her lips, and my attention snapped back to her instantly.
Her fingers twitched weakly against my chest, her energy unstable.
Panic clawed its way back up my throat.
“Noctis,” I whispered.
“She’s fading.” We need to do something now.
Kain would never agree to sever his bond with her, his ego couldn’t handle defeat.
The only way out of this, was If I severed my bond with her.
My heart clenched at the thought of breaking the bond, but what choice did I have.
Her life was a priority.
It seems we really weren’t meant to be.
I eased Lina down, keeping her head from striking the stone.
Her breathing was barely there now, each breath shallow and uneven.
This was my first time seeing her look this vulnerable.
I couldn’t bear the sight, if Kain hadn’t been my brother, he would have been dead by now, I was sure of that.
I dropped to my knees beside her and placed my hand over her heart.
The bond reacted immediately, flaring weakly under my touch, resisting as if it could sense what I was about to do.
I forced myself to breathe and reached inward, gripping the bond hard.
Pain tore through my chest as it fought back, sharp and burning, but I didn’t loosen my hold.
Noctis growled.
Do it.
With a sharp tug, I severed it.
The pain was immediate and crushing.
My breath tore from my lungs as I reached to clutch my chest.
The pain was intense but bearable.
My vision blured for a moment from the pain, and then clearing.
I looked down at Lina, her pale skin was starting to regain color, her energy returning.
I heaved a sigh of relief, then looked up at kain with a cold glare.
“You got what you want.
But don’t ever think she’s yours.
I’m warning you, if you as much as hurt even a single hair on her head, don’t blame me for being the opposite of what you remember.” “Louis?” Lina whispered softly, making my heart skip a beat.
She was awake.
Thanks for reading my book, I’ll appreciate your support in helping me climb the rankings.