Chapter 4: Wildfire and Whiskey
671 Words
“You want me to what?” Elara asked, arms crossed.
Kade didn’t flinch. “Come to the gathering tonight.”
“No.”
“It’s not a request.”
Her brow shot up. “So it’s a command?”
“It’s an invitation,” he said coolly, “from your Alpha.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not part of your pack.”
His eyes darkened just slightly. “Not yet.”
⸻
The ridge gathering was something out of a myth. Bonfires burned high, casting long shadows through the clearing. Music echoed, bodies danced, drinks were passed around like candy, and the scent of magic and musk filled the air.
Elara had never felt more out of place in her life.
She stood near the edge of the crowd, arms tucked in tight, wearing a black dress Kade had left on the bed without comment. Of course it fit perfectly. Of course it made her look powerful and deadly.
And of course, the second she arrived, every unmated she-wolf in a 10-mile radius turned to glare at her like she’d stolen their man.
Which, technically, she hadn’t.
Yet.
⸻
Kade was talking to a group of warriors, tall and unreadable, dressed in black with his sleeves rolled up, scars on full display. And when a curvy, bold-eyed brunette touched his chest mid-laugh?
Oh.
Elara didn’t like that.
At all.
She turned sharply, snatched a bottle of whiskey from the table, and downed a mouthful without flinching.
It burned. She welcomed it.
“You look like someone just pissed in your territory,” a voice said behind her.
She turned.
Tall. Blonde. Sharp smile.
Of course it was Jaxon.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she hissed.
“Just visiting,” he said smoothly. “Didn’t expect to see you.”
“You need to leave.”
“I just wanted to say hi. Maybe remind you who you really belong to.”
Her hand clenched.
Before she could respond, a growl sliced through the air.
Kade.
He was there.
Eyes glowing. Shoulders tense. Rage radiating off him like heat.
“I suggest you back up,” Kade said to Jaxon, voice low and lethal. “Now.”
Jaxon smirked. “You always this possessive with strays?”
Kade didn’t move. “I don’t share.”
“You don’t own her.”
“I never said I did.”
He stepped between them, towering, terrifying, and entirely too hot to be this close.
“But touch her again, and I’ll bury you so deep even the moon won’t find your bones.”
Jaxon raised his hands mockingly. “Whatever, Alpha.”
And disappeared into the trees.
Kade turned on her.
“What were you thinking?”
“I wasn’t,” she snapped. “Why do you even care?”
“Because I’m trying to keep you alive—”
“No,” she cut in. “You’re trying to claim me.”
His eyes flashed. “And what if I am?”
She took a shaky step back. “Then you’re just like him.”
He froze.
Then stepped forward—slowly, deliberately—until her back hit a tree.
His voice dropped, husky and deadly soft.
“I’m nothing like him.”
Their breaths mingled. Her heart slammed against her ribs.
“You want me to prove it?” he murmured. “Because I will, Elara. I’ll show you the difference between possession and protection.”
She didn’t speak.
Couldn’t.
His hands landed on either side of her head, not touching but caging her in his heat.
Her lips parted.
His eyes dropped to them.
He leaned in.
Closer.
Almost—
“Do it,” she whispered.
His mouth brushed hers—barely—before he pulled back with a growl.
“No,” he said through gritted teeth. “Not like this.”
And then he was gone.
Elara slid down the tree, breathless, burning.
She wasn’t ready.
But god, she wanted to be.
- Writer
