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64. Crimson Morning Rays
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THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 65. I Can't Do This
ReynaI can’t hold it in. A scream tears through me, raw and gut-wrenching, slicing the tranquillity of the morning into jagged shards of reality. My voice rips through the air, a desperate cry for something—sanity, forgiveness, a rewind button to undo whatever horror I’ve just wrought.Malachi and Rune burst onto the balcony, their faces twisted in confusion and growing horror as they take in the scene: my bloodied hands, Cassian’s limp body, and the ever-rising plumes of my purple flames surrounding me like malevolent spirits.Rune’s eyes lock onto Cassian and, without a word, he dashes over to check his pulse, his hands trembling as they make contact with Cassian’s wounded flesh.“Reyna, what happened, love?” Malachi’s voice is choked, tinged with worry and the bitter sting of impending dread.I look at him, my eyes wild, and instinctively envelop my hands in swirling purple flames. “Stay back, Malachi,” I warn, my voice tinged with hysteria. “I don’t know if I’ll hurt you too!”In
THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 66. Regret
MalachiMy boots strike the floor in rhythmic echoes that boom through the empty corridor, the sound a physical manifestation of the turmoil inside me. The walls of the corridor seem to close in, much like the walls of dread and confusion closing in around my thoughts. Reyna is gone, and this time I’m not sure if we can get her back.As I pace back and forth outside Cassian’s hospital room, I can’t help but feel trapped in a swirl of emotions at war with each other — fury at Pyrra, guilt for not being able to protect Reyna, and a relentless, gnawing worry for Cassian. The air clings to my skin like a heavy, oppressive blanket, carrying the weight of my heartache and dread. I can’t shake the image of Reyna, her flames wild like her eyes, filled with a despair so deep that it swallowed her whole. Could I have stopped her? My mind races in futile circles, endlessly replaying that last moment when she looked at me, her eyes so full of love and so devoid of hope.What if she becomes the
THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 67. Sorrow
RuneI close my eyes, leaning into our mind link, the connection that has always been an open channel between the four of us. But now it feels like I’m throwing pebbles into a void, each one falling farther and farther without the familiar bounce back of his consciousness. The link is stretched thin, fragile as spider silk, and I’m terrified that one more tug will snap it.Opening my eyes, I see Cassian’s chest rise and fall in a slow rhythm, and the evidence of Reyna’s outburst marks his skin in cruel, scorched patterns. Despite the treatments and his Alpha blood working to heal him, the wounds look agonisingly raw. Whatever Reyna, or Pyrra, did to him, it was worse than any harm that’s come to me or anyone else we know.Her powers singed Cassian’s insides to a degree I’ve never seen before—not even when I was at the receiving end of her accidental outbursts. The burns are deeper, the tissue damage extensive, the healing infuriatingly slow despite Cassian’s Alpha Blood.The door ope
THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 68. Revived
MalachiThe tension in the room is thick enough to cut with a knife. Cassian lies in the intensive care unit, his condition stable but still far from reassuring. Rune and I had been bouncing strategies back and forth for hours. His eyes are bloodshot, evidence of the sleepless night we’ve both had. He sits across from me, his fingers nervously drumming on the table.“We can’t just sit here, Kai,” Rune finally breaks the silence, frustration lacing his voice. “It feels like we’re wasting time right now!”“I know,” I say, locking eyes with him. “But charging in blindly could make things worse for everyone, especially Reyna.”He leans back, scrubbing his face with both hands before running his fingers through his dishevelled hair. “I know, I know. It’s just... watching Cassian like this, it’s a grim reminder of what we’re up against. And what she’s up against.”I get up and walk over to him, drawing my hand to his throat and squeezing gently. His eyes close and he breathes out a heavy si
THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 69. Despair
ReynaIn this endless void, there is no up or down, and I feel weightless and disoriented. I am surrounded by a deafening silence, as if the world has stopped turning. The flames have gone dormant, subsiding to a mere flicker. I’m alone with my thoughts, each one dripping with regret and self-loathing.I close my eyes and surrender to memories. In this isolation, they offer momentary refuge. I remember laughing with Cassian as he attempted to teach me how to use a gun, but I freaked out as soon as the first bullet shot. His laughter, melodious like a song I could listen to for an eternity, resounds in my mind.Then there’s Rune, teaching me the secrets of the celestial constellations, weaving myths and love stories among the stars. “See that cluster there? It’s called Lyra,” he’d whispered, his voice so full with awe reserved for something truly wondrous. “It’s the harp that plays the music of the gods.”And Malachi... oh, Malachi. Every stolen moment with him seemed to ripple through
THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 70. The Keeper
ReynaI step into the forest clearing, a familiar dreamscape woven of fog and whispers. The fog is a tactile thing tonight, curling around me as if it knows the burdens I carry. My eyes land on the charred tree stump that stands like a sentinel in this sacred place. Four tiny green sprouts breathe life from its scorched trunk, and something about that breaks my heart and mends it at the same time.“Keeper,” I say, my voice not much more than a husky whisper, laced with a sense of impending dread. The Keeper manifests from the fog as though woven from it. His eyes are like the night sky on the clearest of nights—limitless and deep. “Ah, Reyna, child of complexity, you stand at the threshold of choice, do you not?”“Yes,” I confess, my eyes reluctantly leaving the tiny sprouts. “Much has happened since we last spoke. I’ve come to seek your counsel, but I can’t shake the feeling that the lock and key you speak of are slipping through my fingers.” He seems to sigh. “Each time you step
THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 71. A Glimmer Of Hope
ReynaMy eyes flicker open, the veil of the dreamscape lifting as I return to the waking world. My heart pounds with the wisdom imparted by both the Keeper and Shae. I lie still, taking in the soft caresses of the night air against my skin, the celestial bodies above a comfort in my uncertainty. There’s a subtle shift within me, a tug of war between the elemental fury that is Pyrra and the rekindled resolve inside me. A smile tugs at my lips.It’s time to act.For the first time, I don’t feel the overpowering dread that usually accompanies any thought of defying Pyrra. Instead, I feel almost... exhilarated. A plan has formed in my mind, and I have kept it hidden from Pyrra. But in order for me to execute this plan, I’ll need the help of my Alphas. I am both the lock and the key, the question and the answer; so I need to act like it.I immediately reach out over the mind-link to Cassian, Rune and Malachi, mentally threading my way through the fabric of our connection,using only the b
THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 72. Our Luna
RuneThe low hum of the jet’s engines serves as a rhythmic backdrop to my jumbled thoughts. We’re cruising at thirty thousand feet, high above any concerns of the terrestrial world, yet my mind is anything but tranquil. I glance at the file laid out on the polished mahogany table before me—the reports, the analyses, the meticulously prepared plans—everything designed to give us the best chance of defeating Pyrra and coming out of this battle whole.We’re on our way to Pyrra’s realm along with the Elemental Alphas and the Seers—key players in a high-stakes plan to subdue Pyrra. The briefings, the strategies, the contingencies, they’re all neatly laid out in my mind, each piece of the puzzle carefully considered and assigned its place. But as I lean back into the plush seat, it’s not the logistics or the tactics that occupy my thoughts—it’s Reyna.It’s the unknown, the variables we can’t account for, that have my stomach tying itself into knots. I stare out the window at the sea of cl
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- THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 25 - Epilogue
- THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 24 - A First of Many
- THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 23 - Meeting Between Kings
- THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 22 - A Night To Just… Be
- THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 21 - Time Will Do You Good
- THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 20 - They’re My Mates!
- THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 19 - The Night Before
- THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 18 - Making Plans / Setting Things In Motion
- THEIRS: BOUND TO THE ALPHA KINGS 17 - The Morning After
