Bound Blooded

The sound of metal chains dragging across the floor echoed in the dim, damp hallway. Liah, kept her head down as she was shoved forward, her bare feet stumbling against the cold stone. The air smelled of mood, blood, and something...wild.

She didn't know how long it had been since she was taken from the human village – days, maybe weeks. Time had blurred into a fog of pain and silence. Her body was weak, her spirit was weaker.

"This is her?" a deep emotionless voice asked.

Liah dared to glance up.

He stood at the top of the stone steps, tall and still as a statue carved from shadow. Alpha Kael, the man who ruled the blackfang pack – feared by all, human and werewolf alike. His presence sucked the air from the room.

The trader who had brought her nodded quickly. "Yes, Alpha. A human girl untouched. Her family sold her to pay off a debt".

Kael said nothing. He stepped closer.

Liah saw his eyes – silver, like the edge of a blade. They passed over her bruised form without interest, without pity.

"She's pathetic", he muttered.

A quiet laugh came from one of the guards.

Liah's heart shrank. She had heard those words several times – useless, weak, unwanted. She clenched her fist but she didn't speak. What would be the point?

"Chain her to the servant quarters", Kael ordered.

"If she dies, throw her out, I'm quite certain she won't last with her weak nature", he added.

And just like that, he turned and walked away.

Tears blurred Liah's vision, but she refused to let them fall.

Later that night, she lay on a cold stone floor in a small cell near the edge of the pack's living quarters. There was no blanket. No pillow. Just the sound of howling wolves in the distance, and her thoughts.

She remembered her mother's face. Pale. Desperate. Whispering: "Be obedient, Liah. Maybe he will let you live.

Live?

This wasn't living?

A sudden pain bloomed in her chest, sharp and raw. Not physical – something deeper. Her breath caught as a strange warmth spread through her veins.

Her fingers twitched.

And then ...she heard something.

A voice.

Not in the room. Not from the hall.

It was inside her.

"you are not nothing"...

Her eyes flew open. The chain rattled as she sat up, heart pounding.

She looked at her hand – it was glowing faintly under the moonlight that trickled through a crack in the ceiling.

Liah's breath trembled.

"What...what's happening to me?"

No answer came.

But at that moment, something had shifted. The weak girl who had been sold like an animal was still inside her – but so was something else.

And that something had just woken up.

Liah sat frozen, her back pressed against the damp wall, staring at her hand as the glow faded.

It had only lasted a second – a soft, pale shimmer that lit her skin like moonlight. Now her finger looked normal again. Dirty. Shaking. Human.

" What was that?" She whispered, hugging her knees tightly.

No answer came.

No power surged through her veins.

Just silence.

The warmth that had bloomed in her chest was gone, replaced by a familiar hollowness.

She closed her eyes. "Maybe I'm going mad", she said to herself.

The days that followed were cruel.

Liah was treated worse, insulted. She washed bloodstained clothes that reeked of battle. She cleaned the warrior's quarters on her hands and knees. If she was too slow. Someone would throw a bucket at her. If she made eye contact, they would growl,

"Know your place, human".

She barely slept. Barely ate.

Kael never spoke to her.

Except once.

It was late. The moon was high, a full circle in the sky. Liah was scrubbing the stone floor outside the Alpha's chamber when his door opened.

She flinched automatically, bowing her head.

"You're still alive", kael said, stepping into the corridor.

Liah nodded, not daring to look up.

"Disappointing", he muttered.

Her jaw clenched.

One day, she thought. One day. I'll be free of this.

But when she looked up – just for a second – she saw something strange in his eyes.

A flicker of confusion.

Maybe even ...curiosity

That night, the glowing came back.

Not in her hand this time – in her dream.

She was standing in a forest, surrounded by mist. A silver wolf watched her from the shadows. Its eyes were her eyes – dark, frightened, but fierce beneath the fear.

Then she saw chains – glowing, floating around her wrists.

But when she reached to touch them, they burned.

She woke up with a gasp.

And screamed.

Her arm was covered in red marks – like rope burns – but no one had touched her.

The pack healer came the next morning. He examined the marks in silence, then looked at her eyes.

"She's cursed", he said flatly to the guard beside him. "Weak...but dangerous"

The guard spat at her feet.

"You'll die before you ever figure out who you are", he sneered.

That night, Liah wept.

Not because of the pain.

Not because of loneliness.

But because a part of her was beginning to believe them.

Maybe she was cursed.

Maybe this pain will never end.

Maybe...she would never escape.

But far, far away in the dark corners of the forest, something was watching her.

Something old

Something powerful

And it was waiting.

For the moment she broke.

Or the moment she rose.

"You missed a spot."

Selene's voice sliced through the air like a knife.

Liah looked up from the bloodied stones, muscles trembling with exhaustion. Selene stood over her, as flawless as ever - golden hair gleaming, red lips curved in a cruel smirk.

Without waiting for a reply, Selene kicked over the water bucket, splashing it all over Liah's tattered dress.

"Tsk. So careless. The Alpha deserves clean grounds, not your filthy hands."

Liah's cheeks burned, but she didn't speak.

She was too used to this now - the constant humiliation, the sly jabs, the boots on her side when no one was looking. But Selene didn't even try to hide it anymore.

Later that day, in the training yard, Liah was forced to scrub the stone path while the warriors sparred. She heard the sharp crack of bones and the growl of shifting wolves all around her.

Then silence.

She looked up instinctively.

Alpha Kael stood on the edge of the field, arms folded. His eyes were fixed not on the sparring fighters, but on her.

Her breath caught.

There was something different in the way he stared. Not cruel. Not dismissive.

Curious.

She lowered her eyes quickly, but not before noticing how Selene appeared beside him, brushing dust off his shoulder that didn't exist.

"She's still breathing?" Selene asked smoothly, glancing at Liah. "I thought we agreed trash should be removed quickly."

Kael didn't respond.

He kept his eyes on Liah - longer than usual. He tilted his head, almost like he was trying to hear something.

Then... he walked away.

Selene's expression cracked.

That night, Liah dreamed again.

The forest. The silver wolf. Chains floating in the air, glowing like firelight.

This time, the wolf spoke. A whisper in her mind.

"Not yet. But soon."

She woke up with a gasp. Her hand was burning again - the same place as before. But when she looked... there was no mark.

Just a faint shimmer.

She curled up, trying to make herself small. Maybe she was cursed. Or maybe something inside her was trying to wake up - and she wasn't ready for it.

Two days later, the pack celebrated the full moon.

It was a formal event - warriors gathered under the stars, dressed in black and silver. Torches lined the open field, and a feast filled the air with smoke and roasted meat.

Liah wasn't invited.

But Selene made sure she was dragged out in front of everyone anyway.

"She stole food," Selene declared loudly, throwing a torn loaf of bread at Liah's feet.

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

"I didn't-" Liah began.

Selene slapped her across the face. "Liar."

Liah staggered backward, clutching her cheek.

Alpha Kael stepped forward.

He didn't look at Selene. He looked at Liah.

Her lip was trembling. Her eyes were wide. But something in her expression stopped him.

She wasn't afraid anymore.

She was angry.

Quietly. Deeply. Unmistakably.

Selene stepped close to Kael, pressing a hand to his chest. "You should punish her," she whispered, loud enough for others to hear. "She's becoming arrogant. She needs to remember her place."

Kael's jaw tightened.

But he didn't speak.

Instead, he turned and walked away.

Selene's hand fell from his chest.

Her eyes followed him like a predator locked on prey - but not in love.

In desperation.

Later that night, Liah was in the servant room, wiping blood from her mouth.

The door opened.

Kael stepped inside.

She stood immediately, startled, heart pounding.

For the first time, he looked at her not like a burden... but like a question he couldn't answer.

"You're healing fast," he said, eyes narrowing. "Too fast."

Liah blinked. "I... I don't understand."

He stepped closer. "I've seen bones broken in this pack. They don't look like you do after two days."

She swallowed hard. "Maybe I'm just lucky."

"No," Kael said flatly. "You're hiding something."

Before she could speak, he turned and left again - vanishing like a shadow.

Liah sat down slowly, trembling.

She didn't know what scared her more:

That he was right.

Or that she didn't know what was waking up inside her.

Meanwhile, across the courtyard, Selene was watching from a high window. Eyes glowing faintly. Jaw tight.

"She's getting into his head," she whispered to herself.

She turned to a warrior behind her.

"Find a reason to drag her into the Alpha's court tomorrow. I want her punished. Publicly."

The warrior hesitated. "What if the Alpha-"

"Do it," Selene growled. "He's mine. She doesn't belong here."

Her lips curled into a cruel smile.

"If she won't break under pain... then maybe it's time she bled for real."