The fire between them had quieted, but the tension in the room still sizzled like embers waiting for breath. Selene sat in silence, the sheets tangled around her, her skin still tingling where Kieran's hands had explored her soul as much as her body.
She had crossed a line.
And the deeper ache wasn't just the aftermath of surrender—it was the heavy truth that she wanted to be claimed.
Kieran stood near the window, shirtless, golden eyes fixed on the city lights below the veil of night. The marks across his back—warrior glyphs, ancient and pulsing faintly with power—glowed softly in the moonlight. She had traced them with her fingers only hours ago. Now, they felt like a brand on her memory.
"You're quiet," he said without turning.
"I'm thinking."
He finally looked over his shoulder. "Dangerous thing for someone in your position."
She arched a brow, wrapping the sheet tighter around her. "And what position is that?"
Kieran's smirk returned, but this time it was softer. "Caught between your heart and your guilt."
Selene stiffened. The words were a direct hit.
He walked toward her slowly, like a predator that knew the prey had stopped trying to run. "You're afraid this means something." He knelt at the edge of the bed. "That I mean something."
"You were my brother's best friend," she said quietly. "Now… you're the man he would kill without hesitation."
Kieran's jaw tensed. "I'm not the one who broke you, Selene. He did."
She looked away. "It doesn't make this right."
He reached out, brushing a lock of hair from her face. "No. But it makes it real."
Silence fell again, the weight of it pressing down like fog. But beneath it, something shifted.
Kieran's hand moved to her wrist and turned it over gently, revealing the faint, glowing symbol etched into her skin—one she hadn't noticed before.
Her breath caught. "What… is that?"
He stared at it with something unreadable in his eyes. "It's the bond."
Selene's pulse stumbled. "That can't be. You're not my mate."
Kieran's gaze sharpened. "No," he said slowly. "I'm not supposed to be."
Her mouth went dry.
The bond mark only formed when fate had decided.
And fate… was never wrong.
Unless it wasn't fate.
Unless something else was rewriting the rules.
Kieran released her hand and stood. "Whatever this is," he said, his voice lower now, "it's not just lust anymore."
Selene stared at the mark glowing on her skin like fire beneath flesh.
Whatever game they'd been playing—it had changed.
Now, the stakes were deeper.
And there was no escaping the obsession that had already bound them.
---
To be continued..