Under the same roof
1366 Words
Kael’s house sat deep within the forest, far from the pack’s main dwellings,a solitary structure of dark wood and stone, half-hidden by towering pines. It looked less like a home and more like a fortress built by someone who expected to be alone.
Ariya felt it the moment she crossed the threshold.
Power, not loud or aggressive, but old and deliberate, woven into the very bones of the place. The air hummed faintly, like a held breath.
“This place is,” She trailed off, searching for the right word.
“Warded,” Kael finished, closing the door behind them. The sound echoed, final and heavy. “No one enters without my permission.”
Her pulse kicked at that. The bond warmed in response, as if pleased.
Kael shrugged out of his jacket and hung it by the door, movements controlled despite the injuries he hadn’t bothered to fully explain. Blood had dried dark against his knuckles, a shallow cut ran along his collarbone, angry and red.
Ariya noticed all of it.
“You’re hurt,” she said quietly.
“I’ll heal.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He turned, golden eyes fixing on her with a look that was too intense for the small space between them. “You shouldn’t be worrying about me.”
“And yet,” she replied, folding her arms, “here I am.”
Something flickered across his face, surprise, then something softer he clearly didn’t want.
“Sit,” he said, gesturing toward the couch. “Please.”
She did.
The living room was sparse but warm, low fire crackling in the hearth, shelves lined with worn books, a heavy table scarred by age and use. It felt lived-in, but guarded, like him.
Kael disappeared briefly into another room and returned with a first aid kit. He knelt in front of her before she could protest, his proximity sudden and overwhelming.
“Kael”
“Don’t,” he said gently. “Let me.”
He took her hand, inspecting it with careful fingers. The moment his skin met hers, the bond surged stronger than before, heat spiraling up her arm and settling low in her belly.
She gasped softly.
Kael froze.
“You feel that too,” she whispered.
His jaw tightened. “Yes.”
He released her hand abruptly and stood, pacing a step away like a man fighting the urge to tear out of his own skin.
“This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen,” he muttered. “The bond is forming too fast.”
“Why?” Ariya asked. “Because of your curse?”
“Yes.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “And because you’re not what you should be.”
She stilled. “Meaning?”
Kael stopped pacing and looked at her fully now. “Humans don’t survive this kind of bond,their bodies reject it, their minds fracture.”
“And yet I’m still standing.”
“Exactly.”
The words hung heavy.
Ariya swallowed. “You think there’s something wrong with me.”
“I think there’s something rare about you,” he corrected. “And rare things don’t stay hidden for long.”
She studied him for a long moment. “You’re afraid.”
His lips pressed into a thin line.
“Of hurting me,” she added softly.
That broke something open in him.
Kael exhaled slowly and returned to her, crouching again, but this time he didn’t touch her. “I’ve lost control before,” he admitted. “Not just with violence, with people. The bond amplifies everything desire, instinct, possession.”
Her heart thudded. “You think you’ll lose yourself with me.”
“I know I will.”
The honesty sent a shiver through her.
“Then why bring me here?” she asked.
“Because losing you would destroy me faster.”
The bond pulsed, hot and approving.
Ariya stood before she could overthink it, the sudden closeness stole the air from Kael’s lungs. She was inches away now, eyes dark, breath shallow.
“You don’t get to carry this alone,” she said.
Kael laughed softly, humorless. “You barely know me.”
“I know how you look at me,” she replied. “Like you’re starving.”
His control cracked.
In a blur of motion, Kael turned away, gripping the edge of the table hard enough to splinter the wood. His shoulders rose and fell as he fought himself.
“If I touch you,” he said hoarsely, “it won’t stop at a kiss.”
Her pulse raced. “I didn’t say stop.”
That was a mistake.
Kael spun back, closing the distance in two long strides. He didn’t touch her, not yet but the heat of him was suffocating, his presence consuming.
“You don’t understand what you’re offering,” he growled.
“Then explain it to me,” she whispered.
His gaze dropped to her mouth, his breath stuttered.
“The bond wants to mark you,” he said. “Claim you,make you my own in a way that you can’t undo.”
Her knees weakened, but she didn’t step back. “And what do you want?”
The question hit him like a blow.
Kael lifted his eyes to hers, vulnerability laid bare. “I want you safe. I want you alive, i want” His voice broke. “I want to wake up without the fear that I’ll become the thing that kills you.”
Ariya reached for him.
This time, he didn’t stop her.
Her palm pressed to his chest, right over his heart. The contact sent a violent rush through both of them, heat, longing, recognition. Kael sucked in a sharp breath, his hands hovering at her waist like he was afraid to touch too much, too fast.
“You’re shaking,” she murmured.
“So are you.”
They stood there, breathing each other in, the fire crackling louder in the silence.
Slowly and deliberately,Kael cupped her face.
The bond roared.
The kiss, when it came, was inevitable.
Soft at first. Exploratory, a question rather than a demand.
Ariya answered by rising onto her toes, fingers curling into his shirt. The kiss deepened instantly, hunger flaring as if permission had been granted.
Kael groaned low in his throat, hands sliding to her waist, pulling her closer until there was no space left to pretend they didn’t want this.
Heat coiled tight and desperate.
Then control snapped back into place.
Kael pulled away abruptly, breathing hard, forehead pressed to hers.
“No,” he whispered fiercely. “Not like this. Not when I can’t stop.”
Ariya’s lips tingled, her body aching with unsatisfied want. “You think this makes it easier?”
“No,” he admitted. “But it makes it safer.”
He stepped back, creating distance with visible effort. “You’ll take the bedroom. I’ll stay out here.”
Her heart clenched. “You don’t have to”
“I do.”
The bond thrummed unhappily as he handed her a folded shirt. “For sleeping,” he added. “It’ll smell like me. That might help you rest.”
Her cheeks warmed, but she took it. “Goodnight, Kael.”
His gaze lingered on her like a touch. “Goodnight, Ariya.”
Sleep was impossible.
Ariya lay awake in Kael’s bed, his shirt clutched against her chest, his scent wrapping around her like a living thing. The bond hummed steadily now, no longer frantic but alert.
She felt him in the other room. Awake,restless,guarding.
A sudden sharp pain flared in her chest, fear but not her own.
She bolted upright.
“Kael,” she whispered.
The bond answered immediately, tightening hard.
In the living room, Kael stiffened, hand flying to his chest as her presence slammed into him like a wave.
She felt it.
Outside, far beyond the wards, something howled.
Not a challenge but a promise.
Kael’s eyes burned gold as he stared toward the forest.
“They’re closer,” he murmured. “And they know she’s mine.”
The blood moon was coming.
And neither of them was ready for what it would demand.
- Writer
