Chapter 5 You're Safe Now

The fight was over.

The floor of the basement was slick with blood, the scent of it thick and bitter in the air. The rogues were either dead or unconscious, their bodies scattered like discarded trash. Jarek stood near the doorway, breathing hard, one arm cut and bleeding, but alive.

Kael didn't notice any of it.

He was too busy staring at her.

Ember sat on the edge of the cot, her eyes wide, her knees pulled up to her chest. She was still in that thin shift, torn and stained, her hair a tangled mess. But she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Not because of how she looked. Because of the strength in her.

"You're safe now," he said quietly, kneeling in front of her.

Ember looked down at her hands. They were shaking.

"You don't have to be afraid anymore," Kael said again. His voice was softer this time, almost reverent. "No one will touch you without your permission. Ever again."

Her throat bobbed. "Why do you care?"

Kael blinked. "Because you're mine."

She flinched.

"I don't mean like they did," he added quickly. "Not as property. Not as a possession. The bond - it's sacred. It's not about control. It's about choosing."

He reached out, slow, giving her every chance to pull away. When his fingers brushed her cheek, she closed her eyes.

No flinch. No fear. Just silence.

"You don't have to touch me to prove anything," she whispered.

"I'm not trying to," he said. "I just want to feel you breathe."

Later... In the Safehouse

The fire crackled low in the hearth.

Ember sat on the edge of the bed in Kael's private room - borrowed from a remote safehouse in the northern territory. The room smelled like pinewood, leather, and Kael.

Clean, quiet. Safe. She'd been given a hot shower. A robe. Bandages. Food.

But what clung to her now wasn't grime. It was touch memory. The echo of chains. The lingering ghost of Caleb's hands on her skin.

Kael stood near the wall, giving her space, shirtless as he cleaned a gash along his ribs.

Her eyes drifted over him. The hard lines of his chest. The scars that mapped his body. He was strength, violence, power - but not toward her.

He hadn't demanded anything. Hadn't pushed.

She stood, suddenly unsure what to do with her body.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked, voice low.

She shook her head. "I want you to stay."

He didn't move.

"But I don't want to be touched. Not yet."

His gaze softened. "Then I won't."

She moved closer. Just enough to feel his body heat.

"I don't know why I trust you," she whispered.

Kael reached out slowly, not to touch her, but to offer.

And then - she made the choice.

She took his hand. Something inside her clicked. The bond pulsed between them - real, ancient, alive.

She exhaled.

"I want to sleep," she said. "But I don't want to be alone."

He nodded once, stripped the blanket from the bed, and lay it on the floor.

She frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you the bed."

"It's your room."

"You're my mate."

She stood there, chest rising and falling. Then, hesitantly, she climbed onto the bed and curled under the sheets.

A minute passed.

Then another.

"Kael?"

He looked up.

"You can lie next to me. Just... hold me. If that's okay."

He rose, padded across the floor, and slipped in beside her. His arms wrapped around her, solid and warm.

No pressure. No heat.

Just safety.

And that night, for the first time in years, Ember slept without fear.