Episode 4 – The Shelter of Shadows

The forest had gone quiet again.

Too quiet.

Kael followed a few steps behind Lucien, still irritated by the demon’s parting words during the fight, but the pull to keep moving with him was stronger than pride.

They had walked for nearly an hour when the air shifted—colder, heavier.

“We’re being watched,” Kael said flatly.

Lucien didn’t glance back. “Yes. But not by anything foolish enough to attack us tonight.”

Kael narrowed his eyes. “How do you know?”

Lucien’s smirk was faint but there. “Because I’d smell their fear.”

Kael grunted, not sure if he was more annoyed at the arrogance or the fact that the demon was probably right.

The moon was sinking when they reached a rocky outcrop half-covered in moss. Lucien stopped and stepped into a narrow crack in the stone, vanishing into the dark. Kael followed, his senses alert, until the passage opened into a small cavern. The air was cool, tinged faintly with damp earth and… Lucien’s scent.

It clung to everything—rich, smoky, and maddening.

“We’ll stay here until dawn,” Lucien said, tossing his coat onto a smooth boulder and settling onto it as if it were a throne. “You can curl up in the corner if you like, Alpha.”

Kael’s glare was sharp enough to cut. “I don’t curl.”

Lucien leaned back, clearly enjoying himself. “You kneel though. We’ve established that.”

The memory of being forced down in the forest flashed in Kael’s mind—along with the heat that had followed it. He shoved it away. “Try it again and see how fast you lose a hand.”

Lucien chuckled, low and unhurried. “I like that fire. Makes it sweeter when I put it out.”

Kael turned away, pacing the edges of the cavern, trying to keep his thoughts clear. His curse was restless, thrumming under his skin, feeding on the closeness of another predator. It wanted contact—violent or otherwise.

Lucien watched him like a man studying a dangerous animal. Then, without warning, he patted the space beside him. “Sit.”

Kael froze. “What?”

“Sit,” Lucien repeated, his tone softer now, almost coaxing. “Unless you prefer I make you again.”

The part of Kael that hated being told what to do bristled. The part that remembered Lucien’s bite burned. Against his better judgment, he stepped closer—close enough for Lucien’s warmth to reach him—but didn’t sit.

Lucien’s hand shot out, gripping Kael’s wrist and tugging him down until he was half-sitting, half-trapped between the demon’s legs. Kael tensed, every instinct screaming to pull away, but Lucien’s gaze held him in place.

“You’re so tense,” Lucien murmured, his claw tracing lightly over Kael’s jaw. “Is it because you’re afraid of me?”

Kael’s voice was rough. “I don’t fear you.”

Lucien’s lips curled into a slow smile. “Then why are you trembling?”

Kael realized—too late—that it wasn’t fear. His curse was reacting, sending heat coursing through him until his breath came faster.

Lucien leaned forward, their foreheads almost touching. “Tell me to stop,” he whispered.

Kael’s throat worked, but no words came.

The demon’s smirk deepened at the silence. His fingers tightened on Kael’s chin—not hurting, just holding him there. “Good.”

Before anything more could happen, a distant howl echoed through the forest, sharp and urgent. Kael’s head turned toward the sound, breaking the moment.

Lucien let go, standing smoothly. “Looks like the night isn’t over.”

Kael stood too, still feeling the phantom heat of that closeness.

As they stepped out into the cool air again, his curse whispered the same dangerous truth it had before.

Follow him.

And Kael knew he would—no matter where Lucien led next.

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