Episode 3 - “The Pull Between Us”

The forest danger faded from Kael’s mind the moment he felt Rose trembling behind him.

Not from fear.

From him.

He turned slowly.

Rose was looking up at him with wide, breathless eyes… and something warm flickering inside them. Something that made the wolf in him push closer to the surface.

“Rose…” His voice dropped, rough and shaken. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me.”

She stepped toward him instead of away.

“I know what I’m feeling,” she whispered. “And I know it’s because of you.”

Kael swallowed, throat working as he tried to control the storm inside him.

But when Rose’s fingers brushed his chest—just lightly, just to steady herself—his breath hitched.

Her hand stayed there.

Right over his heartbeat.

“Kael…”

Her voice was soft, like she was afraid to break the moment.

He lifted his hand and placed it gently over hers, pressing her palm harder against his racing heart.

“This is what you do to me,” he said. “Every time you’re near.”

Rose’s cheeks flushed, but she didn’t pull away.

He leaned in, lowering his forehead to hers again, but this time his hand slid to her waist, pulling her just a little closer… close enough that she felt the powerful rise and fall of his breathing.

Her body melted into the warmth of him.

“Tell me to stop,” he murmured into her hair.

She curled her fingers into his shirt. “I won’t.”

Kael inhaled sharply, as if the words burned him beautifully.

His nose brushed her cheek, slow and soft, tracing down to the corner of her jaw.

Rose gasped, her legs weakening when he whispered against her skin:

“You’re driving me crazy.”

His hands moved—one resting at the small of her back, the other lifting her chin with unexpected gentleness.

She leaned into his touch like she’d been waiting for it her whole life.

“Kael,” she breathed.

He smirked slightly, voice low. “Say my name again.”

“Kael…”

That did it.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him.

Her heart hammered wildly, matching his.

Their lips hovered—so close she could feel his breath trembling with restraint.

“I shouldn’t,” he whispered.

“But you want to,” she whispered back.

His thumb stroked her cheek, his eyes burning into hers with raw, unguarded desire.

“Yes,” he admitted. “More than you know.”

Rose’s gaze fell to his lips for just a second.

He noticed.

His control snapped.

Kael tilted her head up—slow, deliberate—his lips brushing the corner of her mouth, feather-light, testing her, asking without words.

Rose exhaled a shaky, desperate sound that made him groan softly.

“Rose…”

He whispered it like a prayer.

Then his lips moved—slowly, dangerously—toward hers.

Their mouths almost met—

A breath apart.

A heartbeat apart.

One single moment from a kiss that would change everything.

He whispered against her lips:

“If I kiss you now… I won’t be able to stop.”

Rose’s fingers slid up his chest, curling around the back of his neck.

“Then don’t stop.”

His lips brushed hers—

And then—

A growl echoed through the trees.

Not his.

Someone was watching.

And wanted Rose dead.

Kael’s eyes snapped open, glowing silver.

He pulled her behind him, muscles rigid, protective and furious.

The moment shattered.

But the desire didn’t.

And neither did the bond.

---

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***