Kael remained in her shack for three days. His wound healed faster than any mortal man's, but not without pain. Each night, he shifted restlessly, sometimes half-shifting into his wolf form in his sleep, claws digging into the wooden floor, growls reverberating in the small room.
Aradia tended to him with a mixture of resentment and fascination. He was too large for her cot, his broad frame spilling over, every breath pulling at the bandages around his side. His tan skin gleamed in the firelight, muscles carved like a statue, dreadlocks fanned across the pillow.
But it was his presence that unsettled her most. The way he filled the room, the way he looked at her with those piercing green eyes that seemed to see past her anger, her fear, her very soul.
"You watch me when I sleep," he murmured one night, his voice deep and smooth.
She stiffened. "I do not."
"You do. I can feel it."
"I was making sure you didn't die."
A slow smile curved his lips. "You care."
Her cheeks heated. "I do not."
He shifted closer, his sheer size overwhelming the tiny shack. "You saved my life. That makes us bound. My wolf… he hungers for you."
Her heart pounded, a strange, dangerous warmth curling low in her belly. "I am not yours."
But his hand brushed her wrist, his touch searing, sending shivers racing up her arm. "You will be, Aradia."
And though she pulled back, the fire in his eyes burned through her, leaving her restless and aching long after he had closed his.