The village was alive with whispers outside, lanterns flickering against the night, but Selene’s room felt like its own world. Kael, restless, sprawled across the bed, tail flicking like it had a mind of its own.
He groaned dramatically, burying his face into the pillow. “I… need… attention.”
Selene sighed, kneeling beside him, brushing his dark hair back from his forehead. “Kael, we don’t have time for this right now. We need to focus—”
He rolled onto his side, amber eyes catching hers, smoldering with something between mischief and raw instinct. “No. You misunderstand. I am fragile. Wounded. Misunderstood. And you are… talking to someone else. Laughing. Smiling.”
Selene’s heart skipped. Elias had already left to check the village traps, giving them a moment alone.
“I’m here,” she sa
