Ren looked Cilian in the eye, his breath hitching.

He wanted to say something biting, something to remind Cilian that the ’dark’ that was swallowing him up was right in front of him. But the way Cilian’s thumb traced the line of his jaw made the words die in his throat as he gulped.

What is going on now?

He could not think, and all he could do was lean on the feeling of Cilian’s fingertips on his skin. It felt hot and lethal, this tension.

In that moment, everything else melted, and not even the ’wife’ lie he had been so furious about surfaced.

He only thought about the heat of the water, the way Cilian’s fingertips felt so warm, the scent of frost was drowning out the world, and the way those eyes seemed to lure him... to trap him in a way the collar never could.

Ren leaned forward, his hand still pinned against Cilian’s heart. He closed the distance, moving with his heart and not his head, even as his head screamed at him to stop on his horse right away.

He had gone deaf and was being lured until his lips met Cilian’s in a kiss that tasted of salt, steam, and a desperation that had been building since the moment the plane door flew open.

Traitor! His head rang, but his heart was quite the stubborn leader.

The kiss was a collision of two broken things.

Cilian’s good hand slid to the back of Ren’s neck, his fingers tangling in the damp hair to pull him closer, deeper into the heat. He had been the one to set the trap, to lure the innocent and shaking lamb, so now it was time for the fox to feast.

Ren let out a soft, broken sound against Cilian’s mouth, his fingers curling into the skin over the Alpha’s heart, holding on as if the man were the only solid thing in a world that had just ended.

The steam curled around them, a white veil that hid the blood on Cilian’s shoulder and the tears beginning to prick at Ren’s eyes.

Cilian broke the kiss, but he didn’t pull away. He moved his mouth to the curve of Ren’s neck, his breath hitching in a jagged, hungry sound.

The scent of frost intensified—sharp and cold even in the rising steam—and Ren felt his own pheromones finally snap, leaking out in a heavy, sweet flood that made his knees weak in the water.

Cilian’s face immediately grew flushed to the scent of Ren’s Pheromones, his complexion turning a deep, feverish red, as his gold-brown eyes widened, locking onto Ren’s collarbone where the scent was the strongest.

He buried his face against Ren’s skin, inhaling sharply, pulling the scent into his lungs as if it were the only thing keeping him conscious. He looked intoxicated, his chest heaving with short, uneven breaths as he began to suck at the sensitive skin of Ren’s chest.

Ren let out a soft, broken sound, his fingers curling into Cilian’s damp hair to pull him even closer. He could feel the Alpha trembling against him—a violent, visible shudder of someone completely undone.

Cilian’s teeth nipped at the bone of Ren’s collar, his tongue tracing the heat he was creating, taking in the scent like a drug he had been deprived of for a lifetime.

"Ren," Cilian groaned, the name muffled against Ren’s skin, vibrating through both of them.

Ren’s body was a mess of contradictions. His head was still ringing continuously, calling him a ’Traitor,’ but his hands were steady as they held Cilian’s head, and his heart was hammering a frantic, stubborn rhythm that matched the Alpha’s pulse.

The tears finally slipped from Ren’s eyes and got lost as they rolled down into the water silently.

Cilian pulled back just enough to look at him, his pupils so dilated they nearly swallowed the gold of his irises. He looked wrecked, his face slick with steam and the high, dark color of his arousal.

"The water is getting cold," Cilian murmured, his voice a low, rough rasp that broke the spell of the basin. "And you’re shaking."

No, the water wasn’t getting cold. If anything, it was getting hotter. So hot he was already starting to lose his mind and become delirious. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

But Cilian wasn’t entirely wrong.

Ren was shaking so much that one could mistake him for having a cold, even though Cilian knew exactly why he was shaking.

He reached out with his left arm, hooking it under Ren’s knees while his right shoulder stayed stiff and useless. With a grunt of effort that made the veins in his neck bulge, Cilian stood up.

Ren, startled by the force of this Alpha, despite how wounded he was, yelped.

"Are you crazy?! You’re not supposed to..."

"Shhh, Ren," Cilian whispered. "If you’re going to be so loud, then save your voice for when you actually need to be loud." He claimed that Fox like grin displaying on his flushed face, and Ren blushed.

This... Cilian was a madman. A psycho.

Why would he try to pull this stunt when he was just grunting about being in pain? Even if he was using his left hand, which was his good hand, this would still strain the muscle around the wound.

But there was no talking him out of it.

Instead of fighting it and making the situation worse, Ren clung to him, careful so as not to press on the wound with his heart thumping uncontrollably.

The night air hit their wet skin, a sudden, biting chill that made Ren shiver and press closer to the heat of Cilian’s chest even more.

"You..." he mumbled. "You’re impossible,"

But Cilian watched him shaking and smirked, saying nothing as he carried him out of the wash basin and, in a few steps, into the dark interior of the hut.

The only light came from the embers of the village fires outside, casting long, flickering shadows against the bamboo walls. He set Ren down on the edge of the small bamboo bed—the one they were supposed to share as ’husband and wife.’