Run Little Wolf

Soul Bound

Ethan
The urge to rip my hair out or pace a trench into the fucking floor was becoming more than a fleeting temptation. People say that shit all the time, but this was the first time I truly understood the sentiment.

The Council's Edict wasn't just law; it was the iron will against which no tide could rise. And here I was, minutes ticking away, watching the sands of Lia's future slip through my fingers. I knew what the outcome would be. 

Pushing through the door, I entered the meeting room, which felt unseasonably stuffy right now. I tugged at the collar of my white button up hoping to alleviate this suffocating feeling, but it was no use. 

The moment Delta strode in, her face etched with lines of solemnity, I knew. The other woman had woken up, and confirmed what we'd suspected. Lia had been turned by one of the rogues and in turn killed the two male shifters. 

I settled into a chair, a futile attempt at appearing composed. My fingers drummed a restless beat on the table, a silent anthem of my fraying nerves, until Delta's sharp glance bid them to stop. I couldn't let on just how affected I'd become—if it came down to it, would I really be able to take on the council? The thought was madness. But letting Lia down... that wasn't an option. Not today.

As they arrived, each made their way into the room, seemingly sucking all the air out as they entered. Nyun, almost a millennium old, seemed to be withering right before our eyes. De La Fae was as spiteful as the day was long. And Aunya—she seemed untouched by time, thanks to whatever voodoo or blessed genetics she possessed.

I tried to lock down my expression, to keep the chaotic churn of my thoughts from bubbling to the surface. But damn Aunya and her smug, all-seeing smirk. She seemed to read me like an open book, each twitch and eye flick betraying the cards I held.

Nyun's voice, devoid of emotion yet laden with the finality of centuries, declared Lia's fate. "The made wolf will breathe her last at dawn. As law demands!" His words were a death knell, resounding through the chamber with merciless clarity.

Instinctively, the alpha in me rebelled. "That's bullshit!" I thundered, my voice echoing off the stone walls, a primal roar against their archaic judgment, as I stood, my chair scraping the ground as it pushed backwards. "How can you condemn her without hearing her out? All because some asshole decided to rip away her humanity— that's no reason to kill an innocent woman."

The council members shifted, their resolve a silent dance of finality and disdain. But it was Aunya's sudden, violent movement that snatched our collective breath. Her body jerked back, a marionette in the grip of unseen forces, her eyes rolling back to reveal the whites, stark against the dim light.

Delta, our pack's healer, was by her side in an instant, her presence a calming balm in the tumultuous chamber.

And then, just as suddenly, Aunya's eyes snapped open. Her gaze, ancient and knowing, swept over the room. "The goddess speaks," she declared, her voice echoing with a power that seemed to transcend the earthly realm. "This made wolf shall live. She has been gifted a soul— she shares a soul bond with a wolf."

Confusion and awe rippled through the Council. I stood firm, my heart pounding with a mix of relief and determination.

"What do you mean, 'a soul bond'?" The urgency in my voice mirrored the pounding of my heart.

Aunya's eyes met mine, and in them, I saw a reflection of the responsibility that lay on my shoulders. "A mate bond- one that must be forged before the winter solstice," she intoned. "Without it, her bloodlust will consume her. The only anchor strong enough to hold her to this world will be her true mate."

The Council chamber spun around me, the weight of this revelation pressing down. The mate's bond was just a myth. 
No one I knew was mated to a soul bond.  It wasn't even anything that was still believed in.  And I certainly didn't know how to find Lia's. 

Outside, twilight cast long shadows, mirroring the turmoil within me. Lia's image, fierce and haunted, flickered in my mind. The inexplicable pull I felt toward her, a force that defied logic, was it just wishful thinking?

The thought was a wild, untamed thing, racing through my mind. But I pushed it down. As the alpha, my duty was clear. I had to find her true mate, even if every fiber of my being screamed that maybe I wanted to be that person for her.