The Blackened Seal of The cylinder resting on the wooden table that was made of dark, heavy iron and seemed to absorb the candlelight around it, had ancient runes carved into its surface, circular and deep, that pulsed with a faint, stubborn light and was currently being examined by Soren.
Soren leaned over the table, with his pale fingers hovering an inch above the metal.
He could feel the ancient warding hum and pulse against his skin like a swarm of tiny, prickling needles.
“Your scholars are definitely idiots,” Soren said flatly, not looking up from the casing.
Kaelen who leaned against the heavy bedpost, crossing his broad arms over his chest had a faint, amused twitch caught the corner of his lips immediately he heard Soren’s remark.
“Easy there.
They spent fifty years trying to break that casing, little spell-cutter.
Watch your tongue.”
“Fifty years wasted because none of them understood basic blood-mechanics,” Soren retorted, pulling his silver needle from his sleeve.
He pointed the thin tip at the glowing gold lock.
“Look at the seal structure.
It’s a dual-threaded lock and one thread requires pure Alpha bloodline magic to open the outer casing so we can figure what is inside.
And the second thread requires a spell-cutter’s raw blood-magic to unlock the inner scroll without destroying the parchment inside.”
Kaelen straightened up, his golden wolf eyes sharpening as he stepped toward the table.
The red chain between their wrists slithered across the floor, glowing with a soft, warm light.
“A dual lock.
It was designed so that neither a spell-cutter nor an Alpha could open it alone.”
“Exactly,” Soren said, turning his head to look at Kaelen.
“Which means we have to break the seal together.
At the exact same second.”
“And how do we synchronize our magic without setting off a spell-backlash?” Kaelen asked, stepping right into Soren’s space.
The sudden rush of heat off the Alpha’s body made Soren’s chest tighten, but he stood his ground.
“Direct physical contact,” Soren said, his voice dropping slightly.
He hated saying the words out loud.
“Skin to skin.
We hold our hands over the lock and channel our blood into the runes simultaneously.”
Kaelen’s dark smirk returned, slow and deliberate.
“Skin to skin.
And here I thought you wanted to keep your distance, sweetheart.”
“Don’t start,” Soren snapped, though a betraying flush crept up his neck.
“This is purely business and If your timing is off by a fraction of a second, the reaction will blow this table—and us—into tiny pieces.
So focus.”
Soren took his silver needle and dragged the sharp tip across the palm of his left hand.
A thin line of crimson blood welled up instantly.
Without flinching, he held his bleeding palm flat over the top half of the iron cylinder.
Kaelen didn’t hesitate.
He drew a small hunting knife from his boot, made a quick, clean slice across his own palm, and held it over the bottom half of the cylinder.
“On three,” Soren whispered, his heart beginning to hammer against his ribs as Kaelen’s large, calloused hand settled directly over his.
Their blood mixed instantly, slick and hot between their skin.
CLINK.
The moment their blood met, the chain between their wrists flared into a blinding, magnificent light.
A violent jolt of electricity shot straight up Soren’s arm, slamming directly into his heart.
Soren gasped, his head snapping back as a wave of intense, liquid heat flooded his veins, instantly melting the icy cold of the curse mark on his collarbone.
It was too much.
The sensation wasn’t painful—it was overwhelming, thick, and dizzying that made Soren’s knees buckle.
Before he could fall, Kaelen’s free hand shot out, wrapping around Soren’s small waist and pulling him flush against his chest.
Soren’s back pressed firmly against Kaelen’s broad, rock-solid torso.
He could feel the heavy, thunderous thud of the Alpha’s heart beating right against his spine.
“Hold the spell, Soren!” Kaelen growled in his ear, his voice low, rough, and strained.
Kaelen was fighting the magic too, his muscles locked tight as his golden wolf eyes glowed in the dim room.
“Don’t let go!”
“I’m…
holding it!” Soren gritted out through clenched teeth.
Soren forced his focus back to the cylinder.
He pushed his blood-magic forward, guiding it through the gold bond while Kaelen’s heavy Alpha power surged right beside his.
Their magic didn’t fight instead it intertwined, twisting around each other like two snakes in a fire.
The iron cylinder shuddered.
Then the gold runes flashed once, twice, and then shattered with a loud, metallic SNAP.
A thick cloud of white smoke hissed out of the top as the iron casing split down the middle, falling open like a hollow log.
Inside lay a single roll of dark, yellowed parchment, intact and unburned.
The magical pressure in the room vanished in an instant.
Soren let out a ragged breath, instantly trying to pull his hand away and push himself off Kaelen’s chest.
But his legs were still very weak from the impact of magical surge, and Kaelen’s grip on his waist didn’t loosen immediately either.
They stayed frozen like that for three long, agonizing seconds.
Soren was breathing heavily, his head resting just beneath Kaelen’s sharp jaw, surrounded by the intoxicating scent of pine, smoke, and pure Alpha aura.
Kaelen’s hold was tight, protective, and possessive—a grip that felt far too natural for two people bound by a fatal curse.
Kaelen’s breath brushed against the shell of Soren’s ear.
“You held it,” Kaelen murmured softly, his tone unusually quiet.
Soren swallowed hard, his face burning hot.
He shoved his palm against Kaelen’s forearm.
“I told you I knew what I was doing.
Now let me go.”
Slowly, Kaelen released his grip, stepping back.
Soren immediately grabbed a cloth from the table to wipe the blood from his palm, refusing to look back at the Alpha as he tried to catch his breath.
“Read the scroll,” Kaelen said, his voice returning to its normal, commanding tone as he wrapped a strip of clean linen around his own cut hand. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Soren carefully unrolled the ancient parchment on the table, using two heavy spell books to weigh down the curling edges.
The ink was faded and was written in the old high-dialect of the original wolf packs.
Soren leaned in close, while his bright blue eyes scanned the complex diagrams and flowing script.
“Well?” Kaelen asked, stepping up beside him.
“It’s the first phase of the counter-ritual,” Soren said, tracing a finger over a detailed drawing of a strange, dark flower with sharp, rough petals.
“The High Priestess didn’t create a curse that could be undone with a simple spell I guess .
It requires a physical activator to neutralize the soul-knot.”
“What kind of activator then?”
“The Blood-Moon Lotus,” Soren read aloud, translating the ancient text line by line.
“A rare, dark-element flower that grows only in complete absence of sunlight.
It absorbs pure magical energy from the earth and blooms once every three lunar cycles.”
Kaelen frowned, his dark eyebrows pulling together.
“Where does it grow?”
Soren tapped a small map drawn at the bottom of the parchment.
“The Sunken Caverns.
Right on the edge of the Southern Border.”
Kaelen cursed under his breath, a dark, dangerous look settling over his face.
“The Sunken Caverns are in neutral territory.
It’s a lawless zone full of rogue packs, black-market mercenaries, and underground beasts.
It’s also five hours south of the Citadel on horseback.”
“And there’s a catching point,” Soren added, pointing to a small line of text near the bottom.
“The lotus loses its potency within three hours of being harvested.
It has to be processed fresh using blood-magic right at the mouth of the cavern.
Which means we can’t send your guards to pick it for us.”
“We have to go ourselves,” Kaelen said flatly.
“Yes,” Soren replied, looking up to meet Kaelen’s golden eyes.
“You and me.
Chained together.
Heading right into a lawless wasteland.”
Author’s Note: SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT?!
Kaelen definitely didn’t mind that part of breaking the seal, but Soren is fighting for his life trying to stay unbothered!
Now they’re heading into lawless territory chained together on horseback…
How do you think Soren is going to handle being stuck to Kaelen for five whole hours?
(^~^) you’re loving the slow-burn tension, don’t forget to add the book to your Library/Collection and drop a comment below!
Next chapter drops soon guys!