Lyra
The stone halls whispered of ancient things — oaths made in blood, battles long forgotten, and beasts that walked as men.
Lyra followed Kael through them, barefoot, and silent. Sge refused to ask where they were going. He hadn't told her, and she wouldn't give him satisfaction. But every corridor brought her deeper into the heart of the mountain fortress.
His fortress.
The scent of him saturated the stone. Cold metal. Smoke. Wild heat. Alpha. Her blood throbbed with every step he took, and the traitorous ache between her thighs hadn't dulled since the balcony.
She hated him for it.
She hated how her body responded to his nearness — how could she feel him without seeing him. Like a storm in her bloodstream.
They entered a room carved from black Rock. No windows. Just firelight flickering against obsidian walls, a low earth glowing like an open mouth.
Kael turned and suddenly they were alone.
Truly alone.
The click of the door locking behind her echoed too loud in her ears.
"This isn't my idea of a welcome party," she said dryly.
He stepped forward. "You're not a guest."
"No shit."
"You're mine."
The words rolled out like smoke — slow, poisonous, heavy with claim.
Lyra's pulse throbbed
"No, Kael," she said, stepping close. "I'm not a possession. I'm not your batch. You can snarl and growl all you want, but I am not something you own."
He tilted his head, amused. "You keep saying that. But you haven't run."
"Maybe I'm waiting for the right moment."
"Or maybe," he murmured, "you are starting to crave what you are."
She slapped him.
The sound cracked through the room like thunder. His cheek snapped to the side, red blooming across his skin.
Silence.
He turned back to her, slow and deliberate. His eyes weren't human anymore — glowing, molten, deadly.
"You want pain, little wolf?" He asked softly. "You'll get it."
She opened her mouth to retort — but he was already moving. In a flash, her back hit the stone wall, and Kael's body pinned her there, thigh between her legs, hand around her throat. Not tight. Not cruel. Just enough to make her gasp.
"Say it again," he growled, breathing hot against her lips.
She stared into his eyes, refusing to break.
"I'm not yours."
He leaned in, pressing his lips just beneath her ear.
"But I've already tasted you," he whispered. "Your blood. Your scent. You were mine the second you screamed through that fever with my bite in your skin."
Her stomach twisted. Lust. Rage. Confusion. It was all a blur.
Kael's hand slid from her throat to her collarbone, dragging slow heat down the front of her shirt. Her nopples hardened beneath the thin fabric, traitors to her fury.
"You hate me," he murmured. "I can smell it. But your scent's telling a different story."
His hand dipped lower, skimming the edge of her waistband. Her breath hitched — against her will.
Stop this. You're not like this. You're not —
His lips brushed hers. Not a kiss. A warning.
"Tell me to stop Lyra." He rasped. "Say the word. One word, and I'll walk away."
She should've. She wanted to.
But her fingers curled into his shirt, dragging him closer instead.
Kael groaned low in his throat, like a wolf denied too long. His mouth crashed down on hers, hot and hungry, all teeth and need.
The kiss wasn't gentle. It wasn't slow. It was war.
His thigh pressed higher, and her lips rolled against him without a shame. He devoured the moan she gave him, grinding her against the cold wall like he wanted to leave a bruise where her skin met stone.
She bit his bottom lip hard, tasting blood. He snarled, gripped her ass, and lifted her effortlessly, wrapping her legs around his waist.
"Kael —" she gasped, trying to pull away.
He didn't let her.
"You feel this?" He growled, grinding against her. "You think that's hate between us? This is need Lyra. This is what the bond does."
She grabbed his hair and yanked his head back.
"No," she panted. "This is you. Twisting me. Twisting what I am."
His gaze was fire. "You've always been this. I just woke the beast sleeping in your blood."
He kissed her again, slower this time. Brutal in a different way. She felt her resistance splintering, bit by bit.
But something inside her snapped.
She shoved him hard that he staggered back, chest heaving, jaw tight.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"You don't get to own me, Kael," she said, voice shaking. "You can fuck me. You can mark me. You can even tear the girl I was to shreds. But when I rise from her ashes, I will never be yours."
He stared at her. Breathing hard. Golden eyes burning.
Then he smiled.
Dark. Dangerous. Feral.
"We'll see," he said.
And he turned, walking out of the room — leaving her soaked with want,furious, and on the verge of breaking.