Chapter 9 · Bride

"Don't move."

Rafe's hand slammed against the vault door beside my head before I could reach for the ledger. His eyes flashed black, swallowing the gold I'd seen before.

My fingers stayed on the open page.

Nia Vale. Rafe Calder. Paired 03/19/2016.

The date Jonah died.

"Rafe?"

"Don't." His voice dragged low, rough enough to scrape. "Take your hand off the page. Slowly."

I pulled back. The metal shelf dug into my palm.

Rafe stood five feet away, shoulders locked beneath his jacket. His hands shook at his sides. Not nerves. Every muscle in him looked ready to break through bone.

"What the hell is happening?"

"The eclipse started the pact." He glanced at the ledger. "And you just triggered it."

"I didn't sign anything."

"Jonah did. He signed as your legal proxy." Rafe's jaw flexed. "Eight years ago."

The date blurred for half a second. Jonah had written my name beside Rafe's, then walked into traffic and left me with nothing but a funeral and questions.

"What pact?"

Rafe took one step toward me, then stopped so hard his boot scraped the floor. His breath broke between his teeth.

"The Calder bloodline has one bonded partner at a time.