"Burn Me, Then Leave"
He left.
Just… disappeared.
One second, he was standing so close she could feel the heat of his breath on her neck.
The next, gone.
Like smoke, like shadow, like he'd never been there.
But her body said otherwise.
Lyra staggered back from the bonfire, every inch of her skin too tight, too aware. Her thighs rubbed together on instinct, trying to ease the ache that had bloomed between them. Her chest rose and fell like she'd just sprinted miles.
And her neck… her neck still tingled from where his breath had touched her.
She pressed her fingers to it like it would erase the feeling. It didn't.
She didn't know his name. Didn't know what just happened.
But her body—her traitorous, humming, molten body—was screaming for more.
Her lips still tingled. And her panties were—
God, what the hell is wrong with me?
Lyra stumbled toward the edge of the clearing, trying to get away from the fire, the people, the pull. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed.
Inside her.
Something primal and fierce had clawed its way to the surface the moment she met his eyes. It wasn't just lust. It wasn't even desire.
It was… claim. Like her body had already made the decision for her.
And that was what scared her most.
She leaned against a tree, gulping cool air like water. But nothing helped.
She could still feel him. As if a tether had wrapped around her soul and stretched toward the woods where he vanished.
A sound escaped her—half gasp, half moan—as a sharp heat surged through her stomach. Her hands trembled.
No one had ever touched her like that.
Hell, no one had ever looked at her like that.
And he hadn't even kissed her.
One sentence. One breath against her skin. That was all it took for her body to fall apart.
She wanted to scream. Cry. Chase after him.
Instead, she slid down the tree and sat in the dirt, pulling her knees to her chest.
The night air cooled her skin, but the heat inside her refused to fade.
The fire was lit. And she had no idea how to put it out.
Her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket. She fumbled it out with shaking hands.
KAYLA:
Girl where tf did you go?? Some scary dude just appeared and everyone is freaking out. Did you see that??
KAYLA:
Don't leave me alone with beer bros again pls 😩
Lyra stared at the screen.
Yes, she saw him.
Yes, she felt him.
Yes, she was losing her mind over him.
But she couldn't explain that in a text. Hell, she couldn't even explain it to herself.
Her thumb hovered over the keyboard.
Then stopped.
Because somewhere—just beyond the trees—she felt it again.
That pull.
That presence.
He was still here.
Watching.