The Forgotten Pulse of the Bond
Chapter 113: Bonds Tested

Chapter 113: Bonds Tested

"He’s lost control!" one male barked. "The girl is a danger to us all!"

"She’s his sister!" another growled. "And she’s still one of us."

"If Rhett won’t make the hard choices, we’re all at risk."

"Careful," came a quieter voice. "You’re not just speaking against Camille."

Magnolia’s stomach twisted as she scanned the sea of faces, wolves she had lived among, eaten with, fought beside. Some she once trusted now stood with narrowed eyes, whispering behind gloved hands. The Elder’s influence was spreading like rot.

She saw Beckett among them, shoulders tense, jaw tight. He wasn’t speaking, but his eyes flicked constantly between the arguing wolves, calculating.

The murmuring fractured into sharper voices when Rhett finally strode into the courtyard.

He wore his authority like iron, broad shoulders squared, dark coat snapping behind him with each long stride. His storm-gray eyes swept over the pack. No hesitation. No fear.

But Magnolia saw the stiffness in his jaw, the faint tremor beneath the calm.

Rhett stopped at the center of the courtyard, the tension rising like heat from stone.

"Speak," he commanded. His voice carried easily, heavy with power.

A wolf named Harrow stepped forward, broad and thick-necked. One of the oldest of Rhett’s council. His loyalty had always wavered.

"We are exposed, Alpha," Harrow said, voice low but hard. "The girl’s condition threatens us all. The Elder Alpha offers stability."

"The Elder Alpha offers control," Rhett replied smoothly. "Control over us. Is that what you want?"

Harrow bristled. "We want survival."

"You think bending to my father ensures survival?" Rhett’s voice sharpened. "You’ve forgotten who led us through the East Wars. Who expanded these walls. Who bled beside you when every rival pack sought to crush us."

The murmurs faltered.

Rhett stepped closer, voice dropping. "You question my leadership now because fear whispers in your ears. But make no mistake: my father will not offer safety. He will offer domination."

The silence grew thick.

Beckett finally spoke from the edge of the circle. "And Camille?"

All eyes shifted. The real fracture revealed.

Rhett’s mouth thinned. "Camille remains under my protection."

Murmuring surged again.

"She’s dangerous!" someone hissed.

"She’s our blood!" another shot back.

Rhett raised his voice, cutting through them. "Do you think I don’t see the risk? That I don’t carry the weight of what she’s becoming? But abandoning her would make us no better than the monsters we claim to oppose."

A few wolves dipped their heads. Others remained stiff, defiant.

Magnolia felt the divide pulling wider beneath her feet.

She slipped away from the balcony, her breath tight. The weight of the dreams still clung to her skin, her nights haunted by crimson eyes and the child’s agonized screams. Each morning, it grew harder to separate the visions from reality.

By the time she reached the empty hallway leading toward her chambers, Rhett was already waiting for her.

Their eyes met.

"You heard all of it, didn’t you?" he asked quietly.

She didn’t answer. She didn’t need to.

He stepped closer, his presence heavy with strain. "They’re pulling apart."

She nodded. "The Elder knew exactly what he was doing."

Rhett rubbed the back of his neck, pacing. "Every day I feel them slipping. And I can’t be everywhere at once."

"You don’t have to carry it alone," Magnolia said softly. "You have people who believe in you."

"Not enough," he whispered, his voice breaking in a way she rarely heard.

She reached for him instinctively, fingers brushing against his arm. He stiffened, but didn’t pull away.

Their connection was strained, frayed at the edges. The intimacy that once bloomed between them had grown distant over these last days as her visions worsened. She had become quieter, more withdrawn. And Rhett, consumed by the unraveling pack, had retreated behind his duties.

But in that moment, with no one watching, they allowed the distance to close.

His hand closed over hers, warm, calloused.

"I can’t lose you too, Magnolia," he whispered.

Her chest tightened. "You haven’t lost me."

Yet even as she said it, doubt twisted inside her.

The visions. The Ash Child. The whispers creeping into her mind at night.

A part of her was slipping, too. And she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold it back.

Rhett’s hand came up, brushing her cheek. His touch was gentle, but beneath it trembled an undercurrent of restrained hunger.

"We’ll find a way," he murmured. "For Camille. For us."

She nodded, leaning into his palm.

For now, it was enough.

"You shouldn’t be out here," he said softly.

Camille didn’t answer at first. Her voice was thin when it came.

"The storm feels good."

Rhett stepped closer. "You need to rest."

She turned then. Her eyes locked with his, and for a moment, they were not entirely her own. Faint crimson veins spiderwebbed the edges of her irises, pulsing faintly with each beat of her heart.

"I can’t sleep anymore."

Rhett’s throat tightened. "The dreams?"

"They’re not dreams, brother." Her voice cracked, trembling. "They’re... pieces. Warnings."

He reached for her, gripping her shoulders gently. "Talk to me, Camille. Whatever it is, we face it together."

Her lips quivered. "You don’t understand what’s inside me."

"Help me understand."

Camille’s breath shuddered. "It whispers all the time now. Even when I’m awake. It tells me I was born for this. That the war ends with me... or starts because of me."

Rhett’s hands tightened around her. "It’s lying."

She shook her head. "Is it?"

The wind howled around them, sharp as teeth.

"I feel it growing," Camille whispered. "The more I try to hold it back, the stronger it gets. Like fighting the tide."

Rhett’s voice grew raw. "You are stronger than it."

Tears spilled over her cheeks, glistening like jewels in the lightning’s flash. "No. I’m not. You saw what happened in my chamber. I wasn’t in control. I let go for one moment, and it took me."

"You came back," Rhett said firmly. "You’re here now."

"I don’t know how much longer I can fight it." Her voice was almost a whimper now. "I’m so tired, Rhett."

He pulled her into his arms. She didn’t resist. Her small frame shook against his chest.

His voice was a low vow against the side of her head. "You won’t face this alone."

Her fingers clutched at his coat, desperate. "The others... they look at me like I’m already lost. Like I’m some ticking weapon waiting to explode."

"They’re afraid," Rhett admitted. "Fear breeds ignorance."

"They should be afraid," she whispered. "I’m afraid."

Rhett pulled back just enough to meet her gaze. "Look at me."

She lifted her tear-soaked face to him.

"I see my sister," he said, voice steady. "Not a monster. Not a weapon. My blood. My family."

Lightning flashed again, reflecting off the faint crimson glow behind her eyes.

"But I feel it changing me," she whispered. "Even when I touch people, I feel their heat feeding something inside me. Like fire needing fuel."

He cupped her face. His thumbs brushed away her tears, though they kept falling.

"We’ll find a way," he promised. "Celeste is working on it. Beckett too. There’s still time."

Camille’s breathing grew uneven. "And what if there isn’t? What if the only way to stop it is to, "

She broke off, unable to speak the next words.

But Rhett knew. He had read it in Celeste’s eyes days ago. The unspoken truth that loomed like a blade above them all.

The union. The bond. The price.

Rhett swallowed hard. "We won’t be forced into anything, Camille. Not by my father. Not by this curse."

Her voice was a broken whisper. "You can’t promise that."

The rain grew heavier, pouring like a thousand tiny knives against the stone.

Suddenly Camille stiffened. Her breath hitched sharply, body rigid.

Rhett’s grip tightened. "Camille?"

Her eyes snapped wide. The red in them burned brighter, spilling fully into her irises until no brown remained.

"No!" she gasped, struggling against him. "It’s happening again, I can’t, I can’t stop, "

The air around them vibrated, humming with energy.

Rhett tried to hold her, but she shoved him backward with unnatural strength. His back hit the balcony wall hard.

"Camille, fight it!" he shouted.

Her voice twisted, layered with something ancient as she spoke.

"The fire remembers."

Her feet lifted from the ground. The rain hissed as it struck the invisible heat radiating off her body.

Lightning struck a nearby tree, splitting it down the center. The crack echoed like a cannon blast.

Rhett lunged forward, grabbing her wrist. "Listen to me! You are stronger than this thing!"

She screamed, an animalistic, primal sound that shook the air.

"Magnolia!" Rhett shouted into the manor. "Get Celeste, NOW!"

Magnolia appeared within seconds, breathless, eyes wide with horror at the sight before her.

Camille floated in a vortex of heat and rain, her skin glowing faintly beneath her soaked dress, hair swirling around her like dark ribbons.

Celeste rushed in behind Magnolia, carrying a silver bowl etched with old runes.

"Hold her steady!" she commanded.

Rhett dug his heels against the slick stone, pulling Camille down with every ounce of strength. The fire licked at his arms, burning through his sleeves, but he didn’t let go.

Celeste began chanting, pouring a thick black liquid from the bowl onto the stone floor. The symbols carved into the balcony ignited in cold blue light, forming a circle beneath Camille.

The air grew colder. The burning in Camille’s skin flickered.

Her screams died into gasps.

Her body dropped into Rhett’s arms, limp, sobbing.

The red glow in her eyes dimmed.

Magnolia rushed forward, wrapping her arms around both of them. Rhett held Camille tightly, his breath ragged, his voice low against her hair.

"I’ve got you. I’ve got you."

The storm raged on around them, but for now, the fire was contained.

Barely.

And all three of them knew, next time, they might not be able to pull her back.