Fated Flames

CHAPTER EIGHT — Marked in Plain Sight

The next morning, I try to act normal.

I fail immediately.

Every time I breathe, I can still feel him—Kael—inside my senses. My wolf hums in my chest, restless, hungry, impatient. The heat from yesterday hasn’t left me. If anything, it’s worse.

I glance around the cafeteria, hoping to find a quiet corner. Impossible. High school thrives on chaos.

And then I see her.

Lyra.

Sitting at a table with her clique, smirking, perfectly styled hair, fangs glinting faintly as she watches me. Every step I take toward my table, she’s there, her gaze like fire.

Kael doesn’t seem to notice her at first. I do. My pulse quickens. My wolf growls, tense, warning me.

And then I feel it.

A pull in my chest.

Something searing, scorching, marking me. I glance down and freeze.

Red streaks, faint but visible, across my collarbone.

Not scratches. Not bruises. Something else. Something… alive.

My breath hitches. My wolf whines in alarm and desire.

Kael’s eyes lock onto me across the room. Blue and silver swirling. His jaw flexes. He knows. He knows.

Lyra notices too. Her smirk falters, replaced by shock, then pure rage.

“What… what did you do to her?” Lyra hisses as she pushes through the crowd.

I step back instinctively, heart racing. “I—I don’t know!”

Kael strides toward me, long legs eating up the distance between us. Every movement controlled, predatory, terrifying.

“Back off,” he growls, voice low and dangerous. The cafeteria goes quiet, eyes turning toward us.

Lyra smirks, venom dripping. “Oh, Kael… you can’t protect her from me.”

Kael stops in front of me, hand brushing over the faint red marks on my collarbone. His touch is fire, making my entire body hum. “She’s mine,” he says, flat, deadly, and possessive.

I can barely breathe. My wolf surges uncontrollably, pressing toward him, aching, raw, alive. Every instinct screams at me to lean into him, to let the bond pull me completely.

Lyra snarls. “You’ll regret this, Elara Vale. I’ll make sure of it.”

Kael’s fingers tighten on my waist, dangerous, protective. “Not while I’m alive.”

My body trembles. I can’t control the way it leans into him. My chest heaves. My wolf howls silently, thrilled and hungry and desperate.

The cafeteria is frozen in silence. Teachers, students… everyone is watching.

Lyra steps back, realizing she can’t win today. Her silver eyes flash, and she hisses one last warning. “This isn’t over.”

Kael glances at her once, fangs flashing, and then turns to me.

“Are you hurt?” he asks, voice suddenly soft, almost tender.

I shake my head, trembling. “No… I—just…” I glance down at the marks. “What… what are these?”

He leans closer, lips brushing my ear. “A mark. Mine. You’ll feel it when the bond grows stronger.”

My heart skips. My wolf surges violently inside me, whining in anticipation, in need, in pleasure.

I shiver, unable to resist, unable to hide the heat rolling through me.

Kael pulls back slightly, eyes still locked on mine, voice husky. “Control it. Not everyone is ready to see what you’re becoming.”

I can’t stop looking at him. My chest is on fire. My body is trembling. My wolf is screaming.

And I realize, with both fear and thrill:

This bond… this pull… it’s real.

And it’s only going to get stronger.