Chapter 3: Temptation in the Shadows

The next morning, I woke tangled in sheets that still smelled like him.

Except they didn’t, not really. That was the problem.

There was no trace of Kael in my room, no lingering touch, no actual scent of pine smoke or iron or him. But my body remembered. My lips still throbbed where he kissed me. My thighs still clenched when I thought of his voice in my ear.

I paced the length of my room three times before throwing open the window and breathing in the crisp morning air. It didn’t help. My wolf was prowling beneath my skin, restless, frustrated. She wanted to hunt—but not for prey.

She wanted him.

No.

I dragged a hand through my tangled hair, trying to focus. Today was supposed to be about celebration. The post-Gathering blessing. The elders would expect me to stand with the other newly marked wolves and accept the seer’s grace. I had a role to play.

And Kael?

Kael wasn’t part of that plan. Not yet. Not if I could help it.

The village was quieter today, the aftermath of ritual and revelry leaving everyone slightly subdued. I moved through it like I wasn’t fully inside my own body, nodding at familiar faces, offering the required smiles, all while pretending my soul wasn’t on fire.

He hadn’t shown himself all morning.

Fine.

Better that way.

But when the wind shifted mid-morning, my whole body tensed.

I didn’t see him—but I felt him. That weight of presence, that low, magnetic hum that pulled at my core.

I turned slowly.

He stood on the edge of the sacred grove, arms folded, gaze already fixed on me. Golden eyes, sun-warmed hair, and a smile that wasn’t a smile at all—more a silent demand.

My breath caught.

He didn’t speak. He just watched.

And I hated how my skin prickled, how my nipples tightened beneath my blouse. I’d barely slept. I was exhausted, edgy, and strung out on a connection that I never asked for.

I turned on my heel and marched into the elder circle like nothing was wrong.

But I felt his eyes on me the entire time.

The blessing was short, full of incense smoke and ancient chants. The seer touched each of our foreheads with silver ash. When she reached me, she paused.

Her fingers hovered.

Then her lips curved faintly.

“Already burned,” she murmured under her breath, only for me. “The mark is calling.”

My heart skipped.

Afterward, I tried to disappear.

I almost made it to the river trail before the growl stopped me cold.

“Running from me already?”

Kael.

I turned slowly, fists clenched. “You can’t just—sneak up on people.”

He leaned against a tree, deceptively relaxed. “I didn’t sneak. You felt me.”

Unfortunately, yes. I crossed my arms. “What do you want?”

His gaze dragged over me, slow and deliberate. “You.”

Heat surged low in my belly, but I held my ground. “You don’t even know me.”

“I know your scent.” He pushed off the tree and began closing the space between us. “I know how your breath catches when I’m near. I know how you tasted under moonlight.”

My cheeks flushed crimson. “You’re arrogant.”

“I’m an alpha,” he said softly, stepping closer. “I don’t play coy.”

He was too close now. I could feel the heat radiating off him, smell that wild scent that made me ache. My wolf paced inside me, desperate and alert.

I stepped back.

He stepped forward.

“Stop,” I said.

“Say it like you mean it,” he murmured.

My back hit a tree trunk. Gods help me.

His hand came up, not touching, just hovering near my jaw. “You think the bond is something you can outrun?”

“I don’t want this,” I whispered, trembling.

His eyes softened—but the heat didn’t fade. “You don’t want fate… or you don’t want me?”

I couldn’t answer.

He leaned in, so close his breath touched my lips.

“Tell me to stop,” he whispered again. “Say it, and I’ll walk away.”

The silence stretched.

My heart thundered.

I wanted to say no. I needed to say no.

Instead, I whispered, “Why does it feel like I’ll die if you touch me again?”

He groaned—low and guttural—and then his mouth was on mine.

This kiss wasn’t gentle.

It was hungry, relentless, devastating.

His tongue swept into my mouth, claiming, tasting, coaxing moans from my throat I didn’t know I could make. His hands gripped my hips, pulling me against the hard, unforgiving heat of his body. I arched into him, desperate, dizzy.

My fingers clawed into his back as his mouth trailed down my throat.

“You’re not ready,” he growled against my skin, his voice strained, trembling.

“Then why are you here?” I gasped.

He dragged his teeth along my collarbone, and I nearly buckled.

“Because you’re mine,” he said hoarsely. “And I’ve waited long enough.”

I shoved at his chest. Not hard—but enough.

He stilled.

I looked up at him, flushed, breathless. “Then wait a little longer.”

His jaw clenched.

His eyes burned.

And then—he stepped back.

Pain flickered across his face, raw and real, before he masked it.

“As you wish, Luna.”

Then he turned and vanished into the woods, just like before.

And I dropped to my knees beneath the trees, panting like I’d run a mile, shaking from the war raging in my blood.

I was in so much trouble.