Darian.
The glowing eyes moved closer, cutting through the mist like twin lanterns of molten fire.
Her heart threatened to explode in her chest, fear and fascination mingling in a dizzying storm.
I pressed her closer, shadow coiling around us, protective and alive. Kael growled in my mind, low and possessive, the sound vibrating through Darian's every muscle.
Kael: "Mine… she's mine. No one touches her. Not this… not anyone."
Darian: "Kael… steady. Assess first. Protect her."
The predator's shape became clear enormous, towering, with fur black as midnight and eyes glowing a deep, molten crimson. Its growl reverberated through the forest, shaking leaves from the trees and sending a shiver down her spine.
I could feel the raw power radiating from it older than the forest, hungrier than anything we had faced.
"Lyra…"I murmured, voice low, rough, protective. "Stay behind me.
Don't move unless I say."
She wanted to argue, wanted to step forward, but fear rooted her.
It felt like they have been waiting for this day a day I won't exist like I was a nemesis to them.
Tears rolled in her eyes.
Still, her body ached to fight, to stand beside me.
Fire tingled in her hands, instinct and power responding to the threat, her heartbeat syncing with the primal rhythm of Kael inside me.
Kael: "It smells her… it knows. Do you feel it, Darian? She's mine. Mine. MINE!"
Darian: "I feel it, Kael… control. We move together. Protect Lyra first."
The creature stepped closer, its paws large enough to crush the ground, claws glinting like sharpened obsidian. It lowered its massive head, sniffing the air, eyes locking onto mine.
Her blood screamed in recognition this being knew her. Knew Lyra. Knew the fire inside her.
Kael: "She's mine! Claim her, Darian! Show her! Show the beast who owns her!"
Darian: "Patience… she's ready, Kael… she'll understand soon."
She swallowed hard, trembling. Every hair on her body stood on end.
The fire in her veins flared hotter, responding to Kael's growls and my steady dominance.
Her pulse hammered, her breath came in short gasps, and her hands tingled with raw, dangerous energy.
The predator roared a deep, bone-shaking sound that echoed through the forest and lunged.
I moved like liquid shadow, catching her behind me and propelling us both to the side. Her feet barely touched the ground before fire surged from her hands, striking the creature's side. Shadow wrapped around it, coiling like a living chain, holding it back.
Kael: "YES! Mine! She's mine! Take her! Protect her!"
Darian: "Focus, Kael! Don't let desire blind us. Protect Lyra."
The predator twisted, snarling, claws raking through the mist.
She felt the heat of my body pressed against hers, my golden eyes molten as they locked on the threat. Kael's growl vibrated in every fiber of me, but my control guided it, coiled it into deadly precision.
"You're safe with me, Lyra," I murmured, lips brushing her ear, teeth grazing her temple.
"No one… nothing… can touch you. Not while I'm here. Not while Kael is here."
She trembled, heat crawling up her spine.
"I… I trust you,"She whispered, voice shaking. "I need you… both of you."
The predator keeps lunching every time towards them.
Kael: "She feels it! She wants it! She's mine! Take her! NOW!"
Darian: "Control, Kael… together. Always together."
The predator lunged again. This time, I unleashed a controlled wave of shadow, hitting it mid-air, and she flared her fire in tandem, the combined force blasting the beast backward into a tree with a sickening crack. It staggered but didn't fall. Red eyes locked onto mine, growl low and menacing.
Kael: "MINE! All of her! She bleeds fire… she burns… claim her!"
Darian's lips brushed mine, firm and possessive. "Always mine, Lyra…, beast, fire, shadow… all of you. You're mine."
Kael Stop!
I gritted my teeth in annoyance.
______
Lyra.
I shivered, body pressed to him, heat and desire coiling through me, every nerve screaming with the intensity of our bond. Even as the ancient predator rose again, bigger and hungrier than before, I knew I didn't just need .
I needed both Darian and Kael, intertwined, protective, possessive… consuming me entirely.
The creature roared, lunging faster than ever, and I felt the ground shake beneath us. Darian's shadow flared violently, Kael's growl shook through the air and I realized, trembling, that this battle was only the beginning… and that the predator knew more about me than I ever realized.