Chapter 4 BURNING IN THE DARK

Amara's back hit the wall hard, but she didn't care.

Kael's mouth crushed hers again, and this time, he didn't hold back. There was no gentleness in him-only hunger. No hesitation-only need.

And gods, she wanted it.

His hands roamed her body like he was learning a map long denied to him. Her fingers dragged across his chest, feeling muscle beneath fabric, the ragged breath he tried so hard to hold back. She felt the tremble in him-of restraint, of war within.

But he wasn't the only one shaking.

Her body responded before her mind could catch up. Years of rage and grief unraveled in his touch, dissolving into something darker. He made her feel alive, and it terrified her.

She broke the kiss just long enough to gasp, "Why me?"

Kael's lips traced the curve of her jaw, down her throat, breath hot and desperate.

"You taste like defiance," he murmured. "Like something I should destroy-but I'd rather bleed for."

His hands slipped beneath her tunic, sliding over bare skin.

And the shadows... they curled around them both, watching.

Living.

Yearning.

But they didn't touch her.

Not yet.

"They listen to you," she whispered, dazed.

He nodded against her skin. "They want what I want."

She swallowed hard. "And what do you want?"

Kael's mouth hovered just above hers. His voice dropped to something dark, aching, and raw.

"You."

He lifted her again, carrying her across the room like she weighed nothing. Her tunic fell open beneath his grip, her breath catching as the air kissed exposed skin.

But before he laid her down-

He froze.

The shadows recoiled.

Kael stumbled back like something had struck him.

"No," he whispered. "Not like this."

She sat up, chest rising and falling. "What's wrong?"

His hands were fists now. His eyes glowed like gold fire.

"It's not just me anymore," he said, voice thick with shame. "When I want something too much... it comes with it. And it's hungry."

The walls seemed to pulse.

The air thickened.

He took a shuddering breath, shaking his head. "I won't let it use you."

Amara stood, crossed the space between them. Her hand touched his chest-over his heart.

"Then let me choose," she whispered. "Don't cage your want just to protect me."

He looked at her like she was breaking him.

"I could lose control."

"Then lose it with me."

He reached for her again-but this time, slower. The kiss that followed was deeper. Warmer. His hands learned her all over again, but softer now, reverent.

And still, just under the surface, the shadows quivered.

They watched from the corners. From beneath the bed. From behind the mirror.

But they did not touch her.

Because for the first time in a century, Kael was stronger than them.

And in her arms, he remembered what it meant to be a man-not a monster.