TOUCH OF FIRE
960 Words
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: TOUCH OF FIRE
The ride out to the border was quiet except for the steady thrum of hooves and the wind snapping at their cloaks. Rina Hollowbrook sat in stoic silence beside the other soldiers. The sun was a dull smear behind grey clouds, casting the forest path in a chilled shadow.
Kael rode at the front with his beta, Dorian, who leaned toward him.
"You're unraveling, Kael."
Kael's jaw clenched. "I'm fine."
"You're not. You nearly shifted yesterday in front of the council because of a scratch on a soldier."
Kael didn’t respond. Instead, he kept his eyes trained ahead.
Dorian sighed. "You're losing ground with the council. Maverick’s already turning others. If you're not careful, they'll start talking succession."
Kael’s silence cracked. "I know what I'm doing."
But the truth was, he didn’t. Not since Rina Hollowbrook entered his life. Not since his wolf started pacing every time she was near. Not since the scent of her blood nearly broke him.
The memory from earlier that morning clawed back into his thoughts—the council chamber, Maverick's smug expression as he spoke.
"The rogues grow bold, and the border weakens. Your father would’ve taken their heads by now. Perhaps your distractions are costing us more than enough.
Kael had said nothing. He’d felt the eyes of every elder. Judging. Measuring. Weighing him against a ghost.
Now, with the trees thinning and the stench of rogue wolves thickening, Kael's thoughts narrowed.
Rina. Her scent. Her defiance. Her eyes that never looked away.
She wasn’t just a soldier.
He knew it in his bones.
---
The rogues attacked at dusk. What began as a planned interrogation turned into chaos in minutes.
A guttural howl shattered the stillness. Then claws, fangs, screams. Blood soaked the earth.
Kael shifted mid-run, his black wolf barreling through two rogues like a battering ram. He tore through flesh with precision, instinct burning bright. Around him, his elite guard formed a defense perimeter, but the tide was rising.
He fought with focus until he caught her scent
Blood.
Not just any blood.
Her blood.
Rina.
His eyes snapped toward her. She stood ten feet away, clutching her arm, crimson dripping down her wrist. A rogue lunged. She struck it down, but the gash on her arm bloomed.
Kael lost it.
His shift back was brutal. Bones cracked, skin stretched. Naked, blood-slicked, he ran to her.
She turned just as he reached her.
"Let me see," he growled, grabbing her arm.
The moment his skin touched hers, the world stopped.
A burst of heat. The wind howled. Trees bent. The very air thickened. His heart pounded. Her breath caught. A shock wave of energy pulsed through them.
His voice dropped, guttural. "Adira... Vale."
Her eyes widened in terror.
He knew.
He saw it in the way she recoiled, tearing her arm from his grip like his touch had burned her. She stumbled back, fear and fury clashing across her face.
Then she turned and ran.
Kael stood frozen. The name echoed in his head. His wolf howled inside him.
She’s alive. My mate. My Adira.
He could feel the shift clawing at his skin again, his body humming with the raw pull of the bond. His beta Dorian appeared beside him, grabbing his shoulder.
"Not here. Not now. They’re watching."
Kael closed his eyes and forced control back into his limbs. He would not shift. Not again. Not in front of them.
When he opened them, Ronan stood a few feet away.
Watching.
Kael stared at him. The broken expression. The realization.
But Ronan had not heard. He didn’t know.
Kael turned away.
---
RONAN
He’d followed her from the start, his instincts warning that something was off. He saw her wince during the fight. Saw Kael reach her first. Saw the look that passed between them.
He saw her flee.
But he didn’t hear what Kael said.
Still, the air had shifted. Something had passed between them, something ancient and consuming.
He moved to where she’d stood, noticed a few drops of blood on the leaves. They shimmered strangely.
He knelt.
The droplets sparked faintly before disappearing.
He touched the ground. Nothing.
But her wound... it had been deep. Yet there was no trace of it on her as she ran.
Her blood was healing too fast.
He rose slowly.
"You’re not just a soldier, are you?" he whispered.
But she was already gone.
---
ELDER MEREK
Back in the observation tent, Elder Merek looked toward the battle site with narrowed eyes.
He’d felt it.
A surge.
Something ancient. Familiar.
His fingers curled into fists beneath his cloak.
"No... It’s not possible," he muttered.
The Vales were dead. Her bloodline erased. He had made sure of it.
Still, the power that shook the forest minutes ago was the same. Not Kael’s. Not the rogues’.
Something... older.
He said nothing. But his mind whirled.
---
LATER THAT NIGHT
Kael waited near his chambers, pacing the stone corridor.
He couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t think.
Then she appeared.
Rina.
No, Adira.
He moved to her. "You ran."
She stiffened. "Stay away."
His wolf surged, his body threatening another shift. "You are mine. I knew it the moment I touched you."
"You don’t know me," she hissed.
"I do. Adira Vale."
She went still.
His voice softened. "Where have you been all these years? Why hide?"
She said nothing. But her wolf did. She stepped toward him, only one step and he felt it.
The shift trembled beneath her skin.
Her wolf howled inside her.
She gasped and shoved herself back.
Then she fled again.
Kael watched her disappear into the shadows, a smile curling on his lips.
"She’s mine," he whispered.
And now, he would find out everything.
- Writer
