Chapter 10
1471 Words
Selene did not sleep.
Not because she didn’t want to—her body was exhausted—but because Kael was still awake, leaning against the far wall of the cabin, arms crossed, shadows brushing over him like they belonged to him.
He was watching the door.
Watching the windows.
Watching the night breathe.
But every few seconds, Selene felt his eyes flicker… toward her.
She didn’t know why she felt it so clearly, but she did.
The storm outside wasn’t helping. Rain hammered the roof in angry waves, the wind dragging its fingers across the wood as if searching for a way in.
She sat up slightly. “You’re still awake.”
Kael didn’t respond immediately. His jaw flexed once, sharp in the dim glow of the lantern.
“You talk in your sleep,” he finally said.
Her cheeks burned. “I do not.”
“You said my name,” he added, voice low, unreadable. “Twice.”
Her stomach dropped.
She was certain he could hear the way her pulse jumped—because his gaze darkened, like the sound did something to him.
“I didn’t—”
“You did.”
He pushed off the wall, slow, controlled, predatory even without meaning to be.
“And you sounded… worried.”
She blinked. “Is that why you’re awake?”
His eyes locked with hers.
“No,” he said. “I’m awake because something is wrong with the forest tonight.”
The words settled heavy between them.
But it wasn’t the only truth.
Selene could see it.
Kael didn’t just stay awake to guard the forest.
He stayed awake to guard *her*.
She shifted on the mattress, pulling the blanket closer. “Come sit. You’re wearing a hole in that wall.”
He hesitated—Kael never hesitated—then crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, leaving just enough space to pretend the distance meant something.
It didn’t.
Not with the storm making the cabin feel smaller.
Not with the way the heat from his body reached her even without touching.
For a while, neither spoke. Rain filled the silence. A deep groan of thunder rolled across the mountains. Somewhere far away, something answered.
Kael’s eyes flicked to the window. “It’s not safe tonight.”
“Because of the creature?” she asked.
He didn’t look at her. “Because of everything.”
A knot formed in her stomach.
“You’re scared,” she whispered.
His head snapped toward her. “I don’t get scared.”
“Then your wolf is,” she corrected.
Something flickered across his face—surprise, maybe. Or the beginning of admitting something he didn’t want to admit.
“My wolf isn’t scared,” Kael muttered.
“He’s… restless.”
Restless.
Selene knew enough now to understand what that meant.
Restless wolves didn’t sleep.
Restless wolves paced.
Restless wolves stayed awake to watch over something.
Or someone.
“Is it because I found the badge?” she asked softly.
“No.”
His voice dropped lower.
“It’s because the forest noticed you.”
She swallowed. “Noticed me how?”
Kael’s gaze dipped to her lips—just for a second, but long enough to steal the air from her chest.
Then he stood abruptly.
Too abruptly.
“This was a mistake. I shouldn’t be sitting here.”
He moved away, but Selene reached out before she thought and grabbed his wrist.
His entire body stilled.
Her hand was small against him, but Kael froze like the touch locked him in place, like it woke something dangerous inside him.
“Don’t go,” she whispered.
His breathing shifted. Not faster—just deeper, heavier, as if he were fighting something in his own ribs.
“You don’t know what you’re asking for, Selene.”
“Then tell me.”
His eyes closed slowly, painfully, like he didn’t want to answer.
“You’re not safe with me,” he said finally.
She didn’t let go.
“Then why do I feel safer with you than anywhere else in this forest?”
Kael’s eyes opened again—and this time, the wolf was right there, staring back at her through him.
“Because I’m the thing everything else is afraid of.”
The room pulsed.
Selene’s breath hitched.
He stepped closer again. Slowly. Like approaching was something he shouldn’t allow himself, but couldn’t resist.
She didn’t move away.
“Selene…” he warned.
The storm cracked open the sky, lightning flashing through the window, lighting Kael’s face in stark lines—tension in his jaw, conflict in his eyes, hunger in the shadows.
He knelt in front of her, their faces almost level. She felt his breath sweep against her cheek.
“You don’t understand what’s happening between us.”
“Then explain it,” she breathed.
He shook his head once. “I can’t.”
“You *won’t*.”
His eyes flicked away, but her hand was still on his wrist, keeping him anchored.
“I feel it,” she whispered. “The pull. The way you look at me. The way you step closer without thinking. The way you—”
“Stop.”
The word was sharp, but soft.
A contradiction.
“I don’t want to stop,” she whispered.
Kael’s breath faltered. Just barely. But enough.
He lifted his hand—so slowly it felt like the air thickened around them—and brushed a strand of hair from her face.
It was the gentlest touch he had given her.
And the most dangerous.
His fingers lingered at her jaw, not fully touching, but close enough to burn.
“Selene,” he murmured, her name sounding like it cost something to say, “I’m trying to protect you.”
“From what?” she asked.
His thumb brushed the air just over her skin—never landing, but wanting to.
“From me.”
Another flash of lightning lit the room, and thunder shook the cabin. Selene jumped lightly. Kael’s hand moved instinctively, his palm cupping the side of her face.
They both froze.
His skin was warm.
Her breath touched his wrist.
Neither pulled back.
The storm outside had nothing on the one building between them.
His thumb traced her cheekbone, slow, reverent, like he’d been fighting the urge for days.
Selene whispered, “If you wanted to hurt me, you would have done it already.”
His voice was rough. “That’s the problem.”
“Kael…”
He leaned closer, forehead almost touching hers.
“You don’t know what you’re doing to me.”
She swallowed. “Maybe I do.”
His breath hitched—silent, but real.
Then—
A loud crash outside.
The window rattled violently.
Something slammed against the wall of the cabin.
Kael was on his feet instantly, pushing her gently back onto the bed—not rough, not forceful, but protective.
“Stay here.”
“What is it?” she asked.
His eyes shifted—*actually* shifted—gold bleeding into brown for half a second.
“Something that shouldn’t be this close,” he growled.
The storm roared, the night vibrating with something primal, something angry, something searching.
Kael moved toward the door.
Selene grabbed his arm again.
“Kael—wait.”
He looked back at her, rainlight catching the wild in his gaze.
“Please,” she said softly. “Don’t leave me alone.”
That single word—*please*—cracked something in him.
He exhaled, jaw clenched.
Then he walked back to her.
Slow. Controlled. But different this time.
He sat beside her again, closer than before, their knees touching beneath the blanket.
“If anything happens,” he said softly, “I won’t let it reach you.”
Her chest tightened. “I know.”
Kael looked down at her hand still on his arm.
He turned his wrist, threading his fingers through hers—not fully holding, but enough to feel her pulse.
Enough to let her feel his.
His voice dropped, low and intimate.
“Selene… whatever is out there—I’m more dangerous than it.”
She held his gaze. “Then stay where I can see you.”
Something in his expression melted—just a little.
He shifted, now sitting fully beside her on the bed, their shoulders brushing, their breaths mixing.
And for the first time since she met him…
Kael let himself relax.
Just a fraction.
Just enough for her to feel it.
Just enough for his guard to lower.
Just enough for the night to pull them closer than either planned.
The storm outside raged.
But inside the cabin…
Another kind of storm began.
A quieter one.
A dangerous one.
A magnetic one.
And Kael did nothing to stop it.
- Writer
