Chapter Four — Aria
659 Words
“I didn’t come here to fall in love. I came to survive it.”
The moon was sinking when I woke.
For a split second, I didn’t know where I was—wrapped in thick furs, skin warm from soft sheets, air filled with smoke and pine. Then I turned, and the scent hit me like a tidal wave.
Him.
Kade.
My body reacted before my brain did. The bond surged low in my stomach, pulling tight like a rope straining at both ends. My skin felt flushed, lips dry, heart racing like prey that knew the hunter was near.
I sat up.
The room was dim, the fire low in the hearth. Across the room, the balcony doors were wide open, the night breeze whispering through the space like a ghost. And there he was.
Kade stood shirtless at the edge of the balcony, back to me, muscles tense. Moonlight kissed every inch of his scarred skin, tracing the curve of his spine, the sharp lines of his shoulders. His hands gripped the railing so tightly I could hear the wood strain.
He was fighting it.
The bond.
Me.
Us.
I slipped from the bed without a sound, padding barefoot across the room. I wasn’t thinking. Or maybe I was thinking too much. All I knew was that I needed to see his eyes.
“Kade.”
He didn’t turn.
“Why does it feel like I’m burning alive?”
His voice was rough. “Because you are.”
I stepped closer. “This bond… it’s not like anything I was told.”
“It’s older than the stories,” he said, low. “Wilder. Some bonds are soft. Gentle. You and me? We’re wildfire.”
He turned then—and the look in his eyes nearly undid me.
Golden. Hungry. Broken.
I was inches from him now. The heat between us crackled like a live wire. His scent wrapped around me, dizzying and dark, and the moon above made the air feel electric.
“We can’t do this,” he said, voice hoarse.
“Then why haven’t you stopped?”
His jaw clenched. “Because every time I look at you, I forget why I ever tried.”
My breath hitched. I hated how badly I wanted him to touch me. Even now. Even after everything.
“You kissed me,” I whispered.
“I shouldn’t have.”
“You liked it.”
He stepped forward. His hand brushed my jaw. I felt it down to my toes.
“I hated how much I liked it.”
Our lips were a breath apart.
Then he closed the distance.
The kiss was slower this time—deep, aching, dangerous. His hands slid into my hair, gripping like he needed me to stay, like he didn’t trust himself if I didn’t.
I melted into him, letting the bond devour us. My back hit the cold stone wall of the balcony and he pressed into me, his body hot, hard, trembling with restraint.
He kissed like a man who knew he couldn’t keep me.
And still wanted to leave his mark.
His lips trailed down my jaw, to the hollow of my throat. I gasped, fingers digging into his back, and felt his entire body shudder.
“I can’t stop,” he rasped.
“Then don’t.”
His mouth returned to mine, hungrier now, rougher. Every nerve in my body screamed for him.
Then—
CRASH.
The doors to the room slammed open behind us.
“Kade!” a voice shouted.
We jerked apart.
A pack guard stood in the doorway, panting, eyes wild.
“There’s been a breach.”
Kade was already pulling away, shifting into Alpha mode in seconds. “Who?”
“We don’t know yet,” the guard said. “But someone got past the western border patrol. They’re looking for her.”
His gaze flicked to me.
The blood drained from my face.
Ronan.
- Writer
