Chapter 4 Echoes of a Lost World

Sera's POV

I woke up shivering.

The ground beneath me was cold, hard, and Damp, too. My muscles ached from the way I'd curled up in the night. like a broken doll tossed aside. The soreness from the day before settled into my bones, a heavy ache that made it very hard to move. My wrists stung, The dull throb in my shoulder reminded me of how roughly I'd been handled.

But worse than the pain was the silence,

No cars in the distance. No humming refrigerator. No morning alarm. Just the occasional snap of twigs, a grunt or growl from some creature outside, and the suffocating quiet of this place.

The city felt like a dream now. I half expected my phone to buzz next to me, or for the smell of coffee to drift in from the hallway, or the smell of wild berries, the birds chirping and the smell of fresh bread but Instead, there was only dirt, rot, and the heavy scent of smoke coming in faintly through cracks in the wall.

Then it hit me, the bond.

It buzzed beneath my skin like static electricity. It wasn't loud. It wasn't even painful. Just... there. An unwelcomed presence curled and heavy around my mind like smoke seeping under a door. It made me feel watched, even though I was alone. There were no spoken words, but I could feel it, his restlessness, his possessive simmering. It was like a wave, moving in between us.

I hated it.

I dreaded it.

No. I loathed it.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block it out.

You're not real. You're not mine. I don't want this.

But it didn't go away. Just remained there, strong, steady and quiet.

Eventually, I sat up. My stomach growled, and I noticed a scrap of bread and a metal cup of water left on the ground. The bread was cold and hard as usual, and the water tasted like metal. I didn't want to eat it. But I did.

A small defeat. But a necessary one.

As I chewed, I forced myself to listen. Really listen. There were voices outside. Not close but muffled and low. I tried to differentiate them. One was gruff, older maybe. Another sharp and fast, like they were arguing? There were footsteps, heavy ones. Shuffling. Maybe a shift change.

And then suddenly , A low and warning growl

Goosebumps trailed up my arms.

I didn't know this world, but I could learn it. I had to learn it.

When the door opened, I felt him before I saw him.

The Alpha stepped inside with a quiet confidence, like the room belonged to him, because, in his mind, it did. I finally took a good look at him. He wasn't just huge he filled the space. His jacket was dark and worn, probably once high-end but now streaked with dirt and blood. Black leather with modern cuts at the sleeve, zippers, buckles, and torn at the edges. He looked like something from a dystopian nightmare.

His eyes weren't glowing now. That almost made it worse. They were a deep, chestnut brown, framed by lashes too long for someone so monstrous, he had a scar along his left eye . It made his scrutiny sharper, more intense, his hair was a deep black, almost like midnight,. In a different circumstance I would say he was gorgeous but I see nothing but a monster, my captor.

I stayed sitting,

He crouched to my level, not too close, but close enough that the bond sparked. That horrible warmth crept into my chest, something primal that twisted my stomach.

"You survived the night," he said, his voice rough but smooth like gravel soaked in honey. "Good."

I didn't respond, just stared ahead looking at nothing.

He studied me. "Still quiet, Still proud" He chuckled, his laughter smooth to the ears." But your body is learning. The ache. The hunger. You're adjusting."

"I'm surviving," I said tightly. "Not adjusting."

His smirk was lazy, bored , practiced. "Same thing in our world."

He moved closer to me, and something in the bond surged, heat, ownership, desire wrapped in steel. My breath hitched before I could stop it.

His eyes flickered. He noticed.... Of course he did.

"You feel it, don't you?"

"I feel disgusted," I snapped.

He chuckled, the sound this time, low and dark. "That's the part your brain controls. The bond works deeper. It's blood and soul. Not choice."

"Then I'll cut it out."

That amused him more than it should have. "You won't. You can't. And deep down, you don't want to."

I lunged forward before I could think, but he was already standing, one hand around my throat, it wasn't tight, just holding me, As if reminding me of what he could do.

The bond flared again.

It wasn't painful, worse. It was Recognition. Heat.

I choked on a sob, hating myself. My body trembled, and he felt it.

His voice dropped. "You'll learn. I don't need to break you. The bond will do it for me."

He let go of me " you are not a prisoner to the bond if you accept it, it's not a punishment "

And I wanted to scream.

Not from fear. From betrayal, my body's, my blood's. That flicker of longing that wasn't mine. That warmth I didn't ask for.

He left the cell door open.

"Come," he said simply.

I didn't move.

"You're not a prisoner. Not exactly. Come see the truth."

I stood. Not because he ordered me to, but because I needed to know.

.....

The rogue camp was chaos.

It wasn't just wilderness. It was a Frankenstein monster of modern decay and primitive grit. Tents patched with duct tape. Corrugated iron bent into shelters. Blankets hung like walls. Tree trunks sharpened into makeshift spears. A generator coughed in the distance, maybe powering a single light, or something else.

The people, no, the wolves, they were dirty, raw and fierce.

They wore scavenged clothing, ripped jeans, military boots, fur-lined coats covered in blood and dirt. Tattoos, scars, snarls. But not all of them looked cruel. Some looked tired. Wary. Starved, even.

A young boy carried a skinned rabbit. Another woman, tall, braided hair, face smeared with ash, stirred something over a fire, glancing at me with unreadable eyes.

They looked at me, all of them. Some with curiosity. Some with disgust. One or two... with something else. A flicker of pity? Hope?

I memorized their faces.

The Alpha stood tall beside me like a silent declaration.

His claim.

But I wasn't his.

He walked me through like I was livestock on display, then turned back to the cell. I was quiet the whole way. Just Watching. Listening and observing.

A shout. A fight over meat. A warning.

A Rebellion? Maybe.

Back in the cell, he left me alone, The silence felt louder now.

I sank to the floor, my heart still racing.

His words echoed ``Your old life was a cage built by ignorance.''

I almost believed him, But no he just built a different kind of prison. One wrapped in blood and a bond i didn't want., I felt him leave, though he said nothing. Just a fading pull in the wave, a distant burn that shifted and cooled down.

He was far now. But not gone., The bond was like a radio signal. I felt the static of his thoughts, emotions, concerns, Curiosity. Hunger. Possession. I curled my knees to my chest, holding myself for warmth.

I couldn't just resist. I needed strategy. Knowledge. Leverage., I needed to outthink him. Because this wasn't just a physical battle. It was a war for who I was, And if the bond could betray me... maybe I could use it too for my advantage.

My heart beat slowed down.

The walls weren't just cold anymore. They were speaking, like a whisper. I was chained by the bond but maybe, inside those chains, was the key to burning him down.

Or rising above both of them., ignoring the silent ache in my chest and the worry in my heart I drifted of to sleep thinking of my home, my pack, my family.

.....

At vine

Kaya was seated in sera's room in the pack house, preparations for the crowning ceremony for the new Alpha were ongoing but her mind was far, thinking of her friend and where she could be.

After the attack on their pack by the rogues and the death of some of their pack mates, the Alpha ordered guards at the boarder of the pack, but kaya was worried, there was no sign of sera, they searched everywhere but couldn't find her., after the burial of the pack mates who died, training intensified but life was back to normal, it made her angry. She couldn't report it to the police because it was pack business but nothing was being done.

Wiping her eyes she placed the picture frame down on the side table, picked up her phone and left the room. There was nothing she could do, but hopefully the new Alpha sets things straight.

Sera is strong willed, she was going to come back, she was sure of it.