The First Touch
831 Words
It was supposed to be an ordinary Friday afternoon.
Classes were done, the autumn air was crisp, and Siena decided to walk to the little café near campus to escape her apartment’s silence. She tucked her hair behind her ear, headphones in, coat wrapped tight.
But as she crossed the courtyard, the familiar sting of whispered laughter reached her.
Veronica.
The self-proclaimed “queen” of the college leaned against the fountain, her designer coat draped over her shoulders, flanked by her usual entourage. The fake rich girl wore confidence like armor, her perfect smile hiding the venom in her words.
“Well, if it isn’t our charity case,” Veronica called out, loud enough for nearby students to hear. “Tell me, Siena, how do you afford coffee every day? Does the campus have a secret food pantry?”
Siena didn’t break stride. She’d learned that answering only made it worse.
“Don’t walk away from me, sweetheart,” Veronica cooed, stepping into her path. “Your boyfriend’s been very generous to you lately. Or should I say… my boyfriend?”
A ripple of gasps from the onlookers. Siena’s grip tightened on her bag strap.
“Enjoy your little fantasy, Veronica,” she said quietly, pushing past.
Veronica’s hand shot out, yanking Siena’s coat hard enough to spin her around.
The world tilted—her foot caught on the edge of the fountain—and then she was falling.
Kael was already moving before she hit the ground.
From the shadow of a nearby building, he had been watching—again. The moment Veronica’s hand closed around Siena, a surge of fury ripped through him.
In three strides he crossed the courtyard, catching Siena mid-fall and pulling her against his chest.
For one breathless moment, everything stopped.
Her scent hit him like a storm—warm vanilla laced with something wilder, older. His wolf howled inside him, the mate bond snapping taut.
Siena looked up into eyes the color of molten gold.
It was him. The man from the courtyard. The man outside the restaurant.
And the way he was looking at her… like she was something sacred.
Veronica’s smirk faltered. “Who the hell are you?”
Kael didn’t answer. His gaze stayed locked on Siena, his voice a low rumble meant only for her.
“You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine,” Siena managed, though her heart was hammering. “You—”
“Stay close to me.”
The command in his tone was unlike anything she’d ever heard—firm, unyielding, but somehow safe.
When she tried to step back, his hand lingered at her waist, steady and warm, as if letting go was the last thing he wanted.
Students were whispering now, pulling out phones, snapping pictures.
Damien’s name surfaced in the murmurs—along with speculation about who this stranger was and why Siena seemed to know him.
Veronica, sensing the shift in attention, tossed her hair and sneered. “You think some random bodyguard is going to scare me?”
Kael finally turned his head toward her, and the temperature in the courtyard seemed to drop ten degrees.
“You put your hands on her again,” he said softly, “and you’ll regret it.”
Veronica’s bravado cracked. She stepped back, muttering something under her breath, and her entourage followed.
When the crowd dispersed, Siena realized Kael was still holding her, his thumb brushing unconsciously over her side.
“You should be more careful,” he said, but there was no judgment in his voice—only an odd intensity.
She swallowed. “Do I… know you?”
His lips curved, though it wasn’t quite a smile. “Not yet.”
The words sent a strange heat through her. “Then why—”
Before she could finish, he released her, stepping back into the shadows like he belonged there. “We’ll talk soon, Siena.”
And then he was gone.
She stood there for a long moment, her pulse refusing to slow.
How did he know her name?
That night, Siena’s phone buzzed with a text from Damien:
We need to talk. Tomorrow. Don’t be late.
She ignored it, curling into her blankets and replaying the moment Kael had caught her—how strong his arms had felt, how steady.
Some part of her wanted to believe she’d dreamed it. But deep down, she knew she hadn’t.
And she couldn’t shake the feeling that her life had just shifted again—this time, in a way she couldn’t escape.
Across town, Kael stood on a balcony, moonlight cutting across his face.
“She doesn’t know what she is,” Marcus said from behind him.
“She will,” Kael replied. His voice was a promise. “And when she does, she’ll understand why she can’t stay in that world another day.”
The moon hung heavy above them, and Kael could almost hear the ticking clock in his blood.
Three months.
- Writer
