My heart was pounding so hard it echoed in my ears. My mind spun. My breath caught in my throat. Gideon's eyes stayed locked on mine—deep, golden, burning—as if he were hunting something he already owned.
The beast before me wasn't just powerful.
He was dangerous.
Captivating.
Overwhelming.
And, terrifyingly… he was starting to unravel me.
"Sienna!" a cheerful voice called out.
Theo.
I exhaled a shaky breath—relieved. Saved. Interrupted.
Gideon and I both turned toward him. I slipped from Gideon's grip the second his attention shifted, stepping away—only for Gideon to slide his arm right back around my waist, holding me as if afraid I'd vanish.
Theo bounded over with a handful of oddly-shaped stones. "Look! I found some of those rocks you said could help you find things!" he chirped, offering them proudly.
"Sire." Theo bowed before passing them to me.
Gideon glanced at them, uninterested. "What do you need those for?"
"Nothing," I lied smoothly. "They just look… fancy."
But I knew exactly what Theo had found.
Flints. Cherts. Fire-makers.
Perfect for survival. Perfect for escape.
Theo kept a few, and I pocketed the others. Gideon didn't question it.
Before I could thank Theo properly, Gideon scooped me up again and carried me back toward his dwelling high in the Sequoias. My stomach twisted with dread and something I refused to name.
"Now… where were we?" he murmured, setting me down.
I quickly put the rocks aside, but Gideon was already behind me—heat radiating off him like a second sun. My pulse spiked. I fell to the ground, trying to crawl away, but his hand wrapped around my ankle and pulled me back effortlessly.
"Gideon—please—" My voice trembled. My self-control was unraveling, thread by thread.
He dragged me closer, lowering himself over me with slow, deliberate certainty.
And then—
A warm, rough lick traced up my calf.
I gasped, a helpless sound escaping my throat.
"Gideon—stop—" I squirmed away, breath hitching, but he licked again—my body jerking from the strange mixture of heat, ticklishness, and embarrassment. My laugh cracked into a gasp, and his eyes darkened with satisfaction.
He liked the sound of me.
That realization alone almost undid me.
I scrambled again, but he slid me back beneath him. His tongue swept along my spine—slow, heated, intoxicating—and my last bit of strength vanished.
"I can't get enough of you," he breathed against my skin. "I lose all control. Your scent… your warmth… your taste…" His voice dropped lower. "I crave every part of you."
My hands trembled, clutching at him without meaning to. A whimper escaped me—soft, involuntary.
I barely remembered anything after that. Heat. Weightlessness. A rush of sensations. Gideon's arms. His breath along my neck.
Then darkness flickered at the edges of my vision.
The last thing I remembered was reaching up, instinctively wrapping my arm around him as he licked my nape—before everything went black and I fainted.
When I came to, the world was blurry. Gideon hovered over me, brow furrowed, eyes still glowing but now clouded with disappointment.
"I didn't know," he said slowly, "that you didn't have the strength to mate with me."
His devastated tone made my cheeks burn.
I twirled a strand of my hair, trying not to combust in shame. "Maybe now you see I'm not the right one for you," I whispered, clutching my chest. "You… you need someone who can match your pace."
He inhaled sharply, then exhaled. "We'll work on it." He stood. "Soon, you'll be ready."
Ready?! Oh, gods.
He continued, "I'll be gone for a few days. We must raid part of the Forbidden Forest. You must tell me you'll be alright while I'm gone. Theo will stay with you."
"I'll be okay," I assured him, forcing a smile.
He pulled me into a tight, warm hug. "Easy for you to say," he murmured against my hair. "If it were up to me, I'd take you with me. But you must build your strength. Stay here. Perhaps when I return… you'll be ready."
I laughed nervously. "We'll see."
Before leaving, he sniffed me—long, slow, possessive—then disappeared into the forest.
The moment he was gone, I shoved the flints and scraps of fabric into my makeshift bag. I needed to be ready. I didn't know when or how I'd escape, but I'd do it before Gideon returned. My climbing skills improved, so I made my way down to find water.
Theo appeared beside me like a whisper. "Good morning, Sienna!"
"You're so light on your feet I didn't hear you."
"That's my specialty," he said proudly. "So… are you going to show me what the rocks do?"
I grinned. "Oh, yes. Come on."
We found an open clearing far from dry bark or low branches—somewhere safe to test fire.
I shredded bark fibers with my sharpened stone, piled them up, and struck flint against chert. Sparks flew. On the fifth strike, the fibers ignited.
I grew the flame carefully, feeding it more bark. Theo's jaw dropped. "You… you can control light?!"
"Not light. Just—"
Suddenly smoke thickened, and Theo coughed, eyes widening.
The flame flared—too bright, too hot.
"Okay, that's weird—" I leaned forward to smother it—
But the moment my hand touched the fire, it didn't burn me.
It merged with me.
The flames spiraled into my skin like molten ribbons, heat racing through my veins. My chest burned—not painfully, but powerfully, as though something long dormant had awakened.
"Sienna," Theo whispered in terror, "you're glowing."
Villagers rushed in, panic spreading.
Morro shoved his way to the front. "Cursed! She is cursed! Fire has never belonged to Juno! Our king never should have let her in!"
I stomped out the flames—somehow—and dropped to my knees, panting. A burning pain seared my forearm. When I looked down, a flame-shaped mark glowed beneath my skin.
First fertility.
Now fire.
Before I could comprehend it, Morro and the elders began howling—an eerie, bone-deep alarm that vibrated through the kingdom.
"If the king will not rid of you," Morro snarled, "then we will."
Sasha stepped forward, eyes blazing. The bride candidates followed behind her, their posture predatory.
Theo planted himself in front of me. "Stay back! I follow only the king's command—to protect Sienna!"
Rain suddenly poured from the sky as if nature itself tried to smother the rising chaos.
But it was too late.
Growls echoed.
Bodies shifted.
Claws and teeth emerged.
Theo grabbed my hand. "Sienna, run!"
"I'm not leaving you!"
He transformed mid-stride—a wolf speeding beside me, injured but determined. We dashed through the forest, the kingdom's hidden paths opening beneath our feet.
When we reached the ravine—sharp cliffs before us, an ocean roaring below, and beasts closing in behind—we were trapped.
Theo shifted back, panting, bleeding. "Go," he whispered. "I'll hold them off."
"No! You're my friend!" I screamed, crying, clutching him. "I'm not leaving you!"
Morro sneered. "We are beasts. Sacrificing one of our own means nothing when it's to protect the many."
Sasha lunged at me.
Instinct took over.
I swung my arm—and fire erupted from my hand, striking her. She shrieked, stumbling back. Heat surged through me, my flame mark glowing brightly.
Theo groaned on the ground, injured. I wrapped one arm around him while my other hand blazed with fire, keeping the beasts at bay.
"Don't come any closer!" I warned, voice trembling but booming.
Then I did the only thing I could.
I ran straight off the ravine—dragging Theo with me.
As we plummeted toward the ocean, wind screaming past my ears, fear surging through me—
I cried out the only name that mattered.
"GIDEON!"