The kiss was brief, barely a brush of warmth against his skin, but it sent shockwaves through his entire body, freezing him in place as she stepped back with pink cheeks and a shy smile.
“Thank you,” she said again. “Truly.”
Then she turned and walked away, heading towards the village with quick, determined steps.
He should leave. He should melt back into the forest and return to his solitary existence as if this entire encounter had never happened. It was the sensible thing to do. The safe thing.
Instead, he found himself following the tree line, keeping her in sight as she approached the outskirts of the village. His beast wouldn’t let him abandon her. Not until he knew she was safe.
She’ll be fine,he told himself.This is her home. Her people.
But then he saw the human male.
An older male, thick around the middle, with the self-important bearing of someone accustomed to wielding authority over others. He intercepted her at the edge of the village, his face twisted with displeasure, and his voice sharp.
Tarek couldn’t hear the words at this distance, but he could read the body language clearly enough. The male was angry. Accusatory. His finger jabbed towards her chest as he spoke, and though she stood her ground, he could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her hands clenched at her sides.
His beast snarled, a sound of pure, primal fury that vibrated through his chest. Every instinct screamed at him to intervene—to stride into that village and tear the human male apart for daring to threaten what was his.
She is not mine.
But his claws had extended without his permission, and his muscles coiled with barely restrained violence.
She is NOT mine.
He forced himself to breathe. Bursting into a human village would accomplish nothing except getting himself killed and leaving her worse off than before. Whatever this confrontation was about, she would have to handle it herself.
Even if watching it felt like tearing out his own heart.
The male finished his tirade and stalked away, leaving her standing alone in the morning light. She stayed motionless for a long moment, and even from this distance, he could see the way her shoulders slumped with exhaustion and something that looked very much like defeat.
Then she straightened, lifted her chin, and walked towards a small cottage at the edge of the village. She paused at the door, and for one breathless moment, she turned and looked back towards the forest.
Towards him.
He knew she couldn’t see him. The shadows were too deep, and the distance too great. But something in her gaze made him feel seen anyway.
Then she disappeared inside, and the door closed behind her.
He stood in the shadows for a long time, watching the cottage, waiting for… something. Some sign that she was safe. Some indication that the confrontation with the older male hadn’t left lasting damage.
Waiting for an excuse to stay.
But no excuse came. The village went about its morning business, indifferent to the Vultor lurking at its borders. Smokerose from chimneys. People came and went. Life continued as if nothing had changed.
As if she hadn’t turned his entire world upside down in the span of a single day.
Finally, when the sun had climbed high enough to burn away the morning mist, he turned away. His feet felt heavy as he walked back into the forest, each step carrying him further from her and closer to the empty solitude that had defined his existence for five long years.
This is for the best,he told himself.She has her life. I have mine. There can be nothing between us.
His beast howled in protest, but he ignored it.
He was very good at ignoring things he didn’t want to feel.
The mountain welcomed him back with cold indifference—the same rocks, the same trees, the same silence that had been his only companion since his exile. Nothing had changed here. Nothing ever would.
But as he climbed higher into his territory, he found himself looking back towards the valley one last time.
