The bite between us

Feeling better now

chapter 10

Zainab pov

I don’t notice it at first.

That’s the worst part.

It starts small.

I begin timing my breaks without realizing it—somehow always stepping into the hallway when Kael is there. When meetings run long and my chest tightens for no clear reason, the feeling eases the moment I see him leaning against a wall, arms folded, eyes already on me like he expected me.

I tell myself it’s coincidence.

It isn’t.

When Rowan passes my desk later that afternoon, the air sharpens instantly. My pulse spikes, heat crawling under my skin, something restless and aching stirring in my chest.

I lower my head, pretending to focus on my screen.

And then—calm.

Not the fragile kind. The solid kind.

Kael’s presence settles behind me without a word. He doesn’t touch me. He doesn’t even look at Rowan. But it’s enough. The tension drains out of me like breath released slowly after being held too long.

Only after Rowan is gone do I realize my hands are steady again.

That scares me.

I start finding excuses to talk to Kael.

Asking about work things I already know.

Lingering near him during lunch. Standing a little closer than necessary, like my body has memorized the exact distance where the noise inside me quiets.

When he notices, he doesn’t call it out.

He just adjusts.

Positions himself where I can see him. Walks me to my desk without making it obvious. Stays close without hovering.

Once, when a colleague raises their voice during a disagreement, my shoulders tense before I can stop it.

Kael’s voice cuts in immediately. Calm. Firm.

“That’s enough.”

The room stills.

I don’t even realize I’ve moved until I’m standing beside him, fingers brushing his sleeve. My heart is racing—but not from fear.

From relief.

I pull my hand back quickly, embarrassed. “Sorry. I don’t know why I—”

“It’s fine,” he says gently. “You don’t need to explain.”

That night, walking home, I feel watched—but not in the way that makes my skin crawl.

In the way that makes me feel… escorted.

I sleep deeper than I have in days.

No forest.

No golden eyes.

No ache.

Just darkness and quiet.

The next morning, it hits me all at once.

I’m calmer when Kael is near.

Braver.

Less afraid.

And worse—

I don’t like how unsettled I feel when he’s not.

The realization sits heavy in my chest.

This isn’t normal.

I don’t know him. I shouldn’t need him. And yet my body reacts to his absence like something essential is missing, like I’ve been leaning on a wall I didn’t realize was holding me up.

Across the city, somewhere far away, Rowan feels it too.

The shift.

The interference.

And his wolf does not take kindly to sharing what it believes is theirs.