The Mating Run by Leeka

Bond

I never thought it would come to this, you know?

Zeke and me, sharing this strange bond that’s closer than anything I’ve ever known. It’s like trying to understand the language of the stars, the way they twinkle in the vast night sky. Sometimes I wonder if the stars know why they shine together, or if it’s just some cosmic accident.

That’s how I feel about Zeke and me, like some accident that even the universe can’t explain.

1. me.

Back in the beginning, during those raw days of the Mating Run, he tried to kill

I can still feel the fear clawing at my throat, the desperation to survive. It was like a dance of death, with each step bringing us closer to the edge. Zeke and I, circling each other in a deadly tango.

I stabbed him, and he stabbed me, and in the midst of that chaos, I saw something in his eyes. It wasn’t just the hunger for survival; there was something deeper, a flicker of vulnerability that mirrored my own.

It’s crazy, isn’t it?

How life weaves these intricate threads that connect us in ways we can’t fathom.

After the blood and the chaos, when the Mating Run had taken its toll on us, Zeke got sick. Sick to the point where his strength faltered, and he stumbled, hitting his head on a jagged rock. I remember the moment vividly, the dull thud of his skull against the unforgiving stone. It was like the world paused for a breath, and in that breath, everything changed.

I could have left him there, bleeding and broken, but I didn’t.

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Bond

Instead, I found myself nursing him back to health. It was surreal, like tending to a wounded enemy, yet something deeper than instinct propelled me forward. I watched over him as he slept, his breaths shallow and fragile. It was in those quiet moments that I began to see Zeke not just as a threat, but as a person with vulnerabilities, with scars that ran deeper than the physical ones.

Why did I do it? Why did I become his caretaker when every fiber of my being screamed to run, to leave him behind? Maybe it was the realization that in this harsh world, we are bound by something more profound than the scars on our bodies.

Maybe, deep down, I saw a reflection of my own fragility in him. We were two messed up souls trying to survive, and somehow, we found comfort in each other’s

presence.

I remember the first time I looked at him with something akin to understanding in my eyes, a silent acknowledgment of the debt he could never repay me. It was in that moment that I realized he had become something more to me than just a

Hunter.

I became the unexpected lifeline in his chaotic existence, and he became mine.

It’s strange, how the person you least expect becomes your anchor in a storm.

Pain sears through my neck as Victor’s sharp claws press closer, a cold reminder of his merciless grip. I whimper involuntarily, my hands instinctively reaching up to try and loosen his hold. The air feels dense, suffocating, and I’m acutely aware of Zeke’s glare, a fierce snarl building in his throat.

Zeke, usually a force to be reckoned with, looks on with a mixture of anger and concern. His powerful frame tenses, muscles coiling beneath his skin as he assesses the situation.

Victor finds amusement in the dire straits I’m caught in.

“Well, well, Alina. Looks like your mighty protector isn’t as invincible as you

thought.”

Victor taunts, the malice in his voice cutting through the silence of the

III

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confrontation.

shoot a desperate look at Zeke, my silent plea urging him to intervene. His eyes, usually filled with steely resolve, betray a flicker of worry. The snarl, a potent display of

that this brute would keep you safe, Alina? How

1 amusing.”

enough to elicit another whimper. The pain is a constant reminder

him as he

vulnerability he’s uncovered. “Zeke, my formidable rival, brought to

brewing in the depths

twisted amusement seems to chip

growls, low and

“Let her go.”

chaos he’s sown. He tightens his grip on my neck, a cruel smile playing

think

gasp, the lack of air becoming a painful reality. Zeke’s eyes blaze with a fiery determination, torn between the primal instinct to

just figured out that Victor is really enjoying how vulnerable I am and Zeke’s crack in his tough

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Bond

-J

patience wearing thin,

go, Victor. This won’t

fury on me? It seems you’re already losing

the loyalty that binds him to me and the rage that Victor’s taunts ignite. I want to scream at him, to

stupid. All this might, and yet you can’t

a

promise that he won’t let Victor’s mockery go unanswered. But the situation remains on the edge, a volatile equilibrium that threatens to tip into chaos.

Zeke. Show us all how powerful you are. Or are you afraid

claws puncture my skin. A gasp escapes my lips, but I’m paralyzed, unable to move away from the agony. Blood

as the two titans face off. Zeke, usually a force of strength, looks helpless against Victor’s sadistic

“Why did you even try to be the pack’s Alpha, Zeke?” he taunts, the malice in his voice cutting through the air. Zeke’s eyes blaze with a

try, my father won’t give you the position meant for me. An Alpha shouldn’t be so weak!” Victor jeers, his laughter intensifying. Zeke’s fists clench, but Victor’s words linger like a poisonous sting.

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Bond

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Victor, reveling in the chaos he’s sown, grips my neck again. The world starts to

just like hers,” Victor sneers, his grip on my neck tightening. The pain is unbearable, and I feel my strength

grows more ferocious, a primal declaration of defiance. “Let her go, Victor. This is

the tension in

father chose me, Zeke. He always will. Accept your place,” he taunts, the cruelty in his words cutting through

Alpha should

declares, his fingers digging into my neck.

consciousness, the pain and darkness

attempts only make you weaker in my father’s eyes!” he goads,

turns into a desperate roar, a last attempt

Victor’s taunts.

Victor! This ends now!”