The Heat Between Us

Chapter 3

Chapter Three: The Heat Between Us

Eva’s POV

The fire had long since burned down. But the heat remained.

Not from the room nor the fur pelts that tangled beneath my bare skin. Not even from Kael’s body that was half-curled around mine like a living wall of molten steel.

The warmth that pulsed inside me now came from somewhere deeper. A place I never knew existed not until now.

I stared up at the ceiling, my fingers tracing a faded knot in the wooden beam above me. Outside, the rhythm of distant drums had quieted. The sounds of celebration had faded into silence.

But inside me… was chaos.

Every inch of my body ached. Not from pain—but from how thoroughly he’d unraveled me. Kael hadn’t just touched my skin. He had touched something under it. Stripped me open without ever raising his voice, without a single cruel command.

And I had let him.

No—I had wanted it. Craved it. Chased it.

The feeling of him on me.The way his hands had moved like he was learning a language written in the curves of my body. How his mouth had dragged perfectly across my skin like a prayer being recited. How he never asked for more than I gave—yet took it all as if it was owed to him by birthright.

And maybe it was.

I turned quietly and slowly, careful trying not to disturb him. But Kael wasn’t asleep. His eyes opened immediately I turned. Silver. Watching. Waiting.

“Can’t sleep?” he murmured, voice thick with heat and sleep.

I shook my head, my throat too dry to answer right away.

Kael reached up, brushing my hair away from my face with surprising gentleness.

“You’re overwhelmed.”

I laughed softly.

It was a broken sound, but true. “That’s one way to put it.”

He didn’t push. He just traced my jaw with the back of his finger moving back and forth, studying me like he was memorizing the texture of me.

“No regrets?” he asked.

My answer was quiet. “Not even one.”

His mouth curved—not quite a smile. More like something deeper. Sadder. “You should.”

I stared at him. “Why?”

“Because you don’t know what you’ve walked into, Eva. You think this was just a single night. A single choice. But what we did… It's more than sex. It’s instinct. Bond. Magic older than any vow. And it doesn’t go away by the morning.”

His hand curled gently around my waist. Possessive. Warm.

“You’re mine now.”

The words hit me harder than I expected. Not a threat. Not even a promise.

A fact.

But instead of fear… something else stirred inside me.

Belonging.

My lips parted to respond, but he was already moving. Shifting on the bed, rising over me with that slow, terrifying grace that made my breath catch.

Kael hovered above me, his hands on either side of my head, eyes locked on mine.

“You still want me?” he asked, voice rough.

I nodded, unable to trust my voice.

His lips brushed mine. Not a kiss. A test.

When I leaned up into it, his control snapped.

We kissed like we had all night—desperately, deeply. But this time, something had changed. It wasn’t frantic. It wasn’t about survival or heat or primal need.

It was soft.

Kael kissed me like he was sorry for every rough breath. Every broken rule. Every line he crossed and would cross again. His mouth moved over mine slowly, reverently, until my toes curled from the gentleness of it.

His hand slid down my side, finding my thigh, drawing it over his hip. I gasped as the shift brought him against me again, hot and ready.

But he didn’t move further.

He waited.

“I want to feel you again and again,” I whispered.

Kael growled low in his throat and buried his face in my neck.

“I’ll be slow this time.”

And he was.

He kissed down my collarbone, pausing to savor the taste of my skin. His hands moved with agonizing patience—smoothing, stroking, learning me all over again. My breath came in soft moans as he traced lazy circles around my nipples, teasing them to peaks before dragging his mouth over one, then the other, in a rhythm that made me twist beneath him.

Every stroke, every lick, was a promise.

I see you.

I choose you.

You are mine.

When he finally sank into me again, I cried out. Not from pain. From how right it felt. How full. How complete.

Kael didn’t move at first. Just pressed his forehead against mine, panting through clenched teeth.

“Fuck,” he rasped. “You fit me like you were made for me.”

I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer.

And then he began to move.

Slow. Deep. Like he was dancing inside me. His hips rolled with devastating precision, drawing out pleasure in long, aching waves. My nails dug into his back as he drove me higher with every thrust, every kiss, every whispered word in that ancient language I couldn’t understand—but somehow felt in my bones.

Kael kept his eyes on mine, never looking away.

He wanted me to see him. To know him. Not just the beast, but the man.

And I did.

I saw the scars on his soul. The burden of the alpha. The hunger he fought every night.

He didn’t take me. He gave himself to me.

When I came, it was with a cry that echoed through the lodge walls. My whole body tensed, and Kael caught me, held me, whispered soft curses against my neck as he followed, his own climax crashing through him in shuddering waves.

We lay tangled for what felt like hours, breathing each other in. No words. Just skin on skin. Sweat and musk and warmth.

Eventually, Kael shifted beside me, propping himself up on one elbow.

His fingers trailed across my belly. “They’ll want to know what I’ve done.”

“They?”

“My pack.”

That word made my stomach flip.

“Will they be angry?”

He nodded. “Some.”

“Because I’m human?”

“No,” Kael said softly. “Because I chose you.”

I sat up slowly, dragging the fur blanket around me. The lodge suddenly felt colder.

“Kael, what does this mean? You said something about a bond… about magic?”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“In our world, mating is sacred. It’s not just sex. It’s fate. Once an alpha… claims someone under the Mating Moon, the bond is sealed. Physically. Spiritually. Emotionally.”

I blinked. “Are you saying we’re… bonded?”

“Yes.”

“And that means…”

“That you’re mine. That your scent is part of me now. That I’ll feel your pain. Your need. Your absence.”

My breath caught. “And you? Are you… in me, too?”

Kael nodded slowly. “Yes. I’m in your blood now. You’ll feel it—pulling you back. Making you ache when we’re apart.”

I swallowed hard. My heart raced.

“That sounds… intense.”

He gave me a smile. “It is.”

I stood up, barefoot, wrapping the fur tighter around my body. The cool floor kissed my skin like a wake-up call.

“So what now?” I whispered.

Kael watched me, unreadable. “That’s up to you.”

I turned to him. “No. It’s not. You knew. You chose. I walked into that forest thinking I was lost. But you—Kael—you knew what tonight meant.”

He stood too. Slow. Controlled. Dangerous.

“I didn’t plan this.”

“But you let it happen.”

He came closer, not touching. Just near enough for me to feel the heat of him again.

“You’re right,” he said quietly. “I let it happen because the moment I saw you… I couldn’t not.”

I stared at him. “And if I leave?”

His jaw tensed. “I’ll let you.”

“But the bond—”

“I’ll suffer. But I won’t cage you.”

A pause.

“I don’t want your body if your heart isn’t free.”

Tears stung my eyes, unexpected and hot. Because something inside me wanted him. Not just the sex. Not just the heat. But the man. The weight of his silence. The loneliness in his eyes.

I had walked into the woods searching for a shortcut.

And maybe found something deeper.

Kael stepped back, giving me space.

“You don’t have to decide now,” he said. “But know this—if you come back to me… if you stay… there’s no turning back.”

I swallowed. Nodded.

Then did something I hadn’t expected.

I reached out, took his hand, and brought it to my chest.

“I don’t want to turn back,” I said, voice shaking. “I just want to understand what I’m walking into.”

His hand tightened around mine.

“Then stay. Let me show you.”

And just like that, he kissed me again—slow, reverent, like he had all the time in the world.

And maybe, just maybe… he did.