Jordan had become a lodestone for every unmated male in the clan. How could they possibly resist? She moved through our world with an ethereal grace that seemed almost choreographed, her compassion as instinctive as breathing, her mind sharp enough to trade barbs with our most learned healers. To call her beautiful would be like calling the sun warm—technically accurate but laughably insufficient. She was luminous, magnetic, utterly mesmerizing.
I'd marked my territory in every conceivable way except the one that actually mattered. Inserting myself between her and interested males. Materializing at every meal, every gathering, every moment I could remotely justify. My glares had achieved near-mythical status—silent threats that most males possessed enough survival instinct to respect.
Most. But not all.
Kael, it seemed, had either the courage of a warrior or the brains of a river stone.
The bastard circled Jordan like a wolf who'd caught the scent of something sweet, always there with assistance she didn't need, suggestions for excursions she didn't want, compliments that dripped from his tongue like honey and made my blood boil.
I stood on my porch, arms crossed tight enough to crack ribs, watching Jordan kneel in the garden plot near my dwelling. She was tending the mint patch, her fingers moving through the leaves as Morg had taught her. The old healer had been pleased with how quickly Jordan learned—not just which plants were which, but how to harvest them properly, encourage their growth, speak to them the way our people did.
Afternoon sunlight caught in Jordan's hair, highlighting the strands with gold, and she hummed softly as she worked—some melody from her world that wrapped around my heart like a vine, beautiful and suffocating.
And there, hovering at the garden's edge like a fly that refused to be swatted, was Kael.
He crouched beside her, murmuring something I couldn't hear from this distance. Jordan glanced up with that polite smile she gave everyone, then returned to her work. A dismissal, clear as day. But Kael, apparently too dumb to catch subtlety, didn't move. His fingers drifted to a leaf she'd just touched, lingering there—too close, too familiar.
The porch railing creaked under my grip.
He spoke again, gesturing toward the forest with exaggerated enthusiasm. Another invitation. Another transparent attempt to lure her away from the village. To be alone with her. Jordan shook her head with that maddening kindness of hers, pointing to her work, explaining she needed to finish.
Any male with sense would have retreated.
Kael settled in like he had all the time in the world.
My feet carried me across the distance before conscious thought caught up.
"Jordan," he purred, his voice dropping into what he clearly imagined was an irresistible register. He sounded like a toad. "Tonight, let me show you the glowing mushrooms. Deep in the forest. They light up the darkness—very beautiful. Very romantic."
I materialized between them before Jordan could respond, my shadow swallowing Kael whole.
"Kael." His name came out like gravel grinding. "Don't you have patrol duty?"
"Not until—"
"Now. You have it now."
His jaw tightened, rebellion flickering across his face, but even he wasn't stupid enough to challenge his chieftain. Not here. Not over this. He rose stiffly, stalking away with one last pathetic, longing glance at Jordan.
"Ruka." Jordan's voice danced with barely suppressed laughter. "Was that really necessary?"
I turned to face her, and the sight nearly undid me—hair escaping its tie in wild tendrils, those sharp eyes glittering with amusement that cut straight through my chest.
"Absolutely."
She shook her head, fighting a smile. "He was just being friendly."
"He was being predatory. There's a difference."
"And that bothers you?" The question hung between us, delicate as spider silk.
Everything bothered me. That males circled her like wolves scenting prey. That I wanted to claim her but had no right. That she would vanish from my life soon, leaving nothing but the ghost of her laughter haunting these paths.
That I was a chieftain bound by duty to an entire people, not just my own selfish desires.
"Yes." The word came out raw, stripped bare.
Her expression softened into something that made my heart stumble. She reached out, her hand finding my arm, her touch burning through skin and muscle straight to bone.
