Bloodbound to the Beastly King

"No, no, no, no," Adina's screams echoed in the air, loud and clear, filled with so much pain it hurt to hear.

Her voice broke into uncontrollable sobs, her entire body trembling as she clutched the blood-soaked cloth to her chest.

"This is my fault…" she choked out, shaking her head violently. "I should have listened… I should have destroyed it… I should have—"

She could never stop blaming herself. She caused this. It was entirely her fault. If only she had taken the core out… If only…

Thessara's heart clenched right, tears blurring her eyes as she watched Adina cry. For the first time ever, she didn't know what to do.

There was no remedy. No spell. No ancient wisdom that could take this pain away.

She stepped forward, lowering herself to her knees, a trembling hand coming to rest on Adina's shoulder as she tried desperately to comfort her. But it was useless.

Adina couldn't stop crying.

Thessara blinked back her tears and slowly lifted her gaze. Her eyes found Thorne. The king stood still, his eyes blank, fingertips still stained by blood.

He looked emotionless.

Nothing scared Thessara more than this.

Thessara's breath hitched softly.

She had seen grief before—centuries of it. She had watched kingdoms fall, watched mothers bury their children, watched mates lose one another in wars that left nothing but ash behind.

She'd seen Thorne fall into the very same grief, watched him lose himself when Roseanne died, but this…

This was something else entirely. This was not grief.

This was the absence of it. And somehow, that terrified her more.

"Thorne…" she called softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

He didn't respond; instead, he looked ahead to the door and began to walk away.

Adina scrambled to her feet. "Thorne!" she called but got no response.

"Your majesty, please don't leave," she cried, but it fell on deaf ears. He walked out of the hall while Adina ran after him.

Thessara could do nothing but watch as she ran after her mate, crying and calling out for him but getting nothing in response. She watched as Adina stumbled and fell down, sobbing and wrecked, yet Thorne didn't look back, not once.

The doors slammed shut behind him.

"Thorne!" Adina's scream followed him, raw and desperate, but it did nothing. It reached him—and still, he did not stop.

In the hall, Thessara couldn't bear to watch the sight; she tried running after him, but Caelum held her back, shaking his head.

"Leave him," he muttered.

Outside the palace, Thorne was another man. The robe he wore suddenly felt like it was closing in around his neck, suffocating the air out of his lungs.

His veins strained hard against his skin, eyes red yet he didn't shed a tear.

He tore the robe from his shoulders and let it fall behind. His steps fast, not a guard could stop him as he morphed into his wolf for the first time in years. He charged into the woods, the wind blowing past his ears, heart thumping hard, blood rushing, but there was just one thing on his mind. Carter.

The moment he crossed into the tree line, the first roar tore out of him. It shook the woods. Birds burst from branches in frightened flocks.

He howled again, this time louder than the last, so loud Thessara and Caelum shared a worried look.

He roared yet again just as the downpour began, almost like the goddess had to share in his suffering.

There was no way he could wrap his head around. He messed up. He caused this. He, who kept Carter at his side for so long, ignored and looked away from his whim. He, who kept the man who not only betrayed the pack but took the one thing he'd longed for for years.

Thorne broke down, slamming his fist against a tree relentlessly as the rain poured even harder.

Each strike landed harder than the last, damaging the wood hard, tearing the skin from his knuckles until blood streamed freely down his fists.

Still, he did not stop.

He took on another tree, another crushing blow. Branches shook overhead, leaves torn loose by the storm as thunder echoed in the sky. Rain drenched him completely, soaked his hair, ran down his bare shoulders, washed the blood from his skin only for more to replace it.

The pain in his hands was nothing. It was nothing compared to the pain clawing through his chest.

His daughter. The thought alone brought him to his knees.

Virelle.

He had not held her.

Had not seen her.

Had not heard her cry.

And now—A pained roar ripped from his throat. How had he let this happen?

Thorne staggered back, chest heaving, breath ragged, rain pouring over his face like the heavens themselves mourned with him.

Hours passed, perhaps it was days, Thorne couldn't know… didn't.

The rain had lessened, and the storm had weakened. Thorne sat in the midst of fallen trees and broken branches. It was a mess around him.

He stared into the void, unblinking.

Behind him, footsteps approached cautiously.

"My king," Caelum's voice was rough, strained from pain. He should be standing, but after hearing what's happened, he couldn't lay in bed for a second longer. He had to take charge if the king and queen were indisposed.

Thorne said nothing.

The beta stopped several feet behind him, his broken arm bound tightly against his chest, his face pale beneath the bruises and wounds.

"You cannot keep destroying yourself like this," Caelum said quietly. "We are losing precious time."

Caelum was met with nothing but silence… he swallowed hard, pushing forward.

"If we are to stop Carter… then we must act now. Your pup must be avenged before—"

"Enough."

The word came low and deadly, and Caelum froze.

Slowly, Thorne turned around. Rainwater dripped from his face, tracing down the sharp lines of his jaw. His expression had changed.

The grief was still there, but now it had hardened into something colder. Something far more dangerous.

"My pup," Thorne said, voice quiet and absolute, "is alive."

Caelum stared at him. For a moment, he thought he had misheard.

"My king…?"

Thorne stepped closer, and that was when Caelum saw it.

His eyes. They weren't their usual black but instead had changed, had shifted into something else.

His eyes were a mixture of red and gold. Caelum's breath caught sharply in his throat.

For one horrifying second, an old fear gripped him.

Black magic… Has the king ventured into black magic again?

But no— it wasn't possible. Not after everything they've endured.

Caelum looked closer. This was not madness. Nor was his soul corrupted.

This was something else entirely. Something he was only privileged to see during a full blood moon. Where Thorne's Lycan and Wolf mixed as one. Where the curse set on him by the gods came true… except this time, there was no curse, there was no full blood moon.

Caelum staggered back slightly. Thorne's Lycan and Wolf were both awake and mixed as one.

"Y-your majesty—" he stammered but was cut off.

"The blood on those clothes was not hers."

Caelum blinked, his ears ringing at the words. "What?"

Thorne's jaw tightened. "I know my blood. I know my child." His voice sharpened with certainty. "Carter lies."

Hope surged violently into Caelum's chest. If there was one thing he'd do is believe Thorne no matter what and if he said the pup was alive. The pup is alive.

"She lives…" he whispered.

Thorne faced Caelum fully, his face stoic like iron. "Gather every warrior." He began, his voice seemed to echo.

Caelum straightened instantly.

"Every hunter. Every soldier still able to fight." The wind stirred around them.

"We hunt Carter down."

Thorne's eyes darkened, red flickering beneath them.

"We bring back my daughter… And I'll end this once and for all. Carter dies by my hands."