Kassie cleared her throat. “I’d stop talking while you’re ahead,” she told the fox. Then she turned to me. “Atlas, I’m not under any spell. I don’t like him or his dick, okay? He really does need help, and it looks like I’m the only one who isn’t affected by his charm. He needs someone who can help him fit in. He’s afraid no one will like him because of his species’ reputation, but without his magic, he would have no way to protect himself.”
I growled again and stepped away, taking Kassie along with me. “I don’t like it. You ran from me, and now you are talking to this naked male.”
Kassie bobbed her head back and forth. “True, and I should be punished,” she winked.
I huffed. “You will be, and it won’t be for fun,” I snarled.
Kassie reared her head back, her eyebrows furrowed. “Why are you so tense?”
“Tense?” I replied quietly. “You want to know why I’m so tense?”
I stepped toward her, and she stepped backward. There was a whistle from the background, followed by a hiss of laughter, but I paid it no mind. This was between Kassie and me.
Kassie’s arousal perfumed the air, and as much as I wanted to succumb to the scent surrounding me, I had to get my point across. She had no idea what kinds of monsters roamed these woods. There were many creatures that came to Arcana Falls who had never fallen into the waters, never partaken of them, and had not yet had their feral nature stripped away.
She could have been badly injured. She could have been mauled, torn apart, or made into someone’s meal. Kassie didn’t understand any of this.
Kassie continued backing up until her spine lined up with the tree behind her. Her black thigh-highs caught on the bark, and her tight purple tank top looked even tighter as her breasts rose and fell with each breath. I forced myself to look into her eyes so I wouldn’t succumb to her beauty.
“Atlas?” she pleaded with me. “What’s wrong?”
I clenched my jaw, trying to keep my anger in check. “What’s wrong? You want to know what’s wrong?” I echoed, my voice dropping into a low growl. “You could have been killed, Kassie. You could have been some monster’s dinner. You think this is a game? You think this is some kind of joke?”
Her eyes widened, and I saw the pulse in her neck quicken. She was finally getting it. Finally understanding the seriousness of what she’d done. “I-I’m sorry, Atlas,” she stammered. “I didn’t think—”
“You didn’t think,” I interrupted, my voice softer, but no less intense. “That’s the problem, Kassie. You can’t just wander off like that. Not here. Not in Arcana Falls.”
She looked down, her fingers tracing the bark of the tree behind her. “I’m sorry, Atlas,” she murmured. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “I know you didn’t. But you have to understand, this place… It isn’t like the world you’re used to. There are rules. Dangers. We haven’t gone over all of them yet, and that part is my fault.”
I pressed my hands against the tree, caging her in, my wings twitching with agitation. “You could have been killed, Kassie. Or worse.” I leaned in until my forehead rested against hers. “You think I’m just being some possessive asshole? Maybe I am. But I’m also terrified.”
Her eyes widened, surprise flickering across her face. “You’re not a bit of a possessive asshole, but you were… terrified?” she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper.
I nodded, my heart pounding in my chest. “Yes, Kassie. I’m terrified of losing you. I’m terrified that something could happen to you because I wasn’t there to protect you.” I pulled back slightly, my hands cupping her cheeks. “I can’t lose you, Kassie. Not when I just got you.”
Her eyes softened, and she reached up, her hands covering mine. “Atlas,” she murmured, her voice thick with emotion. “I’m sorry. I was trying to help end all this. I was trying to…”
I shushed her, my thumb brushing against her cheek. "I know you wanted to help. You kind of did, but... Let’s just forget this. You aren’t harmed, but don’t ever do anything like this again. Ever.”
Kassie nodded and pressed her face into my chest.
The fox, still naked but thankfully no longer flaunting his glamored dick, stepped forward cautiously. “I wasn’t far. I was watching out for her,” he said, his voice low, uncertain. “I would have protected her if I needed to, man. I just needed to talk to her, get her help. I can’t keep living like this, and her I-don’t-give-a-shit attitude was my only way in.” He shifted awkwardly, swaying from foot to foot.
I looked him over, instinct flaring hot and sharp in my chest. Sure, he had an athletic build, but could he wield a weapon? Could he split wood, spill blood, or stand his ground when something bigger and uglier came crawling out of the dark? Could that body actuallyprotecther, or was it just made to run?
If it came down to it, I already knew the answer.
“How would you even protect her?” I demanded, wrapping my wings around Kassie to shield her from him.
The fox smirked. “When I drop my full glamor, my charm, my beauty, the projection shifts to whatever a species prefers most. I would have led them away.”
I narrowed my eyes and really looked at him for the first time. He didn’t have much. An awkward shifter, stripped of confidence, running on desperation and instinct alone.
And it pissed me off how familiar that felt.
He was what I had been once. Before Kassie. Before I had something to protect, instead of something to prove.
