The Bond
Jayce
“Igot you,” I murmur as I pull Sienna’s shaking body against my chest after she’s finished coughing up a lot of blood. My own heart is thundering as I try to remain calm, not knowing what’s happened.
She hugs my arm tightly, struggling to collect her breath as if she had been deprived of it for a while.
I got back from training and had gone straight into the shower when I felt something was wrong. It felt like my entire body was under immense pressure, the kind that you experience if you go too deep into the ocean.
Instantly, I knew something was wrong with Sienna and rushed to find her, only to find her sleeping on my bed, her eyes wide open, milky-white, and her entire body rigid.
I now stroke her hair, pressing my lips to the top of her head as I try to console her; whatever happened has shaken her. Only when she’s calm do I speak.
“What happened?” I ask softly, despite my wolf’s rage at someone daring to harm our mate. Like always, he’s extremely protective and possessive of her.
Sienna doesn’t speak; instead, she turns her head and presses the side of her face to my chest, her body curling into mine. I get up from the floor, lifting her with me, take a seat on the bed, pulling her into my lap.
After a moment, I hear her voice in my mind.
I had a vision, or something. I heard two gods talking.
Hera, the goddess, was Hera. I- the dome, they want to do something that will weaken Zeus.
Zeus is in danger. They know I was there; they were talking about me.
I- She stops abruptly, as if realising she isn’t making much sense, and I rub her back, my hand sliding under the hem of her crop top as I massage her back comfortingly.
The sparks that dance through us, they’re soothing in an inexplicable way.
Don’t talk if you’re not ready to; just give yourself a moment, I say through the mind-link, very aware of her body against mine.
She nods against my chest before I sense her trying to open the link between our minds, knocking lightly on my barriers. I give in to the gentle probing, allowing her to access my mind, making sure to push away the thoughts I don’t want her to see.
My wolf makes his presence known, but he doesn’t get to call to her wolf because the moment I let my walls down, her memory floods my mind, and her vision replays in my mind. I stiffen.
It only takes a few seconds before I let out a ragged curse. “Fuck!”
I don’t know what to make of it. Ok, I do, but it’s left my mind reeling.
“Yeah, fuck,” she whispers.
We both remain silent for a while, and despite the unease I feel at what she saw, I’m relieved that her heart rate is steady.
After a few minutes, I place her on the bed, wiping some blood from her mouth before brushing her hair off her face.
She looks pale, her brows knitted in a small frown. I get up and walk to the door.
“I’ll be back,” I say quietly before I leave the room, closing the door behind me. I hurry downstairs and enter the kitchen, where Grandad, who is making tea, raises an eyebrow at the blood on my towel and leg, and I shake my head, not wanting to answer right now.
Grabbing a water bottle and a bowl, I fill the bowl with some warm water before heading upstairs again. Stopping at the laundry cupboard, I grab two hand towels and return to my room, where Sienna has removed her top and is wiping up the blood from the floor.
“Hey, you’re meant to be resting. I got it,” I say, taking her elbow and tugging her towards the bed before dipping the corner of the towel in the bowl of water.
“I’m fine, I just…” she trails off when I squeeze the excess water from the towel and hold it up to her face to wipe away the blood.
She’s only wearing her sports bra now, and those breasts look so fucking fine; her glamour is gone, and that makes it all the harder for me.
I look into her gorgeous red eyes for a moment before dragging my attention away.
I wipe away the blood from around her face and neck, pausing to pass her the water bottle with the other hand. She takes it hesitantly, her eyes remaining on me as she opens it and takes a few sips. She then screws the lid back on and puts it down on the bedside drawer.
“Thanks,” she says, her hand brushing mine before she takes the towel and wipes her neck. I frown slightly, looking at her, the tension between us pulling tight.
I look down. What am I doing?
I grab the other towel and wipe up the blood that had splattered on the ground. She’s already gotten most of it gone.
She whispers a spell, and every splash vanishes from the ground. I raise an eyebrow before tossing the towel aside and watching as she wipes herself clean.
“You can go get changed; I’m fine,” she says softly, her eyes trailing over my torso before resting on my towel.
“No, we need to discuss what you saw,” I say quietly.
She sighs, whispering a privacy spell before she looks up at me. “Hera’s behind it; I think it’s safe to assume that the male voice was Set’s.”
I nod, raking my fingers through my hair. “Yeah, I agree, and they want to bring Zeus down.”
“They want to use me to bring you down, and that… somehow will bring Zeus down,” she whispers. “Once again, I bring you only pain and trouble.”
“Na, once again you’re being used to get to me. Once again, you’re being targeted because of me.”
“No, that’s-”
“The truth,” I cut her off, my eyes flashing. “And it’s exactly why I should keep away from you.”
She stands up; although she’s still far shorter than I am, it doesn’t deter her, and she shakes her head. “No, you shouldn’t. Now more than ever, we need to figure out what we’re going to do. Together.”
I hesitate before I voice what I’m thinking. “They want you to access that dome, and it will somehow harm you – that’s what I’m getting from it, and as my mate, that would affect me.”
“And that is exactly why pushing me away would do no good. We are bound, Jayce,” she says softly.
I look at her, wanting to cup her face and kiss her and tell her I know. I fucking know, but I’ll keep failing her. My wolf snarls, telling me I need to keep her close.
“Yeah… But it doesn’t mean you should be put in the line of fire any more than you already are.”
To my surprise, Sienna rolls her eyes, shaking her head, her curls bouncing as she plants her hands on her hips.
“Since when did you become so dumb? They literally said, if you are by my side, we won’t fail – they fear that!
Are you really going to be that stubborn?
Wake the hell up, Westwood. What is your problem? ” she snaps, exasperated.
Her words take me by surprise as her eyes glimmer with rage, and her nostrils flare as she stares me down; despite her small stature, she doesn’t back away.
What she said… She’s not wrong. Why am I so fucking screwed in the head? And yet, to let her back in entirely? I can’t do that. But she’s already fucking with my head badly.
“Are you with me?” she asks, her voice calmer as she stares sincerely into my eyes.
“Depends on what that means…” I’m not liking this. I know what she means even before she speaks.
“That dome, I need to go back there; the answers lie there. I also feel there’s more to the vampires than Prince Mikhail lets on. I think he knows more than he is sharing, and we need to find out what.”
“Possibly… We’ll get the answers. We can work together as we have been doing so, despite my better judgement,” I remark. She narrows those gorgeous eyes and cocks a brow.
For someone who knows when a person lies, does a voice go off in your head that screams LIAR every time you lie?” she asks in a sassy tone. I’m glad she’s fucking recovered, but why is she so fucking sexy when she’s worked up?
“I’m not lying; I know what I need to do,” I point out.
She rolls her eyes, turning away from me. “Fine. We’ll roll with that. Just remember, you duelled a god and won; let’s thwart another two gods and win this round, too.” She turns back to me, her eyes softening. “Everyone has fears and doubts, but we just have to work past them. Life is short.”
Life is.
“Since when did you get so wise?” I ask quietly.
She shrugs, shaking her head. Gone is the girl full of doubt; she’s a woman who knows what she wants… Oh, how the roles have fucking reversed.
But I know that as long as there’s distance between us, we will never be at our strongest unless we get past this.
“So, what’s the first step?” she asks me.
I look away briefly to clear my head, my brows furrowing as I look back at her intently. “He said he knew how to enslave demons… What does that even mean?”
Her face falls, her heart thundering, and she hugs herself, worry and nervousness in her eyes, as if she fears my reaction.
I was going to tell you, she begins hesitantly.
Ahren told me a few days ago, but he didn’t want me to tell anyone because that could put both of us in danger. It means we can be enslaved, too.
My blood runs cold as I stare at her; just the thought of someone enslaving her makes my stomach twist. I’m a little stung that she didn’t tell me, but my worry overshadows it.
I told him that I can’t keep any more secrets from you, and he agreed that you were the only person I could tell, but to never speak it out loud, not even in the safest of places. Because it is something that could do unimaginable harm, she continues.
She’s telling the truth, every single word spoken, but it doesn’t ease the storm growing within me.
But Set knows. And you’re his target, I say through the mind-link as I take hold of her elbows.
I guess so… she answers quietly.
I stare at her. How is she not worried? Her slender form looks so fucking fragile, even though I know it isn’t. Even if she’s a warrior, even if she’s strong, even if she’s fucking incredible, I still need to protect her because she is my mate; I’m meant to be her protector.
Even if I’m scared of failing her, I just have to make sure I don’t fail. Not again.
She is mine.
Mine.
To protect, to shield, to die for.
And this time I won’t fail.
That is my promise.
She looks up into my eyes as if sensing a change. Her breath hitches as the pull between us suddenly seems to intensify. It’s like a fucking collision, the tug between us palpable as something roars to life, as if it had been snuffed for far too long.
My grip on her tightens, my breath catching as the force of it rips through me, raw and unfiltered, and for a second I can’t even think, can’t even separate whose emotions are in my head.
Love, desire, hunger, longing, and this pull. My wolf surges forward, wanting to pull her close. My jaw clenches as I try to pull him back, to force these emotions down.
Fuck.
She places a hand on my heart as if to calm me.
“Jayce.” It’s as if she’s trying to stop me from pulling away.
“I’ll contact Ahren, and then we’ll wait for him.
Katara wanted me to talk to you about her boyfriend.
What is your plan? We do need to set a trap, too.
I’m just worried about involving Katara in any way,” she says, trying to remain nonchalant, as if she knows too much clarity on my realisations would make me pull away.
I step back, clearing my head as I rake my fingers through my hair and clear my throat.
“Yeah, but I think it’s the only way we’ll get him, when he’s least expecting it.”
She nods. “We will have to figure out a fail-safe plan then, one where she is not harmed or hurt in any way. But tell me, Jayce, what about other boys her age? Can she date, because she’s under the impression you wouldn’t approve at all?” she says.
“She isn’t wrong,” I reply coldly, my expression hardening. “She’s fifteen. She doesn’t need to date.”
Her brow lifts slightly.
“So you didn’t date at fifteen?”
“That’s not the same-”
“Why?” she cuts in, stepping closer again, that same challenge in her eyes. “Because she’s a girl?”
“No,” I snap, irritation flaring as I run a hand through my hair again. “Because she’s my sister. You should understand that.”
“I do,” she says, but she doesn’t back down. “But she’s still a young woman. You can’t control that forever. I mean, if I went off and found someone to-”
The sound that leaves me is a menacing snarl, one I didn’t even realise escaped me. Low and rough as my aura surges, my eyes turning a dazzling blue.
My hand moves before I can stop it, closing around her throat as I spin her around and pull her against me roughly. Her back hits my chest, her breath catching, the move sudden enough to startle her and show her that she belongs to me and me alone.
My other arm wraps around her, and I place my hand on her stomach, pressing her further into me.
“You’re mine,” I murmur huskily into her ear, my voice low and rough. “So don’t ever stand there and talk about giving yourself to someone else like it’s even an option. Once you completed this bond, that option was fucking gone.”
My wolf and I will never allow it.
My gaze dips to her heaving breasts as I hold her firmly against myself. The urge to throw her onto the bed and devour her until she’s unconscious fills me.
She doesn’t fight me or pull away; instead, she leans into me in a way that makes my entire body burn up.
Whatever distance I was trying to keep between us, I’ve destroyed it.
All it took was one day of her being her fucking self to bring me to my knees.
“And that makes you mine, too,” she whispers, turning her head to look at me. The scent of her arousal fills the air, and my body reacts, my cock throbbing against her ass. I growl, feeling all control of my wolf slipping. He’s fucking powerful, but I can always control him – until it comes to her.
I hear a door slam loudly down the hall, the loud sound bringing me back to reality.
I stiffen, realising what I had just done, and let go of her instantly, pulling away as if I’ve been burned. She turns to look at me, her heart pounding.
“Jayce, are you ok?”
“That was a mistake.” With those words that gut me like a knife, I turn and leave the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind me.