#Chapter16 The Fate

Violet I clung to consciousness, my head spinning as Theodore gripped my wrist where the mark of the unwanted was seared deep into my skin. An unfamiliar surge pulsed through me, the heat of the bond between Lucas and me seeming to plunge into icy, numbing depths, snuffing the agonizing fire that had overtaken me. For a few moments, I felt nothing but terror. Was it gone? Was I dying? I felt my entire soul start to go still. Then, the icy cold turned into something else. It was… foreign, growing colder than anything I’d felt, almost like drowning but somehow a relief. A wolf's howl echoed through my mind, reverberating with an uncanny familiarity. I realized that the wolf was me. The surge of resistance, of refusal and desperation stole what little breath I had. Bond. He was trying to bond me. I couldn’t. I fought it. I pushed and pulled, thrashing under the weight even as it grew heavier and heavier. I heard him speaking to me, trying to calm me down, but I coul