MARKED BY FIRE, OWNED BY FATE

The forest was quiet.

Too quiet.

Thick branches tangled overhead, cloaking the path in shadow. Moss blanketed the stone underfoot, and every step felt like walking into a heartbeat—humid, ancient, alive.

Vireya adjusted the leather strap across her chest, her eyes sharp as they scanned the overgrown trail ahead. Kael walked a few paces behind, tension bleeding off him in waves.

She could feel Drekken stirring just beneath Kael's skin.

Not angry.

Not violent.

Hungry.

Ashira flicked her tail inside her mind, restless but amused.

He's imagining you bent over a tree.

Vireya stumbled slightly.

Excuse me?

Ashira huffed. Not Kael. The other one. The wolf. He's been shoving images into your mate's head for ten minutes. Wet ones. A pause. I like him.

Vireya didn't even have time to respond before Kael's footsteps slowed.

She turned.

His eyes glowed faint under the filtered light.

Storm-grey.

Barely leashed.

And then she saw it.

The obvious strain in his pants. Thick. Hard. Twitched every time he shifted his stance.

"Everything okay, my King?" she asked, biting the inside of her cheek.

His jaw clenched. "Drekken's being… persistent."

She cocked her head. "Persistent how?"

He didn't answer.

So she stepped forward, slow.

Pressed one hand against his chest. Let her fingers trail down.

And lower.

Until she cupped the heat pulsing beneath the leather.

Kael exhaled through his nose like a dying man. "Vireya—"

She dropped to her knees.

Right there in the forest clearing. Surrounded by roots and ruin and ancient fog.

Kael's breath punched out of him as she unbuckled his pants.

And when she freed him?

Gods.

She didn't give him a chance to recover.

Her mouth wrapped around him like she'd been starving.

Kael's hand flew to her hair, his fingers tangling in the red as he groaned—low, sharp, ragged.

"You're going to kill me," he growled, hips jerking.

Vireya hummed around him. Slow, steady strokes. Eyes locked on his like she wanted him to lose it. She licked, sucked, swallowed. Her lips shiny, cheeks hollowing, tongue tracing that sensitive underside.

Kael's thighs trembled. His grip tightened.

And then?

He snapped.

Fists under her arms, lifting her off the ground like she weighed nothing. Spun her into the nearest tree and shoved her back against the bark.

"Not enough," he hissed.

Vireya gasped as he yanked her pants down in one brutal motion, mouth crashing into hers—teeth, tongue, fire.

She moaned into his mouth as he pressed one hand between her thighs.

Wet.

Dripping.

His eyes rolled back for a second. "Gods, you're soaked."

"You're the one walking around with a raging hard-on," she panted. "You think I didn't notice?"

He growled and lifted her with one hand, guiding himself with the other.

And when he pushed in?

Feral.

They both choked on the sound.

Her back hit the tree. His chest crushed hers. Their mouths were all heat and desperation as he slammed into her like the world was ending.

No rhythm. No restraint.

Just primal, brutal need.

The slap of skin echoed through the clearing. Her fingers dug into his shoulders. His name broke from her lips in gasps.

He fucked her like Drekken was in control—like he needed to mark every inch of her from the inside out.

"Say it," he growled into her neck.

"Yours," she moaned.

"Louder."

"YOURS."

He bit her shoulder. Not a mark. Not this time. Just pressure. Possession.

And when she clenched around him, legs trembling, cunt fluttering from how deep he was—

He roared.

Spilled inside her with a groan so guttural it made the trees shiver.

Warmth flooded her.

And kept coming.

Thick, hot, messy.

By the time he pulled out, her thighs were coated in it. His cum dripping down the backs of her legs, soaking her skin.

She shivered.

Not from cold.

From the after.

Kael rested his forehead against hers, still panting.

Neither of them spoke.

Until Drekken rumbled inside his chest, satisfied.

She'll carry us well.

Kael didn't respond to the wolf.

He just kissed her—soft now. Slow.

The kind of kiss that said he'd burn the forest to the ground if she asked.

They both walked further smiling.. for just a simple moment of bliss.

But they both knew it wouldn't last.

Because the forest?

Was waiting.

And now it had heard them.

So they continued walking finding the point that Iska had told them to meet her and Theoron at.