Page 1 of Bonded to the Fallen Shadow King

ChapterOne

Briar

Idropped the maroon glass mixing bowl onto the beige tile floor with acrash.

Blinding-hot pain engulfed my left hand, and I turned toward the kitchen sink. My feet and legs stung from where small shards had cut into me, but that pain didn't hold a candle to the burning on top of my hand.

I gasped as the agony intensified, making it feel as if I’d thrust my hand into a fire of blue flames.

On the floor, red velvet cake batter splattered the tile, reminding me of blood.

My heart clenched. I'd seen too much blood already; I didn't need to see anything resembling it again anytime soon. At least the bowl had been nearly empty.

My older sister, Ember, yelped and shoved the cake pans into the oven behind me. She quickly closed the oven door and turned to me.

Are you okay?she asked, using our pack link.

I'll be fine,I reassured her as I turned on the cold water and put my hand underneath it. Even then, the pain didn't ease—in fact, it increased.

Are you two okay?Ryker, our pack alpha and my sister's fated mate, connected.Are you being attacked?There was athumpabove our heads from what must be him jumping out of the shower.

We’re fine.I hated that I’d caused panic. Both my sister and Ryker deserved a little bit of peace. That was why I’d offered to bake with her, after all.It’s just… My hand is killing me. It feels as if it’s on fire.

Ember was at my side in an instant, her copper-red hair falling forward as she bent to examine my hand under the running water. The harsh kitchen lights made her olive skin appear pale.

"Let me see." Her light-green eyes narrowed with concern as she gently took my wrist.

I winced as she turned my hand palm down. The water ran over my skin, but the burning sensation didn’t subside. I’d never experienced anything like it before.

"What the hell?" She gasped as her fingers hovered just above something forming on top of my hand.

Through the haze of pain, I followed her gaze. Black lines twisted on my skin, forming an intricate pattern. The design looked like some kind of butterfly.

The black butterfly pattern shifted before our eyes, its lines blurring and reforming. I inhaled sharply as the wings began to extend, stretching across my knuckles and down my wrist. The black ink transformed into a deep crimson that pulsed with its own light.

"Ember, it's moving." I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

The wings elongated, curling around my wrist. The edges transformed into licking flames that seemed to dance across my skin. What had started out normal now something impossible, a fire butterfly with flames that formed perfect wings extending from a normal body.

“Ryker!” Ember shouted aloud this time, her voice tight with fear. "Get down here!"

Heavy footsteps thundered down the stairs as I stared, transfixed, at my hand. The flames weren't just burning. They were becoming part of my skin.

Ryker burst through the kitchen doorway and stepped up to my sister, water dripping from dark brown hair that clung to his forehead. Beads of water ran down his bare, muscular chest to the waistband of his jeans. His gold-flecked brown eyes locked on my hand.

"What is that?" He leaned down to examine my skin more closely. His presence usually calmed me, but even his steady pack-alpha energy couldn't quell the panic rising in my chest.

“If we knew that, I wouldn’t have been frantically calling for you.” Ember rolled her eyes.

I almost laughed. I loved how snarky she could be. Still, now wasn’t the time to lose focus.

I…I don't know.I went back to using our pack link, afraid of how my voice would sound. With Ryker being my alpha, he’d know how much I was panicking. But I also knew he wouldn’t want my sister to freak out, which she often did when it came to me.It just appeared. One second I was cleaning up cake batter, and the next...I trailed off as another wave of fire radiated from the mark.

Ryker's fingers hovered over the design, not quite touching. "I've never seen anything like this."

"I would say it’s witchcraft, but there are no shadows over it.” Ember tilted her head as she studied the intricate, fiery lines crawling across my skin. Unlike most wolf shifters, due to our unique heritage, my sister could see the magic of witches’ spells.

Ryker shook his head, and water droplets from his hair hit my face. "Yeah, I wouldn’t think a witch could do that."

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