Chapter 4
1131 Words
Too Close to Escape
The forest was quiet again.
But it was not peaceful.
It felt like something had shifted in the air itself.
The fight was over. The bodies had been dragged away. The remaining intruders had fled the moment they realized they were no longer hunting prey… but walking into execution.
And now, only silence remained.
And him.
Kael Draven stood in front of me, still as stone, his breathing barely uneven despite what had just happened.
But his eyes… they were not calm.
They were locked on me.
Like I was the only thing left in his world.
My wrist still tingled where he had touched me earlier.
I hid it behind my back immediately.
“I’m fine,” I said quickly, even though my voice betrayed me.
Kael didn’t respond.
He stepped closer instead.
My body reacted before my mind did.
One step back.
Then another.
Until my back hit a tree.
Trapped.
My breath caught.
“You keep doing that,” he said quietly.
“Doing what?” I asked, though I already knew.
“Running from me.”
“I am not running,” I said, lifting my chin.
A pause.
Then he leaned in slightly.
Close enough that I could feel his presence wrap around me again.
“You are lying,” he said simply.
My pulse jumped.
The space between us was gone now.
Completely gone.
I could feel the heat of him, the power in him, the overwhelming presence that made it hard to think clearly.
“I don’t belong to you,” I whispered.
His gaze flickered to my lips for a second.
Then back to my eyes.
“I never said you did,” he replied.
That confused me.
More than it should have.
Before I could respond, he lifted his hand.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
My body stiffened instantly.
But he did not touch me yet.
He stopped just above my shoulder.
Like he was giving me time to refuse.
Time I did not use.
His fingers brushed my skin.
Barely.
But it was enough.
Something inside me reacted violently.
A sharp inhale escaped me before I could stop it.
His eyes darkened instantly.
Not with anger.
Something far more dangerous.
Understanding.
“You feel it,” he said softly.
My throat tightened.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His hand moved from my shoulder to my wrist again, turning it gently so he could see the small cut.
The moment his skin touched mine again, warmth spread through me.
Not pain.
Something else.
Something unsettling.
His thumb brushed over the cut.
And the air changed.
A low hum of energy passed between us.
My breath hitched.
“What is that?” I whispered.
Kael didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he stared at my wrist like he was seeing something only he could understand.
Then he spoke.
“Your body is reacting.”
“To what?” I asked.
“To me.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
I pulled my hand back immediately.
Or tried to.
He didn’t let go.
His grip tightened just slightly.
Not enough to hurt.
Enough to stop me.
“Don’t,” I said, more sharply now.
His eyes lifted to mine.
Calm.
Unmoving.
“Don’t what?” he asked.
“Touch me like that.”
A beat of silence.
Then he stepped closer again.
My heart slammed against my chest as my back pressed deeper into the tree.
There was nowhere else to go.
“I am not doing anything to you,” he said quietly.
His gaze dropped to my lips again.
Then lingered.
“That is the problem.”
My breath stopped.
“What does that mean?” I whispered.
He didn’t answer.
Instead, his hand moved slowly from my wrist to the side of my neck.
Not gripping.
Just resting there.
Warm.
Steady.
Possessive in a way that made my entire body go still.
My breath turned uneven instantly.
The forest around us faded.
Everything did.
It was just him.
Just me.
Just this unbearable closeness.
“You are injured,” he said again, voice lower now.
“I told you I’m fine.”
“You are not.”
His thumb moved slightly against my skin.
And then it happened.
A pulse.
Deep.
Strange.
Inside my chest.
I gasped.
My knees almost gave out.
Kael reacted instantly, catching me before I fell.
Now I was fully pressed against him.
No space left.
No escape.
His arm locked around my waist, holding me upright.
My hands pressed against his chest instinctively.
And froze.
Because I could feel it.
His heartbeat.
Steady.
Controlled.
But faster than before.
He looked down at me.
And for the first time, his expression wasn’t fully controlled.
Something was slipping.
“You shouldn’t react like that,” he said quietly.
My voice barely came out.
“Like what?”
“To my touch.”
My breath shook.
“I am not reacting,” I lied weakly.
A faint smirk touched his lips.
Barely there.
But real.
“You are,” he said.
Then his hand at my neck tightened just slightly.
Not painful.
Just enough to tilt my head up.
My breath caught sharply.
The world tilted with it.
His gaze dropped to my throat.
And lingered there.
Longer than before.
My entire body went still.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
For a long moment, he didn’t answer.
Then he leaned closer.
So close I could feel his breath against my skin.
So close I couldn’t think anymore.
“Something you are not ready to understand,” he said quietly.
My heart pounded violently.
The air between us felt heavier now.
Charged.
Dangerous.
Like something was about to happen that could not be undone.
And then—
His hand slid from my neck to my shoulder again.
Slow.
Controlled.
But something in the movement felt different now.
Not just protection.
Not just control.
Claim.
A faint warmth spread where he touched me, deeper than before.
Like something inside me was answering him.
I stiffened.
“What did you do?” I whispered.
Kael’s eyes held mine.
Dark.
Certain.
“Nothing yet,” he said.
My stomach dropped.
“Yet?”
His hand tightened slightly at my waist.
Not letting me move away.
Not even if I wanted to.
And his next words made my entire world tilt again.
“You are already reacting to me,” he said softly.
“When the bond fully wakes… you won’t be able to run at all.”
Silence swallowed everything.
My breath stopped completely.
Because I suddenly understood something terrifying.
This was not attraction.
Not just tension.
Something inside me was responding to him.
And I didn’t know if I wanted it to stop.
- Writer
