Page 32 of Bonded to the Star-Beast

“That's not...” he starts, but he can't finish. Because he knows it's true. He never truly saw me as an equal partner in this decision. He saw me as a problem to be managed.

“Did you really think I could be with someone who would do that?” I ask, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. “Someone who would so willingly trade my freedom for his own security? The man I thought I was getting to know would have understood. He would have found another way. But you... you chose tradition. You chose power. You chose possession.”

The fragile connection we had built, the trust that had started to bloom in the dark caves of the Sacred Mountain, is gone. Annihilated.

I look at his anguished face, and for a moment, I feel a pang of pity. But it is quickly consumed by the cold, hard certainty of my decision.

“I cannot be with you, Jaro,” I say, and each word is a stone dropping into the chasm between us. “I cannot be with a man who does not see me as his equal.”

I turn my back on him, on the chaos of the tribe, on the impossible, painful pull of the heart-bond. I walk towards the edge of the settlement, my head held high.

“I want to leave,” I announce to the guards who move to block my path. “I will not stay in a place where I am considered property.” I look past them, my gaze sweeping over the wild, dangerous expanse of the Xylosian wilderness. It is a world that has tried to kill me more than once. But out there, at least, I am free.

“I choose the forest,” I say, my voice ringing with a finality that allows for no argument. I am choosing my own brand of survival. One that does not require my submission.

I leave Jaro standing in the ruins of his claiming ceremony, a prince left to face the political storm alone, the bond between us a raw, open wound.

Chapter 16: ESCAPE

Iam a ghost. A phantom haunting the edges of a life that was never mine to begin with. The small pack on my back feels impossibly heavy, weighted not by the salvaged scientific equipment inside, but by the finality of this departure. Kyra presses a small, tightly wrapped bundle into my hands. It contains nutrient paste, a water filter, and a small coil of high-tensile wire. Survival basics. An apology.

“This is a mistake, Kendra,” she whispers, her amber eyes wide with a fear that is entirely for me. “The Borderlands are not safe for a human alone. Vex's faction... they will not see your departure as a victory. They will see it as an opportunity.”

“It's a bigger mistake to stay,” I reply, my voice a low, steady thing that doesn't betray the tremor in my hands. “A cage is a cage, Kyra, no matter how much protection it offers.”

“Jaro would not let them harm you.”

“Jaro would have let them bind me,” I counter, and the sharpness in my tone makes her flinch. I soften my voice, myanger not meant for her. She is the only one who has shown me kindness, a single point of light in this oppressive, patriarchal darkness. “He made his choice. This is mine.”

She nods, a gesture of defeat. “The bond... it will not tolerate this separation. The legends are clear. It will cause you both great pain.”

Pain is a known variable. Subjugation is an unacceptable outcome.I adjust the strap of my pack. “I'm a scientist, Kyra. I deal in observable phenomena. Pain is a neurological response. I can manage it.”

She looks at me with such profound sadness that it almost breaks through my carefully constructed wall of resolve. She sees the lie. She knows this bond is more than just synapses firing. The persistent, dull ache in my chest is a testament to that.

“Take this,” she says, pressing another object into my hand. It's a small, flat disc. A perimeter alarm from my own pod, reconfigured to work with a local energy source. “It will give you some warning, at least.”

“Thank you.” The words feel inadequate. She has risked the elders' disapproval, perhaps even her brother's anger, to give me this small chance.

I turn to go, but she catches my arm. “He did not want this, Kendra. He thought... he thought he was choosing the only path that would keep you alive and accepted.”

“There's a difference between being accepted and being assimilated,” I say softly. “He doesn't understand that. Maybe he never will.”

I walk away from her, away from the relative safety of Jaro's dwelling, and into the heart of the storm. The entire tribe of Vara-Ka seems to be watching my exodus. Their gazes are a physical force, a mixture of contempt, pity, and raw curiosity. I feel like a specimen under a microscope.Observe the foreignorganism rejecting the tribal ecosystem. Note its solitary, self-destructive behavior.

I see them, Jaro's supporters, their faces etched with concern. They see this as a failure of his leadership. And I see Vex's faction, their expressions alight with smug triumph. A group of his warriors stands near the main gate, their arms crossed, their gazes lingering on me with a predatory chill that has nothing to do with the heart-bond. They don't just see a political problem leaving; they see prey.

And then I see Jaro.

He stands alone, just inside the great, plant-woven gate, making no move to stop me. His face is an unreadable mask of stone, but I feel him. Our bond is a taut wire stretched between us, vibrating with his pain, his fury, his profound, gut-wrenching conflict. The mark on my chest burns, a phantom heat that mirrors the agony I see in his amber eyes. He is honoring my choice, and it is killing him. It is killing us both.

I hold his gaze for a long, silent moment, a final, unspoken battle of wills. Then I turn my back on him, on Vara-Ka, on the life of protected captivity they offered me, and walk into the wilderness.

The forest welcomes me with an indifferent silence. For the first few hours, I move on pure adrenaline, putting as much distance as possible between myself and the settlement. I don't look back. I can't.

I follow a stream, moving downstream, my boots sinking into the damp, mossy earth. The memory of my last solo trek through these woods is a constant, humbling companion. This time, I am more careful. I have better equipment. I have more knowledge.

I also have an aching void in my chest that feels like a vital organ has been scooped out.

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