Chapter 6. Burning

“You’re fighting it,” he said softly, his voice low and rumbling. His lips brushed against her jaw again, lingering for the briefest of moments before pulling back just enough to meet her gaze. “I can feel it. But so am I.”

Amara’s eyes widened slightly, her breath quickening as his words sank in. His admission was raw, unguarded, and it terrified her as much as it tempted her. She felt the heat of his presence pressing against her, the intensity of his gaze searing into her soul.

Kael’s hand slid from her neck to her shoulder, his thumb tracing slow, deliberate circles against her flushed skin. “You’re a storm,” he murmured, his voice barely audible, as though he were speaking more to himself than to her. “And I… I can’t seem to look away.”

Amara’s heart raced, her body betraying her with every shallow breath, every involuntary shiver. She hated the way her pulse quickened under his touch, the way her body seemed to lean into him despite her mind screaming at her to pull away. “This isn’t you,” she whispered, her voice breaking slightly. “It’s the drug.”

She was everything he didn’t know he was searching for and everything he knew he couldn’t have. As she spoke, a surge of emotion crashed over him—desire, yes, but also something far more dangerous. It wasn’t just want. It was need.

“Maybe,” Kael said, his voice heavy with restraint. “But it doesn’t change what I see.”

His thumb brushed against her collarbone, his touch light but electrifying. He leaned in closer, their faces mere inches apart now, his eyes searching hers for a sign—any sign—that she wanted him to stop. This was a wildfire, uncontrollable and all-consuming, threatening to burn him down to his very bones.

The tension between them coiled tighter, the air crackling with unspoken words and unrelenting desire. Kael’s hand slid down her arm, his touch leaving a trail of heat that made her gasp softly. He stopped just above her wrist, his grip firm but gentle, his grey eyes locking onto hers with an intensity that made her chest tighten.

“Tell me to stop,” he said, his voice low and raw. “And I will.”

Amara’s lips parted, but the words didn’t come. Her body betrayed her again, leaning ever so slightly closer, the pull between them impossible to resist. She hated him, hated this, hated the way her body refused to listen to her. But in that moment, with his hand on her skin and his breath against her cheek, with the burn in her abdomen and wetness between her thighs she couldn’t bring herself to say the word.

Kael’s lips brushed hers, a fleeting, hesitant touch that sent a shockwave through her entire being. He pulled back just enough to search her eyes again, his gaze dark and conflicted. And then, slowly, he leaned in once more, closing the distance that had become unbearable.

The kiss was soft at first, a tentative meeting of lips. Her lips were warm and soft against his, her breath mingling with his in shallow, unsteady gasps. His hand at her waist tightened instinctively, pulling her closer until there was no space left between them. He could feel the curve of her body against his, every point of contact igniting a new spark that sent his pulse racing. The alpha in him felt the need to claim her, to take her, to make her even more his than she ever was.

But it wasn’t just her touch that undid him—it was the fight in her, the way her body trembled with resistance even as it leaned into him. She was defiance and vulnerability wrapped into one, and it drove him mad.

Kael’s hand moved to cradle her face, his thumb brushing against her cheek as he deepened the kiss, his control slipping with every passing second. Her skin was impossibly soft, her scent intoxicating, and her fire was enough to burn through all the walls he had spent years building.

His touch was both commanding and careful, as though he were trying to claim her while still giving her the choice to pull away.

But she didn’t.

For better or worse, in that moment, she was his, and he was hers, bound together by something neither of them could fully control—or deny.

He gently pushed her onto the bed, holding her by the waist with his hand, and not breaking their connection in a kiss. Kael pulled back slightly, his lips hovering over hers, his breath hot and heavy against her skin. His grey eyes locked onto hers, and for a moment, he saw something there that took his breath away—vulnerability. It was fleeting, quickly replaced by her usual fire, but it was enough to remind him that she, too, was fighting a battle within herself.

Her fiery amber eyes were flicking from his one eye to the other, as if looking for something, for a remedy or for answers. Her tongue nervously licked her still wet and reddened lips. Long black hair scattered around the white linens as a story sea. What a beautiful scene. She is truly beautiful.

But she is so much different.

Not at all like...

Not like her...

Kael’s jaw clenched. The sudden flash of familiar pain in his chest.

“This shouldn’t be happening,” he said, his voice low and strained, the words more to himself than to her.

She was his ruin, his salvation, and everything in between.

Amara’s hands tightened on his cloak, her amber eyes narrowing as she met his gaze. “Then stop it,” she challenged, her voice breathless but firm.

In a whim the rage and anger burst into him. His wolf. He roared and clawed in his head, taking control. Kael's grey eyes darkened to nearly black.

He crushed on her lips fiercely. This kiss was different. It was demanding and forceful. He nibbled hard, taking her lower lip between his teeth. He sucked hard and bit hard on the sensitive flesh, making Amara give out more muffled moans. She tried to catch his pace, but his moves are so chaotic, so rapid. Kael’s chest vibrated as a low growl escaped from his throat in between the violent kisses. He was like a desperate wild animal.

Amara tried to move away, just an inch, but the weight of the alpha and the debilitating weakness from the drug made the results close to zero. It was so hard to breathe. Hot. So hot. The heat was everywhere. He was heavy, nearly slamming her ribs with all his weight on her. Unceasing painful kiss refused her from one of the sources of air. She tried to push him lightly in the chest. But it was like trying to move a mountain. Rage and fear started to grow in her again.

When he was satisfied with devouring her mouth, he swiftly moved to her neck. “Amara…” he continuously purred her name to her neck while desperately sniffing and kissing it. He sniffed it, licked it, bit it, under her muffled moans and gasps.

The wolf in him roared:

MINE. I take her. NOW.

And for the first time in years, Kael let himself fall.