Archive of Our Own ^beta

Many centuries ago, a small village lived in peace with one another. Everyone who lived in that village had a partner, except one. This one, a child in red, strolled to the local temple and prayed to the higher deities to have a destined partner. One God among the deities took pity on the girl in red, knowing the pain of loneliness. He reached down to the village, blessing each of them with a soul bound. A person who would be tethered to your very soul, never to be apart. The god reached down and kissed her forehead, a small star, and moon rested where the god kissed her.

The girl left the temple feeling ecstatic, eager to find her destined to be. What she hadn’t realized was what her prayer had done.  The god had made soul bound in the village, yes. But she was ripping lovers apart with her selfishness. As the girl ran through the town, she looked around her eagerly, seeing all sorts of marks on people, many already married couples matching. Other couples had different marks.  An agonizing cry catches her attention.

She rushes over to the market where it comes from. When she turned the corner, she saw one of her best friends on his knees, crying in his hands. His partner was walking away hand and hand with another person. She rushed and knelt beside him, asking him what happened. The boy in blue just shook his head, not understanding what happened either, looking at her with the same mark on his forehead.

The girl suddenly became enthusiastic, helping her friend up. She took his hands and explained what she did at the temple. And how the god heard her prayer and granted it. She then explained how they were meant to be together. She grinned proudly, thinking she finally had a partner.

The boy stunned for a moment, pulled away from her. With tears in his eyes, he scowled at her. He told her that they would never be together. He told her that his one true love had left him because of her. He turned away from her and stormed off. The girl was left shocked and heartbroken.

The deity watched the scene from up above. Feeling bad for the girl once again, and angry at the boy in blue who hurt her, he once again used his magic to influence the village. He decided to place a curse on those who rejected their soul bounds. Both marks blacked on the boy and girl. If one was to be alone, they both were. Everyone in the village suddenly feared the boy and girl.

The next night, both were chased out of the village.  The girl tried to apologize, desperate for her friend back, not even interested in a partner anymore. The boy ignored her as they ran deeper into the forest. The boy in blue was in the lead and not paying attention to where he was going. The forest quickly gave way to a cliff.

The boy caught up in his grief of losing his home, didn’t notice. The girl tried to warn him but was too late. The boy fell with a startled scream. The girl watched as the boy disappeared over the cliff. She fell to her knees as she felt her soul thread snap as the boy died. The girl gripped her chest as the pain overtook her and she soon died.

Having witnessed the event, the watcher who granted the girl’s prayer declared the tale of the girl and boy as a warning to all soul bounds. Accept your soul bound with open arms, but be wary, for a broken heart will snap a bound, causing nothing but pain for both.

As the centuries passed, the village grew, people changed, and the soul bounds spread. The people had changed into hybrids due to other deity hijinks, but the soul-bound marks stayed considerably consistent. The only difference was their soul mates shared the same hybrid.  Soon the village was a kingdom where citizens gained their soul marks at the age of fifteen along with their hybrid features. Soul mates soon figured out that they could be friends or lovers if they chose.

The kingdoms of the world agreed that only soul bounds of royalty could be married to them. Soon each kingdom invited kingdoms from all over the world to join in festivals, known as the Connection Festival, as many soul bonds are made through the festivals. Much of the time a royal is soul-bound to a royal, but on rare occasions there are exceptions. This is where we will begin with our main character.

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As a royal knight of the Zombie Kingdom, Scott stood alongside Princess Cleo, who was one of his best friends. Scott had known her since he was three years old. He grew up in the castle, starting as a servant boy. His father was a guard before he was killed in battle. His mother had passed during his birth so as repayment, the king personally took Scott under his wing and raised him. When he was old enough, he joined the knights. So, it was only natural that he would be her guard when he graduated from the guard academy.

Unlike most of the kingdom, Cleo was human, through and through. Scott, on the other hand, was a rare hybrid. A mix of a wolf and siren hybrid. His wolf features were more prominent than his siren part. He only had the voice of a siren. Both he and Cleo were still without meeting their soul bounds. Scott had accepted he may never know his bond and it was okay. Cleo had as well, but the king insisted that they continue to search for them.

Citizens have begun to resent the king due to his insistence. The king has begun to use tax money and lose focus on the good of his citizens. He was obsessed with finding Cleo’s soul bond. Scott had heard whispers of a rebellion. The tension in the air grew each year. Many suggested that Cleo should be brothel already due to her age. But the king wouldn’t have it.

Due to the king’s insistence, the Connection Festival was held even in turmoil.

Currently, they both were in the mists of the crowd, Cleo on her horse, wearing a dress while he stood beside her. He wore iron pants decorated with green and blue stripes. His chest plate was made from dark diamonds with the crest of the kingdom in the center, with diamond boots to match. An enchanted sword hung on his hip with an enchanted bow on his back. Ears perked for danger.

People around them were cheering as they won games, couples were smiling at each other, and new soul bonds were united. Scott couldn’t help but smile, even knowing the tension. He did love the cheer that it brought the new couples. He was harshly reminded of his soul mark that was hidden behind his bangs.

A pair of wolves howling at a moon was painted on his forehead.

Scott knew he couldn’t let his troubles distract him from his job. Glancing at Cleo, she looked bored as another far-off prince talked to her.  He snickered to himself as the human gave him a pleading expression. He gave her a little shrug then mouthed good luck. His ears twitched, and something caught his attention.

Glancing around, his eye caught a glimpse of a red cloak. A shiver went down his spine as his eyes snapped back to the spot in the crowd, but it was gone. His lips twitch as he increasingly gets a bad feeling, and his tail fur rises. The tension within him grew as people left the festival with a purpose. It wasn’t even midday yet. Cleo could immediately tell something was off once the prince left as well. He handed the reins to Cleo.

The wolf hybrid turned to her, “Go back to the castle, something isn’t right.”

Cleo laughed in relief. “So glad it wasn’t just me.” She suddenly went quiet. “Scott…”

Turning around, he immediately noticed that they were surrounded. A group of men and women block them in, some having weapons to maim, but not kill. A girl in a red cloak stepped up towards them, clearly the leader of the group, her face obscured by her hood. A blond male approached next to her and grinned with a rope in his hands. Scott put his hand on his sword and pressed against the horse. He rumbled a warning to the people.

The leader simply giggled and said simply. “Surrender, or we’ll have to use force. And I’m not afraid of spilling a guard’s blood if needed.” She lifts her head, red eyes locked on Scott's blue.

Cleo mumbled, “You’re the Scarlet Assassin, aren’t you?” The red-eyed girl giggled and grinned.

“We have a winner! My, they weren’t wrong about how smart you are.” She gave a mocking bow. “Sorry, Princess but the rebellion here quested my assistant in kidnapping you. Hope you don’t mind, puppy?” She said, smirking at Scott.

Snarling back, pulling out his sword, “Like heck you will, you’ll have to kill me first…” Scott glanced backward at the horse and then smirked, “Actually, have to catch her first.”

Cleo caught on to what Scott was planning and hung on as he smacked the horse's ass, causing the horse to whiny and book it forward. The horse leaped over the people blocking the path.

“Martyn, you start after her. I’ll join you in a moment.” Snapped the assassin. The golden-haired guy gave a firm nod before calling to the others and heading towards an alleyway. Soon it was just Scott and the girl. “Drop the sword and kneel.” She commanded magic in her voice.

The magic washed over Scott then dripped away as he barred his teeth at her cruelly. She seemed surprised when he didn’t follow her command. “I said, drop the sword and kneel!” She demanded more forcefully. The snarl on his face didn’t leave as he approached her with a sword in hand.

She threw down her hood and pulled out a sword of her own. Two wolf ears sat in her brunette hair as well. “How did you...” She asked as they started circling each other. Scott responds, “Singing doesn’t affect me, due to my heritage.”

She seemed stumped before catching sight of his mark. She gasped, straightening up, sword lowering. Scott took this chance to lunge at her. She managed to dodge but she sputtered, “Hang on now, let’s pause for a moment.”

Scott snarled, “Why would I do that? You just threatened to kill me a few minutes ago.” She removed her bangs, revealing an identical mark on her forehead to his. He stepped back in shock, but it made sense when she used a siren’s voice.  He glared at her, shaking his head.

“Look, I don’t have time for this,” He snapped. “Call me Scott, nice to meet you. But I must save Cleo.” He turns to leave.

He yelped as he was thrown off balance and someone grabbed onto his back. He tried to get her off him, but she hung on to his neck. “I can’t let you do that, Scott. And call me Pearl. We need her for the rebellion. Plus, you think I’m going to get away either?” She pulled him down as he struggled to breathe. “You’re going to come with me~!” She crazily laughed as he started to see black stars.

He ran backward and slammed into a wall as hard as he could. She gasps as she is crushed, loosening her grip on him. He managed to get a breath in and bit her arm. She yowled in pain, letting go fully. He threw her off him and shifted into his wolf form, ditching his armor for speed as he dashed into the alley after the others.

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The large snow-white wolf ran down streets and alleyways, paws pounding on the cobblestone as he followed the scent of Cleo. His ears perk at the distinct sound of shouting. Snarling, Scott put on more speed. His hackle raised as he jumped onto several create and over a fence of an alleyway. He landed in front of Cleo, who was backed against the fence with the rebels surrounding her, holding her emergency knife. Her horse was nowhere to be seen.

His appearance scared most of them away from her, as he paced in front of them. Cleo immediately ran to him and got onto his back. It was an emergency plan they had prepared if something like this were to ever happen. The blond second in command, Martyn, stood in front of them. Determination in his eyes.

“I don’t think you’ll be leaving so soon,” Martyn said causally as he approached.

“And why is that? You gonna stop us?” She challenged him with a sharp glare. The human male revealed his soul-bound mark. It was an exact copy of Cleo’s, a human with wings. Scott was fed up with discovering soulmates, so he leaped forward before any of them could say a thing.

He bounded onto another pile of creates then jumped to the rooftop. Cleo held on firmly to his fur as he looked down at the alleyway, noticing the appearance of a brownish-red wolf, knowing it to be Pearl instantly.

Cleo glared down at Martyn from her perch on the wolf’s back. “You had ages to tell me! And only now you come forward, as a rebel to the kingdom, no less.” She yelled at him. “You couldn’t have approached me like a normal person!?”

The guy had the nerve to look sheepish. “Hey! I only noticed it now because of the wind moving your hair, it wasn’t my fault.” He yelled up.

Cleo rolled her eyes, “Scott, let’s go.” He couldn’t agree more with her. He gave one last woof to Pearl before running across the roof towards the castles. Scott glanced backward, relaxing a bit once he confirmed no one was chancing them, and continued home.

Once at the castle, neither of them explained the whole story. Only saying that a riot broke out during the festival. Both were dismissed once the King had heard the story. Cleo went to her bedroom, requesting to be alone for a while, needing to process the fact that her soul bond is a rebel leader. Scott let her go, needing some time to himself as well.

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Two days have passed since the disaster of the Connection’s Festival. Cleo was called down to the throne room early that morning. Scott was told to wait in the barracks till he was called. Scott frowned, his ears drooping when the messenger told him that. Cleo looked confused as well, Scott usually goes everywhere with her. But Scott stayed as he was ordered.

Some time passed before two guards came in, asking him to take off his armor. He complied, feeling off as he did so. Once all the armor was off, he was escorted to the throne room. The king looked at him as he entered with a neutral expression. Cleo gave him a hard expression. Then the blue-haired wolf noticed the two in chains on the floor.

Martyn and Pearl were knelt on the floor in front of the king. Both soul marks are on display. He knelt directly in front of both royals.

“Scott,” The king asked, “Did you know about your soulmate?” The royal leaned towards him.

Scott answered honestly. “I discovered who my soul mate was two days ago. I didn’t have a chance to arrest her due to protecting Cleo. I didn’t tell you due to the stress caused by the event.” He bowed down, his ears down. “I’m sorry, my liege.”

Pearl scoffed behind him as the king leaned back in his seat. “Thank you for your honesty, Scott.” He smiled down at him as Cleo looked relieved. “You may stand, my loyal knight.”

Scott stood up and moved to the side as the king looked down on Martyn. “As for you two…” He hummed thoughtfully. “You, golden hair. You’ll be married to my daughter within three months, two of those months will be spent under house arrest and teaching you proper royal education.” The king continued, ignoring Cleo’s protests, gazing at Pearl.

“I won’t be as lenient with you as I was with my daughter’s soul mate. You have caused several murders across the continent. You would be dead where you stand if I didn’t feel my godson was my own. You’ll be sentenced to the dungeons for an undetermined amount of time. Now, take her away, take the boy to the royal guest room.” The king commanded.

The knights bowed to his majesty and dragged Pearl and Martyn away.

The King turned to Cleo. “Please wait out in the hallway, I need to talk to Scott for a moment.” She nodded.

“Yes, Father.” She left. The king turned to Scott as the door closed behind Cleo.

“Yes, sire?” He asked.

The king sighed. “I want you to go down to the dungeon and talk to her for an hour each day.” Scott's hackles raised as he snapped, “What!?”

With a calm gaze, the king continued, “She is your soulmate, Scott, whether you like it or not. I want you to have a connection with her just for your health.”

Scott glared, “She isn’t my soulmate. She will never be.” He gasped as he felt the magic vibrate through him as the string leading to his chest visibly snapped, his mark blackening out.

A cry reached both of their ears and came from the hallway where Pearl came from. The king looked at him worriedly. “Are you feeling, okay?” The king inquired. Scott nodded.

“Fine. May I go?” He practically snapped at him. The king looked over his odd behavior before nodding.

Scott joined Cleo and stood beside her silently.

As the day dragged on, Scott felt himself changing. Getting more aggressive, barring his teeth more and growling. He knew this had to do with something with losing his soul bond. He had heard legends of people losing it when they denounce their partners. It was dinner time when he truly lost it.

It started as a normal dinner. He, Cleo, and the king in the dining room are all eating together. He was struggling to concentrate as this blood lust tried to overcome him. His hand twitched for his sword as he gazed into his soup. It was quiet for a while before a servant came out of the kitchen with a pitcher of water and tripped. The water spilled all over and soaked the wolf hybrid.

The last thing Scott remembered was red and Cleo’s startled yell.

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When Scott came to, someone was playing with his hair and his body ached, especially his back. He groaned as something shifted under him, a warm presence. He nearly fell back into the warmth. Forcing his eyes partly open, he was met with cold floors and the damp walls of a cell. The warmth under him shifted slightly. He jolted up and hissed, a headache flared up suddenly.

He looked down on whose lap he rested on and was surprised to find Pearl gazing up at him. She gave him a lazy grin. “Hey, sleeping beauty. Rest well?” She giggled.

“What happened?” He grumbled, feeling the need to touch her. Reluctantly pressing himself to her side, he relaxed immediately. Pearl gave him a surprised look and then said, “You fell into soul-broken madness and nearly stabbed a servant before you were detained and shoved in here till you regained your senses.”

“And how long was that?” he asked, looking at his clothes, noting that they were not the same as before. Guilt swelled in his heart. Pearl looked slightly guilty as she fidgeted. “Nearly a year. You were in a feral state unless you were near me. You missed a lot…”

Scott was stunned. A year? He missed a year due to soulmate madness. Are Cleo and Martyn married? Did he miss the wedding? Who protected Cleo while he was out of commission? Swallowing, “How… How…am I cured?” he asked softly.

Pearl touched her forehead to his own. “I reinstated our soul bound. It was the only way for you to get back.” He relaxed as the pulse of the soul magic shot through him. The headache soothed as well.

He gazed into Pearl’s eyes. “I’m sorry for being so careless with my words. I was upset when I broke our bond.” He informed her, “But I am gay so we can just be friends if you still want that?” He gave a sheepish smile.

Pearl smiled back. “I think I can handle that.” Scott smiled back, grateful for a second chance.