The forest still smoldered hours later. Wolves worked to douse the flames, dragging the dead hunters into shallow graves. Kael ordered doubled patrols, his fury simmering beneath his calm exterior.
Aradia slipped away, her heart heavy. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the fire spilling from her hands, uncontrolled and ravenous. She had almost killed them all.
She didn't hear him until he was already there.
"Beautiful," Ronan murmured from the shadows.
She spun, her pulse leaping. He leaned against a charred tree, his copper hair catching the dying embers, his amber eyes glowing with dangerous admiration.
"You saw," she whispered.
"I did." He stepped closer, his smile slow, predatory. "And it was glorious."
She shook her head, tears brimming. "It was a disaster. I almost killed—"
"You almost killed him," Ronan cut in smoothly, his voice curling like smoke. "And isn't that what you fear most? That you are too much for your Alpha. That one day your fire will devour him, and all he will do is chain you tighter to stop it."
Her lips parted, trembling.
Ronan's hand lifted, brushing her cheek with a gentleness that stole her breath. "You don't need chains, Aradia. You don't need control. You need freedom. You need someone who will let you burn as brightly as you were meant to."
Her chest heaved, her body betraying her. He was too close, his heat brushing hers, his lips inches from her own. Her heart raced with panic and longing.
"Ronan…" she whispered, torn.
His thumb grazed her lower lip, his eyes dark with hunger. "Tell me you don't want this. Tell me you don't want me."
Her body swayed toward him, the bond between them sharp, dangerous. She could taste the kiss waiting in the air, her soul trembling on the edge of surrender.
But then a howl split the night.
Kael.
Ronan's smile curved, sharp and wicked. "Careful, little witch. If you keep answering his call, you'll never hear your own."
And then he was gone, leaving her heart pounding, her lips aching for a kiss that hadn't come.