Kella
I woke up to warmth.
Not the soft, fleeting warmth of sunlight through curtains—but something deeper. Solid. Alive.
My cheek was pressed against a broad chest, rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm. The scent surrounding me was pine, smoke, and something darkly intoxicating that made my stomach flip.
I froze.
I knew this scent.
Kael.
My lashes fluttered open, and my heart nearly stopped.
I was in his room.
Not a guest room.
Not an infirmary.
His room.
The space was large and shadowed, carved from dark wood and stone, heavy curtains drawn back just enough to let the early morning light spill across the floor. Everything about the room screamed dominance—order, control, power restrained only by choice.
And I was lying in his bed.
Curled against him.
My body reacted before my mind could catch up—heat pooled low in my stomach, my breath hitched, and my fingers tightened instinctively in the fabric of his shirt.
I should have pulled away.
I didn't.
Kael was awake. I realized it the moment his chest stilled beneath my cheek.
"You're awake," he said quietly.
Embarrassment flooded me, hot and sharp. I pushed myself up on trembling arms, immediately missing the warmth when he released me.
"I—I don't remember coming here," I said.
"You collapsed," he replied, sitting up beside me. His voice was calm, but his jaw was tight. "Your body couldn't handle the pull."
"The pull," I echoed weakly.
He studied me closely, eyes scanning my face as if checking for cracks, for signs of something breaking through. Whatever he saw made his shoulders ease—just slightly.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
I took a slow breath, cataloging myself.
Tired.
Sore.
But… steady.
"Better," I admitted. "Like something settled."
Something sleeping, a quiet voice whispered inside me.
Kael nodded once. "Good."
Silence stretched between us, thick with everything unsaid. My gaze drifted to his bare forearms, the faint scars crossing his skin, the power coiled beneath it.
I swallowed.
"Those wolves last night," I said softly. "They didn't scare me."
His eyes snapped back to mine.
"They should have."
"But they didn't," I insisted. "It felt like… they were family."
The word slipped out before I could stop it.
Family.
Kael stood abruptly, turning his back to me. "You need to be careful with thoughts like that."
"Why?" I demanded, pushing myself off the bed. My legs wobbled, but I stayed upright. "Why does everyone keep telling me to be careful instead of telling me the truth?"
He exhaled sharply. "Because some truths change everything."
"So does lying," I shot back.
He turned slowly, gaze dark. "I'm not lying to you."
"Then you're hiding things."
His silence confirmed it.
Anger flared in my chest—hot, reckless, unfamiliar. "I'm not a child, Kael. You don't get to decide what I can handle."
Something dangerous flickered in his eyes at my tone.
"Watch how you speak to me," he said, voice low.
My spine tingled.
Not with fear.
With something that felt disturbingly like challenge.
I should have backed down.
Instead, I lifted my chin. "Or what?"
The air between us shifted.
Power rolled off him in waves, thick and commanding, pressing into me until my knees threatened to buckle. My body reacted instantly—heart racing, breath shallow, skin humming like it was tuned to him.
I gasped.
Kael stiffened.
"Damn it," he muttered again, stepping back as if he'd burned himself. "You don't understand what you're provoking."
"I don't understand anything," I whispered. "But my body does."
His eyes locked onto mine.
That was a mistake.
The pull snapped tight—violent, magnetic, undeniable. I felt it in my bones, my blood, my breath. Every instinct inside me screamed one thing.
Him.
Kael's hands clenched into fists at his sides. "You shouldn't react like this."
"But I do," I said softly. "When you're near, it's like my body remembers something my mind doesn't."
His expression shuttered, conflict etched deep into his features.
"That's exactly why I'm trying to protect you," he said.
"From what?"
His gaze dropped briefly—to my lips.
"From me."
My breath caught.
Before I could respond, a sharp knock echoed through the room.
"Alpha," a voice called from outside. "The council is assembled."
Kael's jaw hardened. He turned away, all traces of vulnerability wiped clean, replaced by the Alpha again.
"Stay here," he ordered.
I bristled. "I'm not—"
"Kella," he interrupted, softer now. "Please."
That stopped me.
He paused at the door, glancing back once. "What's happening to you isn't a curse. It's not a mistake."
"Then what is it?" I asked.
His eyes glowed faintly.
"A legacy."
The door closed behind him, leaving me alone with my racing heart and a truth I wasn't ready to face—but could no longer ignore.
Something ancient was waking inside me.
And whatever it was…
It belonged in this world.
With him.