Blood-Bonded
Flashback iii– 14 Years Ago
Kaiden and Scarlett walked through the woods for hours.
The older boy held her hand tightly the whole time, guiding her away from the scary sounds. Scarlett’s little legs were tired, her bare feet hurt, and she kept sniffling but Kaiden never let go.
When they finally reached a quiet part of the river, the water was shallow and clear near the bank. Scarlett stopped and rubbed her arms, face scrunched up.
“I’m itchy…” she whimpered, looking down at the dried mud and dirt still stuck to her skin. “I need a bath…”
Kaiden looked around carefully, then nodded. “Okay. Stay in the shallow part, right here. Don’t go deeper.”
Scarlett nodded, then looked up at him with big, serious green eyes. “Don’t look! Okay? Promise?”
Kaiden turned his back to her immediately, a small smile tugging at his lips even though he was still scared. “I won’t look. Promise.”
He stood guard, arms crossed, staring into the trees while Scarlett waded into the shallow water. She splashed happily, giggling as the cold water washed away the mud. For a few moments, everything felt a little better.
Then Kaiden felt it.
The hair on the back of his neck stood up. A low, primal warning.
Behind him, Scarlett suddenly squealed, “YOU’RE LOOKING!”
“I’m not…” Kaiden started, turning his head.
The water rippled violently.
A large, sleek river otter, bigger and more aggressive than normal, eyes wild with hunger exploded out of the deeper water, jaws open, lunging straight for Scarlett.
Kaiden moved without thinking.
He spun and dove, grabbing Scarlett around the waist just as the creature’s teeth snapped shut where her leg had been a split second earlier.
He pulled her out of the water and stumbled backward onto the bank, holding her tight against his chest as the otter thrashed in the shallows, angry it missed its prey.
Scarlett screamed, clinging to him, her wet body shaking.
Kaiden backed away from the river, breathing hard, his small arms wrapped protectively around the little girl.
“It’s okay,” he whispered, even though his voice trembled. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you…”
The otter hissed once more before slipping back into the deeper water.
Kaiden didn’t let Scarlett go. He kept holding her, both of them wet, scared, and breathing fast.
“You’re safe,” he said again, more to himself than to her. “I won’t let anything get you.”
Scarlett buried her face in his neck, crying softly.
And for the first time in a long time, Kaiden felt like he had something worth protecting.
Kaiden gently dressed Scarlett in her dress and then turned around and let her climb onto his back, piggyback style.
“Hang on tight,” he said softly.
She wrapped her small arms around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder.
Kaiden carried her back toward the hidden cave, stopping every so often to pick wild berries along the way.
He tried many times to find the way out of the woods, but no matter which direction they went, they always ended up back near the same cave.
It was like the forest itself didn’t want them to leave.
They spent the days like that.
Hiding. Surviving. Two scared children leaning on each other.
On the sixth day, they finally stumbled into a small clearing.
Kaiden’s face lit up with hope. “Look, Scarlett! Maybe this is the way…”
He stopped mid-sentence.
Suddenly they were surrounded.
A pack of rogue coyote shifters emerged from the trees, at least eight of them, eyes glowing with feral hunger. Their bodies were covered in scars and matted fur. They snarled, circling slowly, closing in.
Kaiden’s arms tightened around Scarlett. She started crying, burying her face in his neck.
“Shhh… close your eyes,” he whispered, voice trembling but firm.
“N…no…” she whimpered.
“Please, Scarlett. Close your eyes.”
She squeezed them shut, sobbing quietly.
Kaiden’s eyes turned blood red.
In a blur of terrifying speed, he moved.
He became something else.
The first rogue lunged. Kaiden spun, slamming his small fist into its throat with unnatural force, crushing its windpipe.
Before the body hit the ground, he was already on the next one, His claws ripping through fur and flesh.
Blood sprayed across the clearing as he tore through them with vicious, precise brutality.
Heads rolled. Limbs were severed. The air filled with wet sounds of slaughter and dying yelps.
It was over in less than two minutes.
Kaiden stood in the middle of the carnage, chest heaving, covered head to toe in blood. His eyes still glowed crimson.
Scarlett slowly opened her eyes.
A terrified scream tore from her throat. “No! No! Where is my Kaiden?! Where is my Kaiden?!”
She tried to run.
Kaiden leapt forward and grabbed her gently but firmly, wrapping his arms around her small body. “It’s me. It’s still me.”
Tears streamed down his face, mixing with the blood. “Do you see a monster too…?”
Scarlett slowly stopped struggling. She looked up at him with wide, terrified green eyes. Slowly, her tiny hand reached up and touched his bloody cheek.
The red in his eyes faded.
“Kaiden…?” she whispered.
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, crying.
Kaiden held her close, tears falling. “I will always protect you, my Scarlett, I will never hurt you.”
They stayed like that, foreheads pressed together, finding comfort in each other.
Then something extraordinary happened.
A soft green light began pulsing from Scarlett’s forehead. A deep red light answered from Kaiden’s. The two lights met, merged, and exploded outward in a ripple of raw energy. The air crackled and the river nearby shimmered violently.
A bond snapped into place, ancient, pure, and unbreakable.
Scarlett felt warmth flood through her entire body.
A few minutes later, they pulled apart, both smiling shyly, completely unaware of what they had just done.
“I will forever be your guardian, My Scarlett,” He said, stroking her cheek.
“And I will be your…”
She didn’t get to finish when a silver bullet tore through Kaiden’s chest.
He gasped, eyes widening in shock as blood poured from the wound. He coughed, spraying red across Scarlett’s face.
“Scarlett…” he choked out, collapsing to his knees, still holding her.
Loud voices filled the air.
Men burst into the clearing, warriors from her father’s pack. Alpha Atlas stood at the front, face cold and furious.
“Get her!” he ordered.
Warriors rushed forward, trying to rip Scarlett from Kaiden’s weakening grip. But the boy held on with surprising strength, even as blood poured from his mouth.
“My Scarlett…” he whispered, eyes locked on hers.
Scarlett screamed, clutching him desperately.
That day, something inside her died.
As she watched the light fade from Kaiden’s eyes, a part of her shattered forever.