Bound In His Darkness: Read Chapters 1-5

Lorien POV

The curse of being born on the same day as the Alpha’s son was that no one ever remembered it was my birthday too. Or maybe they remembered they just didn’t care.

This day was supposed to be magical. I had turned twenty, old enough to find my mate. And he was here somewhere among the crowd.

For years, I had imagined this night: both of us dressed up, eyes meeting for the first time beneath the pack’s glittering lights. My heart hammered so hard it hurt, and my stomach fluttered with restless wings. His scent brushed faintly against my senses, carried on the breeze but blurred by hundreds of other wolves. Still, I could feel him. His wolf called out to mine, a pull I couldn’t resist. I needed to find him.

But instead of walking through those grand doors into the celebration, I stood outside the packhouse being turned away like a beggar.

“Omegas enter through the back,” one of the guards barked, stepping in front of me to block the doorway.

I knew the rule. Everyone did. It was idiotic but I also knew I wouldn’t be let in through the servant’s entrance either, not tonight.

Keeping my eyes down, I nodded, swallowing my pride. I didn’t dare meet his gaze; a warrior like him could crush me without consequence. I was the lowest-ranked Omega in the pack barely tolerated, often bullied, always disposable.

“But I’m not working tonight,” I pleaded softly. “My mate is inside. Please just five minutes to find him.”

The words came out desperate, almost broken. I knew my boss would fire me if I even tried sneaking in. I was only allowed to serve at private events, never ones involving other packs.

Tonight’s celebration was for Rhael the Alpha’s son and three neighboring packs had come to join ours. It was supposed to be perfect, the night the future Alpha found his Luna. And perfection, in their eyes, didn’t include worthless Omegas like me.

Yet my mate was close. So close I could taste him in the air. My wolf clawed at the edges of my control, demanding to take over, desperate to run to him. I’d waited for this night all my life. I wasn’t going to let it slip away.

But the guard before me looked murderous for even being approached, and I knew no amount of begging would change his mind.

Maybe it was the hair. My bright red hair a curse in this pack of dark-haired wolves. Everyone had always whispered that I couldn’t possibly be my parents’ child. And when they died in that terrible accident, their doubts turned into certainty.

The pack stopped pretending. They didn’t want me. Except when they needed something scrubbed, cleaned, or carried.

“I don’t give a damn,” the guard growled, his voice a low rumble of disdain. “You’re not one of us, and you’re not getting inside.”

I flinched, tugging at the hem of my dress, wishing I could disappear.

“Get lost, runt.”

Tears stung my eyes before I could stop them. I’d waited for this night for so long. My mate my one chance at being chosen, seen, loved and it was slipping through my fingers.

He’d never find me out here. Not when my scent was buried under a hundred others.

I’d saved for months to buy this dress skipping meals, patching seams, doing extra shifts. Even second-hand, it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever owned. The small tear near my hip still rubbed against my skin where I’d mended it, but I didn’t care. Tonight was supposed to be my new beginning.

“Please,” I whispered again, daring to look up. The guard’s eyes darkened at my defiance.

“He told you to get lost, freak!”

The shrill voice sliced through the night like a knife. Maeryn, the Beta’s daughter, stood behind me, shimmering in a silver-sequined dress that probably cost more than my entire year’s pay. Her heels made her tower even taller, all sharp edges and venomous beauty.

“Ugh,” she sneered. “That dress is tragic. I can’t believe you had the nerve to show up looking like that. You look like a whore.”

“My dress covers more than yours,” I muttered before I could stop myself, glancing at the thin strip of fabric clinging to her body.

Her smirk turned cruel. “Poor little Omega, begging for attention. You’ll never belong here.”

She shoved her shoulder into mine as she swept past toward the door. “Get out of my way, loser.”

I stumbled back, hands flailing for balance straight into the guard’s chest.

He snarled in disgust and shoved me hard.

The world tilted. I tumbled down the steps, pain jolting through my body as I hit the cobblestones. My knee and hip screamed in protest, and when I tried to move, I felt fabric tear.

Heat pooled behind my eyes. I wanted to scream, to vanish, to die. How could my mate see me like this?

Maeryn’s laughter rang out, cold and cruel. “Maybe next time you’ll listen when you’re told. You’re trash, Lorien. Always have been, always will be.”

I stayed there for a moment, staring up at the night sky.

Since my parents’ deaths when I was fourteen, my life had been nothing but orders and survival. Maeryn’s father had taken my father’s place as Beta, and she made sure I never forgot my fall from grace.

The packhouse job barely paid enough to cover the rent on my broken-down shack at the edge of town. I’d spent months saving for tonight for this dress, these shoes, this one chance to be seen by my mate.

Now everything was ruined.

Hell. That’s what living here was. A constant, lonely hell. But I had clung to hope that it would end once I turned twenty once I found him.

“When Rhael claims me as his Luna,” Maeryn called out, voice dripping with smug satisfaction, “the first thing I’ll do is get rid of that thing.”

She didn’t need to say my name. I already knew who she meant.

Choking back a sob, I pushed myself to my feet. I had to get away before they saw me cry.

If I hurried home, I could wash up, fix my dress, and come back before the party ended. Even if they wouldn’t let me in, I could wait outside until my mate came out. He’d find me. He’d see me. And we’d leave this place together.

I wanted to look beautiful for him or at least not broken. I didn’t want him to feel the same shame everyone else did when they looked at me.

The sound of boots pounding down the stairs made my blood run cold.

I looked up just in time to see the guard charging toward me, claws and fangs bared.

“I said get lost!” he roared.

He wasn’t trying to scare me anymore. He was going to hurt me because in his eyes, I had already committed the greatest sin an Omega could.

I had dared to exist.

Lorien POV

There was no way I could return to the packhouse now. Going back would be suicide.

The guard didn’t linger long behind me, but I didn’t need him to. The threat in his silence said everything if he saw me again tonight, he’d do what every other wolf in this pack had dreamed of for years. He’d kill me.

So I ran.

I didn’t stop until the trees gave way to the lake, where the sobs I’d been holding back finally tore free. My body shook with every breath, exhaustion crawling into my bones until I was numb. The moon shimmered on the lake’s surface, its reflection trembling with the ripples, but the sight gave me no peace.

My wolf paced within me, restless and defiant, urging me to turn around to go back, to find him. My mate. But that wasn’t an option. Not if I wanted to live.

I had to calm down. I had to stop her from taking control and forcing her way back to the party.

With trembling fingers, I stripped off my torn dress and held it up in the moonlight. My hand slipped through the new hole, and I sighed, letting it fall to the ground. It was beyond repair, at least for someone with my poor sewing skills. Maybe I could salvage the fabric for rags anything but waste it.

Kicking off my flats, I stepped into the lake. The cold water bit into my skin, but it cleared my head. I waded deeper, crouching until the water reached my waist before dipping under completely.

For a brief, suspended moment, the world went silent.

Then I surfaced and froze.

That feeling. That prickling on the back of my neck. Someone was watching me.

I turned slowly, eyes scanning the trees. The moment I spotted movement near my discarded dress, my breath caught.

He was standing there.

Rhael. The Alpha’s son.

His arms were folded across his chest, his body half-shadowed by the moonlight, but I knew that face anywhere.

Had they sent him after me to punish me? To finish what the guard started?

“Is this my birthday gift?” he called out, voice deep and rich, curling through me like smoke. A shiver raced down my spine. I sank lower into the water until only my chin broke the surface, trying to hide my bare body.

We had never spoken before. Even when our parents worked side by side, he was always training or surrounded by tutors. And when he wasn’t, he was with Maeryn.

Our worlds had never touched.

I had never realized how beautiful his voice was until now.

“You left your party,” I said, my confusion heavy in the air. Everyone had come to see him yet he was here, watching me.

I glanced through the trees, searching for others, certain this had to be some cruel prank. Rhael had never acknowledged me after I’d been demoted to an Omega. It was forbidden for me to speak to him unless he addressed me first, and until tonight, he never had.

I was nothing to him. Maybe Maeryn was right.

“I smelled my mate,” he said simply, pushing off the tree. “Why wouldn’t I go after her?”

My heart stopped.

He shrugged off his jacket, revealing a crisp white shirt beneath. My pulse stuttered as he began unbuttoning it, one button at a time.

“Your… your mate?” I whispered, disbelief and hope twisting together in my chest. I’d known my mate was somewhere at the party tonight but the Alpha’s son? That was impossible.

And yet

He kicked off his shoes, peeled off his shirt, and let his pants fall to the ground. My breath hitched as I turned my gaze away, cheeks burning when his boxers followed.

A heartbeat later, the scent hit me rich, intoxicating, undeniable.

It wasn’t a trick.

It was fate.

MATE.

“Yes,” he said, voice roughened now, eyes dark as he waded into the lake. The water lapped higher against his thighs with each step. My eyes widened as his body hardened before the water concealed him.

Then he reached me.

In one swift motion, his hands were on me strong, claiming. His arm slid around my waist, lifting me effortlessly while his other hand caught my thigh, pulling it over his hip.

Sparks exploded across my skin, sharp and electric. My wolf howled with joy, clawing her way forward, desperate to claim him. She’d been screaming for him all night, and now now he was here. Ours.

I wrapped my other leg around him as he pressed me closer, chest to chest, breath to breath.

“I’ve been searching for you all night,” he murmured, his words brushing against my lips.

“You found me,” I breathed, awe filling every corner of my soul.

His answering growl vibrated against my skin, deep and primal, making heat coil low in my belly. Then his mouth was on mine fierce, hungry, and consuming.

He carried me from the water without breaking the kiss, lowering me onto the soft sand. His hands, his scent, his touch they overwhelmed me. For the first time in years, I wasn’t cold. I wasn’t alone.

I was his.

And as the night slipped into dawn, I drowned in him his warmth, his hunger, his love.

When the first rays of sunlight crept over the trees, I lay tangled in his arms, body aching in the sweetest way. A smile curved my lips as I nuzzled into his chest. He was still hard against my stomach, his arms heavy but gentle around me.

“Good morning,” I murmured, voice soft and hazy. My body was sore but utterly sated.

I stretched languidly, tracing the marks he’d left on my neck his bites, his claim. But there was one bite still missing. The mark. The final bond. Maybe he wanted to wait for the ceremony. That was tradition, after all.

Rhael sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

When he didn’t answer, unease crept in. My smile faltered.

“Rhael? Are you okay?”

He laughed cold and humorless and sat up. The sudden absence of his warmth made me shiver.

“Rhael?” I whispered again, voice trembling as I pushed myself upright beside him, the sand rough beneath my palms.

Then his tone changed. Sharp. Commanding. Cruel.

“Get your hands off me,” he snapped. “What’s your name, Omega?”

Lorien POV

“What?” The word fell from my lips, broken and trembling. My breath snagged in my throat as I stared at him, desperately searching his eyes for some clue, some explanation for the disgust twisting his face.

“This is a sick joke,” he muttered, jaw locked tight, the muscles ticking beneath his skin.

My head jerked back at the force of his glare. The black of his beast’s eyes had vanished, replaced by a steady, unflinching brown as he rose to his feet. How could he not know who I was?

I’d worked in the pack house for years. Our parents had stood side by side for decades before us. We might never have spent time together, but surely he had seen me. My hair was a blazing red beacon for the Goddess’s sake, I had been the Beta’s daughter. How could he possibly have overlooked me?

“I… I don’t understand,” I whispered, bewildered by the sudden turn in his mood. Hadn’t last night meant anything to him? Hadn’t it meant something?

The sight of him so troubled made my chest ache. I reached out, placing a tentative hand on his back in comfort, but he lurched upright as if my touch burned him. I followed on instinct.

“Don’t touch me!” he snapped, his glare slicing down to me with so much contempt I stumbled a step back. “Your. Name.”

The command struck like a whip. My wolf cowered, and my spine bowed before him. “Lorien Velmont,” I murmured.

“My wolf got the better of me last night, Lorien Velmont,” Rhael said, curling his lip as though my name itself was sour on his tongue. His gaze swept my naked body with something close to loathing. “That won’t be happening again.”

Words deserted me as he dressed quickly, casting furtive glances toward the treeline, checking, always checking if anyone had witnessed us.

“What are you talking about? You’re my mate!” The scent of him still clung to my skin like a protective shroud, the heat of our joining still damp between my thighs. Yet as he laced his boots and turned away like the hounds of Hell were snapping at his heels, a tide of shame rose up in me. I felt filthy. Used.

“Rhael,” I called, clutching my torn dress to my chest as I stumbled after him, dragging it on in clumsy haste. “Please, wait. I don’t understand.”

The pack house was visible now through the trees. Panic clawed at my ribs. Everyone was awake, moving, beginning the day. Omegas were meant to be seen, not heard a rule I’d shattered more than once in the last twenty-four hours. If anyone saw me chasing Rhael, speaking his name so freely, I’d be punished.

“Rhael!” I cried again, voice breaking as I hurried after him, my legs barely carrying me.

“Don’t!” he barked, whirling on me. I gasped, nearly colliding with him, but his hand shot out, palm flat to my chest, shoving me back just enough to stop me.

I hit the dirt hard, sitting at his feet as he glared down, fists clenched at his sides. “Don’t say my name! You will never address me so informally again!”

Tears stung my eyes. A sharp, invisible knife twisted through my chest.

“I can’t believe the Goddess would pair me with you!” He spat the word you like it poisoned him, gesturing at me as though I were filth. “I refuse. I won’t do it. I will never accept you as my mate.”

Footsteps approached, but the sound blurred beneath the roaring in my ears. Another flash of pain stabbed through my heart, and it took me a moment to realize what it was our bond, fracturing.

“What are you doing?” My voice broke, a whisper of disbelief as my hand clutched at my chest. A wave of nausea rolled through me. I tried to stand, but my knees buckled, leaving me crouched in the dirt, one hand pressed to the ground to hold myself upright.

He was my soulmate. I had waited for him my entire life. He was meant to protect me, love me. What had changed between last night and this morning? Something had to be wrong.

“What I should have done last night,” he snarled.

Maeryn stepped from the trees then, stopping short when she saw us. “Baby, what’s going on? Where did you disappear to last night? Why are you with this pathetic mutt?”

Her eyes burned when they landed on me. She could smell me on him; I saw the fury rising behind her polished mask.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ve got this under control,” he snapped, though his eyes flickered brown to black to brown again. His wolf was fighting. It gave me hope. Maybe, just maybe, his beast still wanted me, regardless of rank.

Maeryn’s nails sharpened to black points as she stalked forward with a low growl, but Rhael’s words cut her off.

“I, Rhael Destrell, reject you, Lorien Velmont, as my mate.”

He lifted his chin, voice low so only we three could hear, but the black of his beast flickered again, barely leashed.

A ragged gasp tore from me. My hand pressed harder against my chest as I doubled over, a cry escaping as the stabbing pain ignited, burning through me from the inside out.

“Please,” I begged, breathless. “No!”

“Mate?” Maeryn’s cold laugh sliced the air. “Did you really think anyone in this pack would accept you as Luna? An Omega who scrubs our floors in rags? You’d make us a laughingstock.”

My body folded in on itself as my wolf keened in agony, retreating deep into my mind to escape the torment. My soul felt as though it had been ripped clean in half.

Lorien POV

“The Goddess made a mistake. You are a mistake.” Rhael’s voice was a snarl above me, each word a blade carving through my skin. Fire raged in my veins, coiling so hot and sharp it bent my body inward. I couldn’t even lift my head. White sparks flared behind my eyes as I squeezed them shut, trying to block out the pain.

“Stop,” I moaned, but he didn’t stop.

“You’re nothing but a worthless Omega. You’ll never be my Luna.” His tone had sunk low and threatening, a predator’s growl as he stepped closer.

“Stop…” I whimpered again, my voice breaking on the word.

“Accept it,” he demanded. Had my wolf still been with me had she not retreated into grief I might have given him what he wanted: my surrender, my consent to his rejection. Instead, I just clung to the soil, drowning in agony, unable to speak.

“Accept it,” he barked again, louder this time, desperation creeping into his voice. “I won’t be chained to you for the rest of my life. Accept the rejection, Omega!”

My fingers dug into the soft earth. My elbow buckled, and I barely caught myself before a brutal kick slammed into my shoulder, throwing me onto my side.

“Your future Alpha gave you an order!” Maeryn’s snarl cut across the clearing like a whip. Her foot came down hard on my hand, her weight pressing until I felt the bones threaten to snap. Another scream tore itself from my lungs.

“Stop!” I sobbed, curling into myself, cradling my injured hand against my burning chest. “Please!”

I wasn’t begging him. I was begging the Goddess. Begging for an end before I lost my wolf completely. She was already slipping, her soul shredded by the breaking bond, and I knew most wolves didn’t survive that.

“You’re pathetic,” Maeryn hissed with disgust, grinding the toe of her shoe into the dirt before flicking it up at me. It hit my face; I flinched but kept my eyes shut. Her shadow fell over me as she closed in. Fingers fisted into my hair, yanking my head from the ground.

“I’m going to destroy you. You should never have touched my man,” she spat, slamming my head back into the earth. “Say the words, Lorien!” she demanded, jerking my head up again.

For the first time in my miserable life, I fought back. My foot lashed out, catching her knee. Maeryn stumbled back with a feral growl. So much for her threats thinking I’d submit after she promised to kill me once I complied. She wasn’t pretending to be stupid. She was.

I staggered to my feet, bile rising as wave after wave of agony burned through me.

“Enough!” Rhael’s voice cut through, and Maeryn bowed her head instantly in submission.

I turned toward him, my body curled inward, arms wrapped around my torso as if I could hold myself together.

“Accept the rejection!” Rhael roared. Another stabbing pain tore through my chest. His eyes flickered black, his wolf surfacing. I cried out, and for a heartbeat his expression softened. He stepped forward, his wolf in control now.

My breath hitched as he raised a hand toward me. I wanted to lean into it, even as my body stayed taut with pain. He was so close—one touch away and I hated myself for craving it.

“Please don’t do this,” I whispered, my voice splintering.

The moment the plea left me, he stilled. The black in his eyes vanished, Rhael’s control snapping back into place. My heart crashed to my stomach. Then he lunged, his hand clamping around my throat.

My hands flew up in panic, clawing at his wrist. My nails scored the back of his hand, but he lifted me effortlessly off the ground. My chest burned, my toes stretching down for the earth.

“I gave you an order,” he growled. I dug my nails deeper, puncturing his skin as I fought for air.

Movement at the back door of the pack house caught his attention. The sound of warriors starting their day drifted across the yard.

Rhael’s grip tightened, holding me in place as he glanced over his shoulder.

“I can’t be seen with you,” he snarled, voice low and cold. “This isn’t over, Lorien. You will accept my rejection or I’ll see you rotting in the dungeon for the rest of your pathetic life.”

His fingers lingered another second before he let go. I crumpled to the ground, clutching my throat, wheezing as air rasped back into my lungs.

“You’ll say nothing of this,” Rhael ordered. His voice was iron, unyielding. “That goes for both of you. If either of you breathes a word, I’ll have your heads.”

My forehead pressed into the dirt. My breathing slowed, but the ache in my chest only grew sharper with every step he took away from me.

Lorien POV

I didn’t have to watch him go. I felt it the hollow snap of our bond tearing, like threads of my soul unraveling and being carried away with every step Rhael took from me.

My legs refused to keep pace with my desperation. I stumbled, tripping over roots and stones as I sprinted toward my pitiful excuse for a home. Each uneven breath ripped through my chest, and my palms pressed hard against my sternum as though I could physically hold myself together.

The door groaned as I flung it open and slammed it shut behind me, the noise cracking through the quiet like a gunshot. Still moving, I paced the cramped space back and forth, fingers tangling in my hair until my fists ached from pulling. Thoughts screamed through my skull, a million of them colliding too fast for me to catch even one. The room swam; the walls wavered like heat ripples.

How could he do this to me? After everything. After all the years I had waited. After last night.

I had given him everything. My heart. My trust. My virginity.

My skin was slick with sweat from shock and pain, but beneath it all, I could smell only him. His scent clung to me like a brand. I could feel him still his body pressed to mine, skin sliding against skin as he drove into me, the sound of his low groans etched into my memory. The memory burned; it coated me in shame.

His sweat still mingled with mine. Bits of dirt from the forest floor clung to my back. His seed was still between my thighs.

My fingers twisted harder in my hair, tugging at the roots until my scalp stung. Instinct screamed for punishment because how naïve did I have to be, believing someone like him would ever truly want someone like me?

Tears streaked down my cheeks. I wiped at them with shaking hands, but they only came faster. My nails were dark with dirt, my palms as grimy as the rest of me. The noise in my head roared louder.

I bolted for the bathroom, slamming the door into the wall with a crash. The small space echoed with my ragged panting as I twisted the faucet and let the water run. The first icy spray hit my skin like knives, but I didn’t move. I deserved it.

A guttural sound left me half moan, half growl as I snatched up the soap and began scrubbing, scraping at my skin with frantic strokes. I had to get him off me. I had to scrub away the feel of his hands, his mouth, his body. Because that’s all it had been to him.

Mates made love, honoring their bond. He hadn’t. Rhael had taken a weak Omega who trusted him and used her simply because he could.

No matter how hard I scrubbed, I couldn’t get clean. My skin burned raw under my own touch. My body stiffened beneath the unrelenting cold as I collapsed to the shower floor, curling into a ball. The sobs ripped free, loud enough for neighbors to hear through the thin walls, but I didn’t care.

At some point, I forced myself out of the bathroom. My blanket smelled faintly of dust as I curled beneath it on my thin cot. It barely softened the floor beneath me, but it was all I had.

I pulled the ripped, tattered fabric up to my chin and stared at the peeling wall while the tears just kept coming.

Day turned into night and back into day again. I groaned, yanking the blanket over my head, wanting to disappear. My cot wasn’t comfortable, but it was familiar. It was all the safety I had left.

My bladder screamed at me, but I stayed still, torn between getting up and staying hidden. Then the front door slammed open, the handle smashing into the wall behind it with a deafening crack.

I jumped to my feet, my sore muscles screaming in protest. I didn’t care that I was naked. My soul felt shredded, my body broken, but I wasn’t ready to die yet. I’d defend myself if I had to.

And then he filled the doorway.

Rhael.

The sunlight cut across his face as he stormed in, his expression dark and violent, a storm about to break.

“Rhael!” I gasped, shock spiking through my chest. Why was he here? After last night, after his rejection, after acting like I was nothing, I hadn’t thought he even knew where I lived. “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t answer. His steps were heavy, threatening, every line of his body a warning. “Did you tell them?!”

My breath hitched. Goosebumps swept over me whether from the draft of the open door or the cold fury in his eyes, I couldn’t tell. “Who? What are you talking about?”