Zeil froze in the place he stood. At the edge of his bed, skin damp with sweat, breath caught somewhere between his lungs and his throat.

And Kael stood there still silent and watching him panic about something. Just like a shadow that didn’t belong in the morning light.

The same piece of grass dangled from his mouth, two tiny leaves twitching near the base. It shouldn’t have mattered, but somehow, it did.

That little thing irritated Zeil more than it should.

Zeil’s lips parted, but no sound came. His eyes darted to his wooden board where he kept the pills, a relief sigh left his mouth as he saw it was still locked with the padlock he had earlier put on before heading out to clear his head.

Kael chewed slowly, then said, “How was your training?”

Calm voice. Too calm. Like this was just another day for the pack teachers to educate pups on principles, morals and all those schools shit that Zeil during his time couldn't care less.

Zeil didn’t wait for him to finish. His defence wall shot to their peak.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he barked, voice sharp and filled with anger after he had regained himself from his earlier panic.

The sound bounced around the room. Even the table trembled a little. “I didn’t ask for this,” Zeil spat. “You think standing there and staring at me is part of your job?”

Kael didn’t flinch but rather stared at him like he was bored.

Zeil’s breath came faster now. His chest rose and fell with every word. “You walk in here like you own the place. Like this is your house. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Still no answer.

The silence pressed on him, made him feel small. That pissed him off more because all his life, his father sure did one hell of a fine job at that.

“You think I’m some kind of performance for you? Just standing there while I bleed and break. What, you enjoy that?”

He turned away, facing the wall. Tried to calm the anger bubbling in his chest.

“You’re just a rogue. Picked off the street. No name. No home. Nothing.” His voice dropped, cooler now, but no less sharp in hopes he would hurt Karl's feelings. He turned back, locking eyes with him.

“Know your place, and do your job like a proper guard. Not some silent creep lurking in corners.”

And that’s when Kael moved, He pulled the toothpick from his mouth and dropped it. It landed without a sound. But the silence after filled the room even down to the hidden corners.

His energy changed.

Zeil felt it before he saw it, like the temperature in the room had dropped, like their silhouette had gotten thicker.

Kael’s wolf surfaced for just a second. Just long enough to flood the room with a pulse of cold, dangerous aura.

His eyes didn’t blink. Didn’t soften, only darkened than they usually were.

“You think I wanted this?” he asked, voice dropped low and rough.

He stepped forward now. “You think I chose to be in this pack?”

“I didn’t ask for this. Not the title. Not the chains that came with it.” His voice was sharp now. Controlled, but bitter. Kael’s chest rose slowly. Like he was holding back something from exploding.

“You think I begged your father to put me here?” he said, stepping closer. “He came to me. Your great Alpha. He gave the order.”

Another step. Slow and calculated towards Zeil.

“He told me, ‘Watch my son.’ Not protect. Babysit.” He paused and chuckled. “You think that feels good?”

He pulled his shirt off in one fluid motion, tossing it to the side like it weighed too much. The scars across his chest caught the morning light. Pale lines that told stories Zeil didn’t want to ask about.

“Do I look like someone meant to follow?” Kael said, his voice a little louder now. “Do I look like someone made to serve?”

His feet kept moving towards Zeil. Zeil’s heart beat rapidly against his chest as everything in him told him to run but being as stubborn as always he stood his ground, but barely.

His knees felt weak and could give out any moment soon.

The heat under his skin flared again, that strange fire he didn’t understand. His wolf stirred, confused. Restless and basked in something like lust or something similar to that.

“I don’t owe you anything,” Kael went on. “I didn’t come here for respect or comfort. I came because I was told to.”

His tone dropped lower.

“I didn’t come to be insulted.” Kael’s eyes burned into him.

Closer and closer until Zeil could almost feel the warmth of Karl's breath on his skin. His breath hitched and his back hit the wall.

Kael didn’t stop.

Didn’t blink.

Didn’t back down.

The light creeping through the window cast golden lines across his skin. Over the hard edge of his jaw, the mess of his dark hair, the faint curve of a scar across his ribs.

And Zeil stood there.

Frozen.

Kael’s scent filled the room, earthy, smoky, sharp. It wrapped around him, heavy and warm, and Zeil’s wolf recoiled and leaned forward all at once.

“I saved someone,” Kael said quietly. “That’s all I did. And this is what I got. Cold eyes. Whispers. You think you’re the only one pretending something?”

Zeil tried to step back, but there was nowhere to go.

Kael followed.

Until the space between them vanished. The heat between their bodies was too much.

His scent. His voice. The energy spilling from him. Zeil’s legs trembled and his wolf stirred with excitement at the closeness of the two males. One laced with anger while the other, trying to hide his heat from going spiral.

He tried to hold it together. Tried to bury the fire in his veins. Tried to hold his scent steady. But it was useless.

Kael’s presence filled every part of the room. The air. The walls. The spaces between Zeil’s breaths.

And just like that…

His wolf gave in.