LOGIN“…Kael.”The name lingered between us.For a moment… neither of us moved.He remained close, his hand still around mine, his gaze steady in a way that made it difficult to look anywhere else. The air felt different now… quieter, but not empty. Something had settled between us, something that hadn’t been there before.He was looking at me.Not teasing.Not guarded.There was a depth to it now… something searching, something that made my chest tighten without warning, as if he was trying to see something beyond what was in front of him.Then… he smiled.It wasn’t the faint smirk I had come to expect from him.It was softer.Warmer.Real.The change caught me off guard so completely that my breath faltered for a second.“Good girl.”The words were quiet… but they landed heavily.My heart stumbled.Not out of embarrassment.Not quite.It felt different… warmer… unfamiliar in a way that unsettled me.I blinked.“My name…”The words came out before I could stop them.I hesitated.His gaze d
He did not let go.His hand remained around mine as he led me out of the room, firm enough that I could not mistake the intent behind it, steady enough that no one could call it rough. The wolves moved aside before we reached them. Some lowered their heads. Some stepped back too quickly, as if they had only just remembered where they were standing. No one tried to stop us. No one spoke.The silence followed us anyway.I could feel eyes at my back as we crossed the corridor, but they did not linger long. The farther we went, the quieter the palace became. The tension from the hall behind us did not disappear. It only changed shape. It narrowed. Focused. Settled into the hand holding mine and the tall, silent figure walking a step ahead of me.'...he still hasn't let go...'I looked at our hands once.His fingers were closed around mine with quiet certainty. Not tight enough to hurt. Not loose enough to forget.Deliberate.That was the word.Every step he took felt deliberate.He did no
The moment our eyes met… everything else fell away.Not the voices. Not the movement. Not the quiet rush of relief from the wolves gathered around the man on the floor.But it no longer reached me.Because he was there.Alpha Kael stood a few steps away, his gaze already on me, steady in a way that made something inside my chest loosen before I could understand it.It was subtle.So subtle that no one spoke of it.But I felt it.The restless pull that had been stirring under my ribs eased… softened… like something that had been unsettled had finally been pressed back into place.‘…it’s quieter…’I had not realized how loud it had been until it wasn’t.His eyes did not leave mine.And then he moved.Not quickly.Not sharply.Just… forward.Until he was close enough that the space between us no longer felt like distance at all.His hand lifted.For a brief moment, I thought…But instead of reaching my face… he took my hand.My breath caught.Before I could react, before I could even thi
He was reaching for me.I saw it clearly now... not mistaken, not imagined. Priest Anon’s hand lifted with quiet certainty, his gaze fixed on me in a way that made my chest tighten before I could understand why.He did not slow.He did not hesitate.It was not the same calm gaze from before. It felt different now... intent, certain, focused in a way that left no space for doubt. It was not a question. It did not feel like he was waiting for permission.My body would not move.'I should step back...'I didn’t.My breath caught somewhere in my chest, shallow and tight, as if even the smallest movement would break something fragile and dangerous between us.His eyes did not leave mine.Not when the room fell silent.Not when the distance between us shortened.The warmth under my ribs stirred again... soft at first, then clearer, like something in me was answering him before I could understand it.'...why does it feel like this...?'He stepped closer.His hand lifted higher.And then—A h
The moment stretched too long.No one moved.Not after what had just happened. Not after the way the priest had looked at me… and then chosen not to act.Then the room began to breathe again.Voices returned in low, uneven tones. Movement followed, careful at first, then steadier. Hands adjusted their hold. Feet shifted across the floor. The scent of herbs settled back into the air as if nothing had changed.But something had.And it had not left me.The attention lingered.Not sharp.Not loud.Worse.Waiting.‘…why are they still looking at me…?’I stayed where I was. Moving felt like it would only draw more of it. My hands remained still at my sides, my posture held carefully, as if even the smallest shift would be noticed.No one said it.But the expectation was there.Pressing.Before it could settle too heavily, he moved.Priest Anon’s expression softened, as if nothing unusual had happened. As if the tension that had gathered around me had never existed.He turned away.He walke
The room did not return to normal.It should have. The wolf on the bed was breathing easier. The quiet gratitude had settled back into the space. The low movement of bodies, the soft murmur of voices, the faint scent of herbs… everything had fallen back into place.But something had shifted.It settled against my skin before I could name it. A quiet awareness… like standing in a place where I should not be noticed, and knowing I already had been.Because he was still looking at me.Not glancing. Not observing.Looking.Steady. Unmoving.My body reacted before my thoughts did. A small shift in my weight. A step that almost formed.I stopped it.‘…why am I stepping away…?’My fingers curled faintly at my side.I stayed.His gaze did not waver.There was something in it that did not match the softness of his expression. Something deeper. Something that did not belong in a simple moment like this.It felt like being seen.Not the way others looked at me. Not the way the wolves in the corr
There are two faces people wear.The one that stands tall when the world favors them.And the one that cracks when it does not.I saw both on Elder Ruis in the span of seconds.He entered the wing with his chin lifted high, shoulders squared, boots striking the stone with slow authority. His robes
I felt it before I saw anything.The corridor was the same as always. Stone beneath my feet. Torches burning low. Guards changing shifts somewhere deeper in the palace. Armor brushing leather. Quiet voices carried and swallowed by distance.But the space behind me changed.There were no footsteps.
It felt like my life was slowly becoming… normal.Normal in the sense that there was a place I was expected to be. A task waiting when I woke. A path already worn beneath my feet.The thought unsettled me more than chaos ever had.The administrative wing was colder than the rest of the palace.I fe
The door opened.My heart jumped so hard it hurt.For one breath, I thought it was Alpha Kael.I felt it before I thought it. The sudden tightening in my chest. The way my body went still, like it had been waiting for that sound all along. ‘He came back.’Then the light shifted.It was not him.Ma







