Chapter 1 Prologue

"Don't lament on past sorrows, but instead move forward, even in the darkest of times. Sometimes we must be bathed in darkness so our light can shine brighter, lighting the way to an unimaginable future."

Who am I? Why am I here? These age-old questions haunted me repeatedly until I learned what being Bound meant. Especially since being Bound and having tons of questions seems to be a recurring theme in my life.

Do you ever feel like you can never catch a break? Perhaps Karma has it out for you, or you're meant for something greater? I'm seriously hoping it's the latter. My life started simply enough... I was a toddler being pushed in a stroller by the woman I knew as my mother. Until I felt so very cold. I remember seeing my mother looking like a wet sleeping angel, lying down on the bank of a river. In my mind, I heard her tell me to sleep, and it sounded so good to me that I curled up beside her and drifted off to sleep. Not knowing how we got there or how many hours had passed, I was jerked away from her and told that she was dead. I didn't know what death was then, but I do now.

After that, because no one knew who my father was, I was placed in foster homes and orphanages, where I never fit in. I was always that strange, quiet girl who no one wanted to be friends with. However, that changed when I got older. I met Katie, and she brought light into my dark world. I also uncovered my passion for writing and got a job as an investigative journalist for Stranger Things, a print and digital paranormal magazine. There, with Katie by my side, I found my home. But I also found something else...danger.

I had started dating a man I had met at a bar when I was doing research, named Victor Van Clay. Things between him and me were getting very serious to the point that we lived together, and I allowed him to control all aspects of my life. However, after a year of dating, I eventually learned what a mistake that was. For a while after, I ran from Victor. My nightmares abated for a time, but occasionally, they would resurface without warning, making me question everything, except bonds. Bonds are interwoven in many legends and prophecies. I had originally believed I was connected to one, but as my life unfolded, I learned how wrong I was.

This is my story...