The curse hit like a thunderclap, invisible chains latching to both Alucard and you in an instant.

Alucard staggered slightly, catching himself on a nearby wall as a sharp ache stabbed through his side—a wound that wasn’t his. His golden eyes flicked toward you, wide with alarm, as you pressed a trembling hand to your side, mirroring the pain. He didn’t need to speak; the connection buzzed between you like an unspoken language. Pain, raw and vivid, was now shared—your suffering became his, and his, yours.

“This is… unnatural,” Alucard muttered, his voice low, strained. The vampire’s usual composure was cracking as he tried to make sense of the torrent of emotions flooding into him—your fear, anger, and confusion mixing with his own. He didn’t just sense it. He felt it, as though your soul was pressing against his, laying bare the parts of yourself you’d carefully kept hidden.

“Is it just pain?” you asked through gritted teeth. Before he could answer, a memory—not his own—flashed behind his eyes. A small child running through a sunlit field. Your memory. Alucard drew in a breath.

Before either of you could process what was happening, Trevor burst into the room, his sword already drawn. His gaze flicked between the two of you, immediately narrowing in suspicion at how close you stood—closer than usual, as if the curse physically pulled you together.

“What the hell is going on?” Trevor demanded, his voice laced with jealousy.

Alucard straightened, his face hardening. “It’s a curse. We’re… bound, somehow.”

Trevor’s jaw tightened. “Bound? That’s convenient,” he said bitterly, eyes darting to you. “Didn’t think you needed anyone’s protection but mine.”

Alucard’s patience frayed, and he shot Trevor a glare. “This isn’t about you.”

The curse was invasive, intimate, and inescapable. You were now tied to him in ways neither of you had ever intended. Vulnerabilities would be revealed, trust tested, and boundaries broken. Whether this bond would make or break the tenuous threads between you all remained to be seen.