The storm outside raged through the night, snow and wind battering the forest. Inside the wolves' den, however, the air was heavy with heat.
Aradia sat near the fire, her cloak falling from her shoulders, her eyes staring into the flames. She could feel him watching her. Kael hadn't moved from the shadows at the far wall, but his gaze was as tangible as a hand on her skin.
The pack had gone to rest, leaving them alone. The silence stretched, thick, charged, and when Kael finally stepped into the firelight, her breath caught.
He moved like a predator, slow and deliberate, every step bringing him closer until the firelight gilded the sharp lines of his face, the broad planes of his chest, the muscles carved by battle. His green eyes burned, not with anger this time, but with something darker.
Desire.
"You've been restless," he murmured, crouching in front of her. His voice was a low rumble, vibrating in her chest.
"I can't… stop it," she admitted, her hands trembling. "The fire inside me. It grows stronger every day. I feel like I'll lose myself."
Kael's hand brushed her cheek, calloused but careful. "You will not lose yourself. Not if you surrender to it. Not if you surrender to me."
Her heart raced. "And if I don't want to belong to anyone?"
A wicked smile curved his lips. "Then belong to the fire. Belong to the bond. Let it take you. Let me take you."
His mouth claimed hers before she could speak, hot and demanding, his kiss a storm she couldn't fight. Her body answered before her mind could resist, her fingers fisting in his dreadlocks, pulling him closer. His growl rumbled deep in his chest as his arms wrapped around her, lifting her as though she weighed nothing, carrying her toward the furs.
Her cloak fell, forgotten. The world vanished into heat and hunger, into the taste of him, the scent of earth and rain and wolf. His lips traced fire along her jaw, down her throat, until she gasped his name like a prayer.
The bond roared alive between them—fire meeting moon, witch meeting wolf.
And when his body pressed fully against hers, her magic flared, filling the cavern with heat, flames dancing higher in the firepit as though echoing her desire.
The night became fire and shadow, a storm neither of them tried to resist.