The howl came again.
Closer this time.
Ava’s body reacted instantly—her senses sharpening, her pulse quickening as something primal stirred beneath her skin.
She felt it before she understood it.
Danger.
Not imagined.
Not distant.
Real.
Kael’s hand closed around hers without hesitation, his grip firm, grounding. “Stay with me.”
“I wasn’t planning to wander off,” Ava muttered, though her voice came out tighter than she intended.
The forest felt different now.
Alive.
Watching.
Waiting.
Another sound—movement through the trees.
Fast.
Too fast.
Kael’s posture shifted beside her, every inch of him turning lethal in an instant. “Behind me.”
Ava didn’t argue this time.
She stepped back—but not far.
Not far enough to feel useless.
A shadow broke through the trees.
Then another.
Two figures.
Wolves.
No—
Not just wolves.
Men.
Their eyes gleamed unnaturally in the dim light, bodies tense, movements predatory as they circled slowly. Ava’s breath caught as recognition hit.
Rogues.
The same kind as before.
But these didn’t look curious.
They looked hungry.
“Well,” one of them drawled, his gaze locking onto Ava with unsettling interest, “looks like we found what he was talking about.”
Ava’s stomach tightened.
Kael stepped forward slightly, placing himself fully between her and them.
“You’re in my territory,” he said, his voice low, dangerous.
“And?” the second rogue smirked. “Territory doesn’t mean much when something like that shows up.”
Ava felt it again.
That wordless tension.
That focus.
On her.
Like she wasn’t just a person—but something… valuable.
Something worth taking.
Kael’s fingers twitched slightly at his side. “Leave.”
The rogues didn’t move.
One of them tilted his head, inhaling slowly, like he was savoring her scent.
Ava’s skin crawled.
“She smells different,” he murmured. “Not just human.”
Kael’s control snapped just a fraction.
Ava felt it.
The shift.
The air itself seemed to tighten as something darker surfaced beneath his calm exterior.
“I said,” Kael repeated, more sharply now, “leave.”
The first rogue smiled.
“Or what? You’ll kill us?” His gaze flicked past Kael, settling on Ava again. “You think you can guard her forever?”
Ava’s chest tightened—
But before fear could take over—
Something else surged up instead.
Heat.
Stronger than before.
Faster.
Her mark burned.
Ava gasped softly, her hand instinctively gripping her wrist as the sensation spread through her body, pulsing outward like a shockwave.
The rogues froze.
Their expressions shifted instantly.
Surprise.
Then—
Something closer to unease.
“What is that…?” one of them muttered.
Kael didn’t hesitate.
He moved.
Fast.
Faster than Ava could fully track.
One second he was beside her—
The next, he had one of the rogues pinned to the ground, his grip crushing, his presence overwhelming as a low, feral growl ripped from his chest.
The other rogue backed up immediately.
Smart.
“Not worth it,” he snapped, grabbing his companion’s arm. “Not with him—and whatever she is.”
Kael didn’t pursue.
He didn’t need to.
The message had already been delivered.
The rogues disappeared as quickly as they had come.
Silence returned to the forest.
But it didn’t feel calm.
Not even close.
Ava’s breathing was uneven, her body still humming with that strange, intense energy. The heat hadn’t faded.
If anything—
It had settled deeper.
Kael turned back to her slowly.
His eyes weren’t calm.
Not anymore.
They were darker.
More intense.
Focused entirely on her.
“You felt that,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
Ava swallowed, nodding slightly. “Yeah… that was new.”
He stepped closer.
The distance between them vanished again.
This time, there was no hesitation.
No restraint.
His hand slid to her waist, pulling her firmly against him, his gaze searching hers like he was trying to confirm something.
“Say it,” he said quietly.
Ava frowned slightly. “Say what?”
“That you’re mine.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
Ava’s breath caught.
“That’s… not exactly something I just casually say,” she replied, trying to keep her voice steady.
Kael’s grip tightened slightly—not enough to hurt, but enough to make a point.
“You reacted to me,” he said. “To the bond. To the threat.”
“That doesn’t mean I suddenly belong to you.”
“It does to them.”
“I’m not them.”
For a moment, neither of them moved.
The tension between them shifted again.
Not just heat.
Not just danger.
Something deeper.
Something that refused to be ignored.
Kael’s hand moved from her waist to her jaw again, tilting her face up.
“You don’t understand what you are yet,” he said, his voice lower now, rougher. “But they do.”
Ava’s pulse quickened. “And what exactly do they think I am?”
His gaze dropped briefly—to her lips—before returning to her eyes.
“Something worth fighting over.”
That shouldn’t have sent a shiver through her.
But it did.
Kael leaned in again—
Slower this time.
Giving her a chance to pull away.
She didn’t.
His lips met hers again, deeper, more demanding than before—but still controlled, still holding that edge of restraint that made it even more intense.
Ava responded without thinking, her hands gripping his shirt as the heat flared again, stronger now, more familiar—and more addictive.
Her body leaned into his instinctively.
Like it knew him.
Like it wanted this.
The world blurred at the edges again.
Just sensation.
Just connection.
Just—
Him.
When he pulled back, it wasn’t far.
His forehead rested lightly against hers, his breathing steady, controlled—unlike hers.
“This isn’t over,” he murmured.
Ava let out a soft, uneven breath. “I figured that much.”
His thumb brushed lightly against her cheek again.
“And neither is this.”
Ava didn’t respond right away.
Because the truth was—
She didn’t want it to be over.
And that realization?
Was far more dangerous than anything lurking in the forest.
