Bound By Their Duty (Bound By #2)

Chapter One

Main Street stretched ahead of them in a lazy curve, two lanes of cracked asphalt lined with cafés that still had chalkboard menus out front, a hardware store with a faded flag in the window, and a bakery whose door stood open to let warm air drift into the afternoon.

Wind nudged fallen leaves along the curb. Somewhere, a bell chimed: church or school, Joshua couldn’t tell. He kept his hands steady on the wheel anyway.

“Nothing,” Dominik muttered from the back seat, the soft glow of his laptop reflecting against his sunglasses. “The Residual energy here is faint. Whatever he did, he cleaned it up fast.”

“Or he didn’t know how loud it would be,” Cameron said from the passenger seat, elbow resting on the open window. “Demons rarely do.”

Joshua slowed as they passed a cross street. He didn’t like quiet towns. Too many hiding places. Too many witnesses, constantly keeping an eye out if something went wrong.

“The two humans,” Rian said, leaning back beside Dominik, eyes half-lidded but alert. “were both wiped clean, right? The memory erasure held?”

“So far,” Dominik replied. “They seem to have no recollection of what they went through. Whoever did the erasure was competent.”

“That’s new,” Cameron snorted. “Last time we were dealt a risk of exposure case, we were scraping bodies out of a storm drain.”

Joshua shot him a look. “Focus.”

Cameron lifted his hands in surrender, lips twitching. “I am focused.”

They drove another block in silence, the SUV blending easily among pickup trucks and sedans. No sirens. No panic. No indication that a demon had shifted in front of two unsuspecting humans less than twelve hours ago.

Joshua breathed in slowly, letting his senses stretch, not enough to draw attention, just enough to listen. The world hummed the way it always did when something wasn’t right. A low vibration under the skin. A pressure behind the sternum.

Still better than Zaninsk. The thought came unbidden, and he didn’t fight it.

Prison walls. Stone and spell-work. The weight of watching monsters who knew exactly what they were and didn’t care. Overseer duty had been necessary, but it had been suffocating. This job? This was movement. Air. Sunlight. Roads that led somewhere other than cells.

“At least here,” Rian said quietly, as if reading his mind, “we get to see the world.”

Cameron huffed a breath. “You mean petrol stations and diners?”

“I mean the sky,” Rian replied, eyes lifting briefly to the blue visible through the windshield. “And towns like this. Places that don’t smell like blood and regret.”

Dominik tapped a few keys. “And freedom. Let’s not forget that. No ward rotations. No endless reports about inmates who will never change.”

“And,” Cameron added lightly, “the remote possibility we don’t die bored.”

Joshua glanced sideways at him. “You miss the cages?”

Cameron grimaced. “I miss knowing exactly who the enemy is.”

“That’s the trade-off,” Dominik said. “Out here, the threat blends in. So do we.”

Joshua’s chest tightened, not from the conversation, but from the faint pull that had started moments earlier. He ignored it, scanning storefronts, alleys, reflections in windows.

“Dominik,” he said. “Zoom in on the east end. That abandoned rail spur.”

Keys clicked faster. “Already on it. Thermal’s clean. Though, Ether readings are… strange.”

Rian leaned forward. “Define strange.”

“Like static,” Dominik said slowly. “Not demonic. Not residual spell-work either.”

Cameron straightened. “Could be interference. Or—”

“Josh. Slow down.” Rian said slowly while he lifted a hand to his chest, fingers pressing just above his heart.

Joshua’s spine went rigid. His foot eased off the accelerator, every muscle snapping to alert. “Why.”

“I don’t...” Rian frowned, scanning the street, breath shallow. “I don’t know. Just...slow down.”

The truck crept forward.

Rian leaned toward the window, eyes narrowing as he searched the footpath. Then he saw her.

A young woman, walking toward the crosswalk, one hand tangled in a small boy’s while the other struggled with grocery bags cutting into her fingers.

She laughed at something the kid said, head tipping down, long straight dark hair slipping loose over her shoulder, falling to her mid-back, dangerously close to her waist. For a moment all coherent thoughts escaped him.

Rian whistled under his breath. “Shit,” he muttered. “Look at that ass.”

Joshua snorted. “Yeah, too bad she’s a mum. Bet she’d be wild as fu—”

“Gods above, shut up,” Cameron cut in sharply.

Rian grinned, unapologetic. “Milf or not, I’d still hit that.”

“Enough,” Dominik snapped without looking up. “How can you idiots even talk like this? Aren’t we looking for our mate?”

Silence slammed down hard in the car. The truck rolled another few metres.

Then Rian swore. “Fuck...it’s so hot in here.”

He cranked the window down and air rushed in. Rian inhaled... and froze. The scent of the forest, blooming flowers and freedom wrapped around his senses.

“What the hell is that scent?”

Cameron frowned. “What are you talking about Ri?”

“Can’t you smell that?” Rian’s voice dropped, sharp with confusion. His eyes locked on the pavement ahead. “Where is that coming from?”

Dominik finally looked up, irritation flickering across his face. “Smell what, Rian? Can you be clear for once? We don’t have time for this.”

Rian swallowed. His gaze didn’t waver.

“It’s...” he said hoarsely. “Holy shit...It’s coming from her.”

Utter silence.

Then Joshua slammed the brakes. Tyres screamed. The truck lurched to a halt as horns blared from passing cars, angry shouts echoing through the open window.

Dominik spoke first, his voice eerily calm. “Do you mean to tell me,” he said slowly, “that the girl across the road is our mate?”

Joshua twisted in his seat, frustration flaring. “What the hell makes you think that, Rian?”

Rian dragged a hand through his hair, breath uneven. “Can’t you feel it? The pull. And she smells ...” He inhaled again, longer and his jaw clenched. “Like wildflowers... Like freedom.”

Cameron held up both hands, already slipping into mediator mode. “Okay. Two problems. If what Rian’s saying is true, why can’t the rest of us feel it? And second...”

He nodded toward the woman, now waiting at the crossing, distracted by the kid tugging at her sleeve.

“She’s obviously human. And not alone. How the hell do we approach without scaring her off?”

Joshua shook his head hard. “This is a mistake. No way a human is our mate. And even if she was, we need to follow protocol.”

“Well,” Cameron said lightly, “at least we won't have to kill a human man.”

“What?” All three of them spoke at once.

Cameron shrugged. “Look at her, struggling with groceries, kid in tow. There’s no partner in sight.”

Dominik closed the laptop with a soft click, the decision settling in his posture. “Alright. Cameron, run a background check. Rian... since it’s kicked in for you, keep your eyes on her. Stay here, do not lose her.” His gaze shifted to Joshua. “And you...” He sighed. “Try to keep an open mind.”

Joshua scoffed. “And what are you going to do, Dom?”

Dominik reached for the door handle. “I’m going to say Hi.”

Cameron’s head snapped around. “That’s a bad idea.

She’s young...mid-twenties at most...with a kid, walking alone.

We’re four men, nearly seven feet tall, built like a walls, in a not-so-inconspicuous truck.

You really think if we pull up she won’t bolt?

Plus Josh’s right, we should just let the society know. ”

Dominik paused, hand still on the handle, eyes fixed on the woman across the street as the light changed and she started to cross.

“Then,” he said quietly, “We won’t pull up....Let me out here and do not approach,” Dominik said.

Joshua’s hands tightened on the wheel. “Dom—”

“We need to talk to her, we can’t call them yet.

” Dominik cut in, already reaching for the door.

“If Rian’s wrong, then he’s wrong. But if he’s not…

” He exhaled slowly. “One of us has to touch her. Just enough to see if the bond flares. Nothing more. No explanations. No supernatural anything. I’m not risking exposure... on a theory.”

Silence followed. No one argued.