Bound to my enemy alpha

The Near Kiss

The night air was sharp with the scent of smoke and iron.

Nina’s lungs burned as she raced through the trees, her wolf pushing her faster than her legs should have carried her. The cries of battle echoed behind her—snarls, yelps, the bone-deep sound of wolves colliding in the shadows. The rogues had come without warning, slipping through the forest like phantoms until chaos erupted.

But none of that mattered.

What mattered was the body she had just dragged out of the fire. Andreina.

Her best friend lay propped against the roots of an ancient oak, still weak from her broken ribs. Nina had hidden her there, praying the rogues wouldn’t find her. Every instinct screamed at her to stay, to guard Andreina with her life—but her Alpha’s command had pulled her away.

Kael’s voice had been like iron in her skull: Fight with me, golden eyes.

And she hated—hated—that she had obeyed.

Now, she burst into the clearing where the clash was fiercest. Wolves circled, snapping and tearing, the earth churned dark with blood. In the center stood Kael, his massive black wolf form gleaming under the moonlight, fighting off three rogues at once. His movements were precise, devastating, each strike so fluid it almost looked like a dance.

Nina froze for half a heartbeat, her chest tightening. Something inside her wolf shivered at the sight of him, the bond tugging painfully, pulling her closer.

“Damn it,” she growled under her breath, and then she leapt.

Her golden eyes flared as she struck the nearest rogue from the side, knocking it sprawling. Her claws raked its chest before her fangs snapped at its throat. The rogue yelped and retreated, limping into the shadows.

Kael’s black gaze found hers across the battlefield. For a fleeting second, the world shrank until it was only the two of them, locked together in that silent, unbearable pull.

Focus, she told herself, tearing her eyes away.

Together, they fought—circling each other unconsciously, covering each other’s flanks. She hated how naturally it came, as if her body already knew his rhythm. Her growls blended with his roars, and every time a rogue lunged, Kael was already there to block or strike in tandem with her.

When the last rogue fell, silence smothered the clearing. Only the ragged sound of their breaths remained. The forest seemed to hold its breath.

Nina shifted back first, skin slick with sweat, lungs heaving. Her golden eyes burned like fire in the moonlight. She wiped her bloodied hands on the dirt, glaring at him.

“You ordered me,” she spat, her voice raw with fury. “I told you I don’t take orders from you.”

Kael shifted back slowly, power rolling off him like heat from a fire. His dark hair clung to his forehead, his chest rising and falling with measured breaths. His gaze was unreadable, though the bond thrummed violently between them, almost too strong to bear.

“I didn’t order you,” he said quietly, but his voice carried weight. “I called you. And you came.”

The words hit her like claws to the chest.

Her fists clenched. “Don’t twist this. I came to fight for my pack, not for you.”

Kael stepped closer, his towering presence casting a shadow over her. His black eyes searched hers, deep and steady. “You came because you couldn’t ignore it.”

The bond flared, searing through her veins like wildfire. Her wolf howled inside her, clawing to get closer to him, to close the unbearable distance between them.

Nina stumbled back, but he followed.

“Stay away,” she hissed, though her voice cracked.

His hand shot out, catching her wrist before she could retreat further. The touch was electric, sparking fire up her arm and spreading like lightning through her body. She gasped, the world spinning around her.

Kael’s jaw tightened. He felt it too. She could see it in the way his breath caught, in the flicker of heat in his dark eyes.

For one dangerous moment, they stood too close. His chest brushed hers with every breath. Her lips parted, trembling. The air between them thickened, hot and suffocating.

Her heart thundered in her ears. The bond whispered: mate.

Kael’s gaze dropped to her mouth.

And Nina—traitorous, reckless Nina—leaned in without meaning to.

Her lips were a heartbeat away from his when—

A howl split the night.

Both of them jerked back, the moment shattering like glass. A patrol wolf burst into the clearing, bloodied and panting.

“Alpha! More rogues at the river!”

Kael released her wrist slowly, his expression unreadable once more. He turned toward his soldier without a word, shifting back into his wolf form in a flash of shadow and muscle.

Nina stood trembling, her wrist still tingling where he’d touched her, her lips burning with the kiss that almost was.

She hated him.

And yet, she feared that one more heartbeat would have broken her resolve completely.