"Do you honestly think you have a choice right now, Selah?"
Kane’s voice was like a blade—cold, precise, and cutting right through my panic. He didn't just stand near me; he owned the air around me. He had me pinned against the damp concrete wall of the alley, one hand braced beside my head and the other gripping my chin just tight enough to keep me from looking away.
I tried to jerk my head back, but he didn't budge. His eyes weren't the warm, golden glow the public saw on the news. Up close, they were predatory. Calculating.
"Get your hands off me," I spat, though my voice cracked. I was shaking, and not just from the cold. My lungs felt like they were filled with glass. The parasitic bond we'd just triggered was humming under my skin, a frantic, invisible tether pulling me toward him.
"You're dying," Kane whispered, leaning in. I could smell his cologne—something expensive, clean, and utterly suffocating. "Your core is collapsing. In ten minutes, you'll be a very expensive pile of ash in a designer jacket. But me? I'm overflowing with energy. You need me to breathe. You need me to stay alive. Admit it."
"I'd rather rot," I hissed.
He chuckled, a low sound that vibrated in his chest, almost touching mine. The proximity was dizzying. I could feel the heat radiating off him, a stark contrast to the freezing rain starting to mist around us.
"Liar. Your body is screaming for me," he said. He shifted his weight, pressing his chest flush against mine. The friction of his tactical suit against my torn clothes sent a jolt through me that had nothing to do with the bond. "Look at you. You're trembling. Is it fear, or are you just that desperate for a taste of my power?"
I slammed my knee up toward his groin. He didn't even flinch. He caught my leg with a casual efficiency that made me want to scream, pinning me even harder against the wall.
"Still fighting," he murmured, his lips inches from my ear. "I like that. It makes the breaking part so much more satisfying."
"Break me then," I gasped, my breath hitching. "Just do it and get it over with."
"And miss the chance to see the great Selah, the terror of the Core Bureau, reduced to a pet?" He pulled back just enough to look me in the eye. "No. I think we can find a much more interesting arrangement. You want revenge on Vivian, right? You want to know who sold you out?"
I froze. The mention of Vivian’s name made my blood boil and my heart hammer against my ribs. "How do you know about that?"
"I know everything about you, Selah. Your habits, your kill count, your favorite brand of espresso. I've spent three years studying you from across the battlefield." He let go of my chin, but he didn't move away. He stayed in my space, his presence a heavy, suffocating weight. "The Bureau thinks you're a traitor. The world hates you. But I? I can give you a ghost's life. Protection. Resources. A way back into the inner circle."
"And what's the catch, Golden Boy?" I sneered, trying to regain some shred of dignity while pinned like a butterfly to a board. "You don't do anything for free. Not even 'mercy'."
"The catch is the bond," he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous silkiness. He reached down, his fingers grazing the skin of my wrist where the contract mark was glowing a violent purple. The touch was electric. I flinched, a sharp intake of breath escaping me. "Six feet. That's the limit. If you wander further than six feet from me, the bond will rip the remaining energy out of your chest to compensate for the distance. You'll drop dead in seconds."
I stared at him, horrified. "You're joking. You've got to be joking."
"I don't joke about physics, Selah." He stepped back a single inch, and I felt a sudden, agonizing tug in my sternum, like a hook had been embedded in my heart and yanked. I gasped, clutching my chest, my knees buckling.
He caught me before I hit the ground, his arm sliding around my waist with a grip like iron. He hauled me back against him, and the pain vanished instantly, replaced by a rush of warmth that felt sickeningly good.
"See?" he whispered, his breath hot against my neck. "You're tied to me now. Physically, energetically, legally. You don't exist without my permission."