14-INSTINCTS

Kaelyn didn’t release her.

Even after the warning, even after admitting exactly what he was, he stayed where he was, one hand braced beside her, the other resting at her waist, close enough that she could feel the heat of him.

His breath brushed her ear.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since our first meeting.”

The words sank in, low and dangerous.

His hand lifted, fingers brushing a loose strand of her hair back from her face with a touch that was almost careful, which somehow made it worse.

“You must be a witch,” he murmured. “You’ve put a spell on me.”

Rose’s pulse kicked hard, her body betraying her in a way her mind refused to accept.

This was insane.

She was standing in the middle of nowhere, alone with a man who had just admitted he was a predator, who had killed without hesitation not half an hour ago, and yet…

She wanted to be here.

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” she said, though her voice came out softer than she intended.

His lips curved slightly.

“No?”

His hand found hers then, and his fingers slid between hers. The moment their skin met, a slow-burning heat spread through her body.

Her reaction was impossible to hide as she shivered, not from any cold.

“Come with me,” he said.

He didn’t pull her.

She followed.

The barn ahead looked abandoned, the kind of place people avoided.

Her instincts flared again.

“This doesn’t look like a date,” she muttered.

Kaelyn looked back at her.

“Trust me.”

The words settled.

Rose hesitated for half a heartbeat, then moved anyway.

He stopped just before the door, turning to face her fully, his hand lifting to tilt her chin upward, forcing her gaze to meet his.

“Rose,” he said quietly. “When I say I won’t hurt you, I mean it.”

Her chest tensed.

“Close your eyes.”

She should have refused.

Every instinct she had was screaming at her not to do it.

And yet…

She closed them.

The sound of the door opening creaked through the silence, followed by the faint shift of air as he stepped back.

“Now open them.”

Rose did.

And for a second, she forgot how to breathe.

The barn was gone.

Or at least, it felt like it was.

The inside had been completely transformed, the dark, empty space replaced by a warm glow that wrapped around her from every angle. Hundreds of candles flickered across beams, along the walls, across every surface, their light dancing and softening everything it touched.

Music drifted through the space, low and smooth, a trio set off to one side, their instruments weaving a slow, intimate melody into the air.

It was unreal.

She stepped forward without thinking, her eyes taking it in, the contrast so sharp it left her reeling.

“Oh my…”

The words failed her.

Kaelyn watched her with that same quiet focus in his gaze.

“Come.”

He led her further inside, toward a small raised deck that overlooked the river beyond, the water catching the candlelight and scattering it into something almost dreamlike.

A table had been set for two, simple, elegant, red roses arranged across it in a way that made her chest tighten unexpectedly.

A waiter stood nearby, already prepared, already waiting.

Rose let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“This is… I don’t even…” She shook her head slightly. “No one has ever done anything like this for me.”

Kaelyn pulled out her chair, waiting until she sat before taking his own.

“There is only one rose I care about,” he said.

Her lips parted slightly at that, caught off guard by the quiet certainty in his voice.

The waiter stepped forward.

“Are you ready to dine?”

Kaelyn didn’t look away from her.

“Whenever you are.”

Rose nodded, still trying to settle herself.

“Yes.”

The meal began, but for a while, neither of them touched it.

“This is… a side of you I didn’t expect,” she admitted after a moment.

“You expected something else?”

“I expected…” She hesitated. “Less of this.”

His mouth curved faintly.

“It has been a long time since I felt the urge to be romantic,” he said. “I wanted to impress you.”

“Well,” she said softly, “you did.”

Silence settled again, not uncomfortable, just… full.

“Why aren’t you with your pack?” he asked eventually.

The shift was subtle, but it landed.

Rose’s gaze dropped to the table.

“It’s… complicated.”

“You’re not there,” he said, studying her. “But you’re not a rogue either.”

Pain flared sharp and fast in her chest, memories she didn’t want rising too easily.

“I’m not ready to talk about it,” she said.

Kaelyn didn’t push it.

“I respect that,” he said. “When you’re ready.”

“Your phone was switched off today?” she said, changing the subject.

“Protocol dictated it should be,” he replied. “There was a summit between the families.”

“Who are they?”

“People who forget their place,” he said evenly. “Sometimes they need reminding who actually holds the power.”

That should have unsettled her.

Instead, it made something in her chest tighten in a different way.

“How long have you lived here?” she asked.

A flicker of amusement crossed his expression.

“Long enough that the answer wouldn’t sound real.”

She studied him.

“How long have you been with Bianca?”

The question slipped out before she could stop it.

His gaze held hers.

“A long time,” he said. “She is loyal.”

The answer was simple. The knot in her stomach wasn’t.

“I didn’t bring you here to talk about her.”

Rose nodded, though the tension didn’t fully leave her.

“Luke seems very protective of you,” Kaelyn added.

Her head snapped up slightly.

“We’re like family,” she said. “We are the same kind; we look out for each other.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie.

“And your parents?” he asked. “Still with the pack?”

“Yes. Arthur and Jenny.”

She had his full attention.

“Arthur taught you how to fight?”

“And to fix engines,” she added. “He’s a good man.”

“And your mother?”

She stiffened.

“She wanted a Barbie doll,” Rose said. “She got a rough little tomboy.”

Kaelyn leaned back, studying her.

“I think you’re perfect as you are.”

The words landed deeper than they should have.

“I don’t want you working at that bar anymore,” he said.

Her head lifted immediately.

“You don’t get to decide that.”

“I do if you’re under my protection,” he replied evenly. “I can’t protect you there. I want you where I can see you.”

“Luke has protections in place,” she shot back. “I’m safer there than anywhere else.”

Kaelyn held her gaze for a moment, then inclined his head slightly.

“Very well.”

He didn’t push further.

That surprised her more than anything else.

“Your wolf,” he said instead. “I’ve never seen one like it.”

She let out a quiet laugh.

“Yeah. It gets me into more trouble than it’s worth. It never backs down.”

“It suits you, Wild Rose.”

She shook her head.

“It makes me reckless.”

“It makes you dangerous.”

Their eyes held each other.

“Are you what the wolves call an Alpha?”

“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t bow to any Alpha, my wolf won’t let me.”

The music changed tempo, slower now.

Kaelyn didn’t release her.

Even after she pulled back, his hand remained at her waist, steady and anchoring. He had no intention of letting the moment slip away.

“Come dance with me,” he said.

Rose hesitated, the imprint of his mouth lingering far too vividly on her own.

She let him lead her back into the barn.

The music wrapped around them again, slow and deliberate, the candlelight flickering across the walls, softening everything it touched, turning the space into a haven that felt removed from the world outside.

Kaelyn drew her closer, one hand settling at her waist again, the other lifting hers, guiding her into the rhythm with an ease that suggested he had done this a hundred times before.

Rose wasn’t sure whether that thought should bother her.

It did, and yet, she didn’t pull away.

They moved slowly, the space between them nonexistent now, her body acutely aware of every point of contact, every shift of his hand, every quiet breath that brushed her skin.

Her fingers curled slightly at his shoulder.

“This is a mistake,” she murmured, though there was no conviction behind it.

“Perhaps,” he said again, pulling her closer.

His attention didn’t shift, and something in her chest yearned in response, a pull that felt dangerously close to surrender.

Rose swallowed.

“You say it like danger doesn’t matter.”

His eyes lifted to hers again, darker now.

“It doesn’t,” he said quietly.

Her breath caught as his thumb brushed lightly against her side.

“It’s you, you’re dangerous,” she said.

Kaelyn’s mouth curved slightly.

“And yet you’re still here.”

Her heart kicked hard.

“I should leave.”

He didn’t move.

“Then leave.”

He wasn’t stopping her; he was letting her choose.

Rose didn’t step back.

Her grip tightened harder against him instead.

His expression shifted, almost imperceptible, enough to make her pulse spike again.

“You feel this,” he said, his voice dropping, quieter now, closer.

Rose shook her head automatically.

“No.”

His hand stilled at her waist.

“Don’t lie to me, Rose.”

The way he said her name made her clench her thighs together.

She drew in a breath, steadying herself.

“I don’t even know what this is,” she said.

His gaze didn’t waver.

“I do.”

Her chest rose and fell a little faster now, the tension coiling tighter instead of easing, her instincts pulling her in two directions at once.

Run.

Stay.

She didn’t move.

Kaelyn stepped closer again, giving her every chance to step away, every chance to break whatever this spell was.

His lips found hers, claiming her with a slow, deliberate kiss. A deeper pulse sparked to life, insistent in its wanting.

Rose broke first, pulling back, her breath uneven, her thoughts scattered.

“This… this isn’t just you wanting me,” she said, her voice quieter now, uncertain in a way she hated.

Kaelyn didn’t answer immediately.

He watched her.

“No,” he said.

Rose stared at him.

A flicker of something crossed his face, gone too quickly to read.

“You should be careful.”

That wasn’t reassuring.

It wasn’t meant to be.

Her pulse kicked again, harder this time.

“Careful of you?”

Kaelyn held her there with a look.

The music carried on around them, soft, steady, almost distant now.

“No, careful of what this could become.”