Selene sat frozen, staring at the glowing mark on her wrist as if it might vanish if she just willed it hard enough.
But it didn't.
It pulsed faintly, in sync with her heartbeat—warm, ancient, undeniable.
"This can't be happening," she whispered, voice raw. "It's not supposed to appear unless it's... fated."
Kieran stood at the edge of the room, his back to her, shirt still forgotten somewhere on the floor. His muscles were tense, coiled with the weight of truths he hadn't yet spoken.
"It's not a normal bond," he said quietly.
Selene looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"
Kieran turned, his expression shadowed. "It's darker. Older." He walked toward her slowly, the glow of the sigils on his back flickering as he moved. "I felt it the moment I touched you last night. Something ancient woke up."
Her throat tightened. "You knew?"
"I suspected." He sat beside her on the bed, careful not to touch her. "But seeing the mark… confirms it."
Selene looked down at her wrist again. The symbol was unlike the ones she'd seen in bonding rituals. It was laced with black fire, woven with delicate runes she didn't recognize—twisted, elegant, dangerous.
"This isn't a blessing," she whispered.
"No," Kieran said. "It's a warning."
Selene looked up at him. "Of what?"
"That we've been chosen." His eyes glowed brighter, golden and burning. "Not by the gods. Not by the stars. But by something else—something that feeds on obsession. On forbidden love."
She shivered. "Why us?"
Kieran exhaled slowly. "Because we broke the rules. And whatever ancient force watches the balance between love and power… it's watching us now."
Selene wrapped the sheet tighter around her. "What does it want?"
Kieran reached out, brushing his thumb across her mark. "To see what we'll do with the fire it gave us."
She trembled beneath his touch, feeling the pulse of that dark bond beat stronger, louder. It wasn't just about desire anymore.
They were being tested.
And the price of failure wouldn't just be heartbreak—
It would be destruction.
Kieran's voice was low, but filled with certainty. "We're bound now, Selene. Body. Soul. Blood." He leaned in, his forehead resting against hers. "This obsession... it's not going away."
Selene shut her eyes, trying to breathe through the chaos.
Because she knew he was right.
They had been gripped by something darker than love.
And it was only just beginning.
---