To every Tethered Soul out there . . .
Thank you for being here every step of the way, and I hope you find the person you are connected to forever. We're all Tethered Ones until we find our partner. I have found mine in my Tethered Fans. I love you guys.

∞ The Tethered Ones ∞

Chapter 1

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• Luna •

Back in the day, Luna had her whole life planned out. It involved graduating from high school and later at a prestigious university, then one day getting married and having children. Once she tied the knot, she wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower and blast "We're Going To The Chapel Of Love" as loud as she could and hold her husband's hand as they reminisced the moment they both said, "I do."

But sometimes plans don't always go the way everyone hoped they would. Sometimes people derailed someone's plans for their gain.

Sometimes those people were like Chase Marquette — the man who took everything away from her.

Amir Khan — her wonderful husband — never had a chance to do that. And everything about their life together felt like it was now ending. It felt like someone stabbed her chest repeatedly and never withdrew the blade.

In simple terms: Chase Marquette was a dead man.

Now that she had him right where she wanted him, with her fingers wrapped around his neck, she was ready to destroy everything that made him who he was. He deserved the worse kind of punishment known to man. He took Amir's life away from him, and that was not okay. Not at all.

The muscles in her body tensed quickly at the thought of what she could do to him. Her heart ached as she glared directly at him lying under her, defenseless. She had power over him, unsure how she became so strong.

A dim light flickered from the window, casting a long shadow of their silhouette along the wall. Chase's presence was like an avalanche crashing down upon her, burying her body into the ground. And she knew she'd probably wish she were dead, because with him being in the same space as her meant he wanted to hurt her. Panic ruffled down into the pit of her stomach, squeezing her insides to death. Her breath caught deep in her throat, and nothing could come out of her mouth. She had a million things to say and ask, but he wasn't worth the breath he breathed.

He's not doing anything, Luna thought, wondering why Chase wasn't fighting back.

All kinds of crazy stuff flooded through her mind as she was looking at him — torture, mind-altering techniques, electro-shock therapy, more sleeping chambers. The possibilities were all there, and that vile of a human being was unpredictable. She knew she should jump up and step away before she ended up killing him, and nothing was scarier than that, which caused her heart to pound rapidly at the realization.

She was finally able to give him a taste of his own medicine, and she couldn't stop, even if she wanted to.

Drawing in several deep breaths, Luna hopped up and brought her hands out in front of her, cautioning Chase to stay back with her stare. He softly chuckled and smiled, like she was no match for him. She realized the only way she'll get any real answers was to do what she was used to. Cooperate.

"Wow, Moon. You're . . . you're stronger than I remember."

Luna's heart turned over heavily at the sound of his voice uttering her nickname. He knew that would ruffle her feathers, calling her something that was only allotted by her husband, but he didn't care.

Chase Marquette never cared.

From the corner of her eye, the others that were watching their battle quietly shuffled into Dr. Kim's office and closed the door behind them, allowing them two to be alone.

Letting out a deep chuckle, he brought his gaze down to the floor and then back at her. She stood still, infuriated, feeling tiny sparks hitting inside her chest. "How did you . . . ?"

"How did we capture you, Luna?" His voice was dark and grave. "You thought you could be on the run forever? You thought I would stay away and let you go? You thought you could continue with your life the way you planned to? Love, you must know already. You will never be free from me. Neither you nor your partner. I've got you both right where I want you. Soon, we will be heading to another institute, away from Louisiana. There are some fascinating . . . tests . . . we have yet to explore."

She lifted her chin and her head swam for a moment, wishing this was all a bad dream, but she knew in her heart it wasn't. This was real, and it was happening. Both she and Amir were about to become their guinea pigs, yet again.

Chase stepped an inch away from Luna, legs wide and arms crossed over his chest. She focused on the dirty hanky in his shirt pocket before bringing her eyes back to his.

He then smiled like he was about to head to a job interview. Even the cuts she had inflicted on him weren't visible anymore. In the past, she never realized how practiced his smile was or how fake it truly was. She did now.

She struggled to get her next words out. "What did you do to my husband?"

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Chase spun lightly to the right and curled his lip, with a disgusted look. "Did you think I'd let him keep his memory of you? Separating a pair of Pure Souls has been my biggest breakthrough. Or should I say . . . Amir's biggest breakthrough."

"What?" Luna's heart pounded. "Amir would never take part in that."

He tipped his head back and laughed, then he glanced at the door next to Dr. Kim's office. "How do you think we have a serum like that in our possession? Come on, Lu. Think. You aren't dumb. Although you are a bit naïve. I should know. Five and a half years with you was quite . . . eventful."

"Go to hell," she snarled.

"I think I touched a nerve."

"That's the only thing you'll be touching."

He scoffed. "I see you've finally grown balls and fought back."

"I had to. For my family. For my husband."

"Well, Lu, Amir won't be your spouse for long. He has no recollection of ever marrying you, so he'll have no problem signing the divorce papers once we file them for him."

Luna eyed his actions, willing her tears to not spill out of her eyelids. She didn't want to show Chase any mercy. He was trying to get to her the best way he knew how. Her heart.

"You're wrong. Our connection is strong. In fact, we are stronger together. He will remember us, and our abilities."

"Your abilities will be nothing once I'm through with you," Chase replied. "I'll just wipe your memories again and then inject you with a new serum I made especially for you. It will definitely separate you from him. I'll do the same with Sarah and Liberty, so they won't remember him. With your life on the line, your sister will do what is necessary to keep you alive."

"You are the most horrible person in the world." Luna backed away, her back hitting the wall. "I despise you."

"You think you'll still feel that way after I alter your memories?" He tsked softly and brought his hand up to his scruffy chin, chuckling. "All those memories you've shared with Amir will be gone, and you'll never retrieve them again. Neither will he."

Anger rose so swiftly that she could barely choke out her next question. "Why do you keep doing this to me? You're nothing but a waste of human space!"

His hand shot out so quickly she couldn't stop the slap on her left cheek. Pain exploded alongside her face, and her vision blurred. Eyes watering, she gasped and glared at him, tasting the metallic twang pooling in her mouth.

Chase grabbed a handful of her hair and forced her eyes to meet his. "Don't you ever call me those things. Do you understand me, bitch? Because if not, you're going to be a problem for me, and I can just take care of you right now. You are worthless, but at least I had fun in bed with you all those years. That was the only thing you were ever good at." He let go and took a step back, bringing out his filthy hanky from his pocket, then began wiping his sweat-filled face. "See, that's the problem I've always had with you. You never know when to shut up. And when you need to speak, you don't. You're more pathetic than I am, and I can't wait until I have my way with you again. Let the good times roll."

Luna pressed her palm against her sore jaw and felt the electricity crackling through her fingers. She could feel a power boiling deep within her veins, and she was two seconds away from shocking his body, stopping his heart from beating. And she would do that now, but something crossed her mind. Does he have her family? Are they okay? Did he hurt anyone she knows? There were so many questions and not enough time to get the answers she needed. She just wanted Amir's memories to come back so they could take care of Chase. Beat him at his own game.

"I'm pretty sure my words don't hurt you that much, Asshole." She scoffed. "I'm sure you get off on it."

"You don't understand me at all, Luna. You may think I'm horrible, and maybe I have been, but one thing you need to understand, is that you are mine. No matter what you do in your life, you are mine." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial with clear-looking liquid in it, and her stomach dropped. "Don't worry. This won't hurt you. This did hurt Amir, though. He was suffocating before he took his last breath, and then we revived him. He was our first patient for this trial."

The fury propelled by his words raged through her. "You bastard! You killed him?"

"And?" His eyebrows rose as he twirled the serum with his fingers. "He was in the way. I had to separate you two somehow. You and I can be a family again. I don't mind raising his children with you when we get you pregnant by him, that is."

Luna felt sick to her stomach. "So that's your plan? To have a pair of Pure Souls have a child and then do what? Experiment with them? On an innocent baby?"

Chase stayed quiet, giving her a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

After feeling all the hatred inside her flow into the depths of her soul, she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't stand there any longer and take his crap. Feeling her muscles lock, her brain clicked off, and she whirled around behind him and shot her hand out, flinging his useless body to the wall.

Somehow she felt a different power floating deep within her, something she never realized she possessed. Telekinesis.

Heaving up and down in her chest, Luna asked, "Tell me. What do you have planned to do to us?"

Chase's eyes went from blue to dark in a heartbeat. "You'll see. Your powers are just now . . . expanding."

He smiled jovially as his body stayed pinned, his life force draining little by little while she felt the power she has sucking the life out of him. But she had to loosen up, so she can find out everything she needed to know.

"I think I'm enjoying this dark side of you, Mrs. Khan. You didn't know you can move things with your mind and become a dark phoenix, did you?"

"Just answer the damn question."

"Were you planning to do something with me?" Chase stared down at her and laughed. "What were you hoping to do? Just toss me aside like I was a toy? Did you think I wouldn't know about your other powers? Do you think I'm that oblivious?"

Her mind was racing so fast that she couldn't keep up with her thoughts. She somehow harbored telekinesis, and damn, did it feel electrifying.

Chase tsked softly. "Let's just say you kill me. Where would that get you, my dear Luna? Nowhere. You wouldn't know anything about where your family is, nor would you know where Sarah is." No. No. No. This can't be happening. He grinned, meeting her gaze. "You are finally powerless against me. I have the information you seek and getting it out of me requires . . . compromise."

He chuckled and then continued.

"But that's not something you are used to, is it? Your family will stay where I want them to. The information you seek will be long gone, just like Elizabeth when I took her life."

What?

That was it. Luna could feel the tiny sparks tingling in every cell of her body. Did he really kill her mother? Or was he just teasing her to get back at her? Her muscles tensed, and then she noticed Dr. Kim and all the others rushing in from the office door, eyebrows raised.

She turned her gaze back to Chase as he held the vial in his hand. Whatever was in that serum wasn't good, and she was sure it would probably kill whoever injects it. She didn't know if it was the same stuff he gave Amir, but she was frightened, and she wasn't going to take that chance.

"Luna?" That was Dr. Kim. "How are you doing that?"

"He's drawing it out of me," she said, glaring deeply at Chase, ready to choke the life out of that parasite. "I want him gone!"

"You need to loosen your hold on him. Trust me, Luna," Alisha Bankole said, trying to calm her down. She probably thought that Luna's true nature would slow her down before ripping Chase into shreds. "You need to let go before it's too late."

"He killed Amir and brought him back to life to separate us. He killed my mother, and he has my family."

"No, he doesn't, Luna," Dr. Kim told her, holding his hands out. Chase just smiled at them, as if someone flashed him during a Mardi Gras parade. "No one is here but you and Amir. He didn't hurt your mother."

"But that can't be. Chase told me he did something to her. I could tell he was being serious."

"Chase was toying with you," the doctor said, stepping closer. "You'll lose yourself if you don't let him go. You'll lose the good parts of you."

Luna gazed at Dr. Kim, then at Ms. Bankole, and back at Chase. "That's where you're wrong. Chase is venom, and he needs to be stopped."

The next thing she knew, she threw Chase's body with all the power of her hand and tossed him on the other wall, crackling the wood behind him. Suddenly, his legs folded out from under him like an accordion . . . and his eyes closed, slowly.

Dr. Kim rushed over and placed his fingers on Chase's neck, checking for a pulse.

Alisha ran over to Luna and held her shoulders down with her hands as she continued to fry Chase's insides and burn him alive.

Then, Dr. Kim turned his gaze toward the ladies and looked down at Luna, shaking his head. He nodded at Alisha, and she pulled out a syringe, quickly injecting it into Luna's arm.

Before slipping away into oblivion, Luna heard them speaking incoherently.

"Is Chase breathing?" Alisha asked. "Is he dead?"

"Mr. Marquette still has a heartbeat," Dr. Kim answered. "But Luna has harnessed her darkness. This was her test, and she passed. That's why no one intervened. The Tethered Ones will be coming for her soon, and we must prepare. She'll be our ultimate weapon."

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What's up, Tethered Souls? Did you have fun with this new story arc and first chapter of The Tethered Ones? Chase isn't letting go, is he? Let's work together and hunt him down, shall we? Things are going to get darker as the story continues. Hold on tight. Have tissue, a bottle of water, and a pillow on standby. You'll need something to hit. And don't be like our villains and hurt someone. Pillows don't do anything to anyone. Thank you for reading,
Tethered Ones. 💫