Chapter 9: Breakfast

Azran went very still. It wasn’t that relaxed stillness he wore so neatly, and easily, not casual calm of a man comfortable in his own skin. This was something else entirely, predatory edge as if every muscle in his body had locked into a place at once.

A part of me got scared. I wondered if it was too soon to ask him about his brother.

“About my brother,” he repeated slowly making my skin crawl. Making me regret speaking in the first place.

The warmth in the morning seemed to drain away. Even the birdsong faded into an uncomfortable silence. As if everything held its own breath.

His amber eyes darkened, the golden flecks within them sharpening into something dangerous. He stepped closer again, invading my space this time with deliberate intent, his height casting a shadow over me. I felt it instinctively, the pressure of him, the unspoken warning in his proximity.

“What. Exactly. Did he say?”

I swallowed. “He implied that you weren’t… what you pretend I hesitated, then forced the words out. “Ian seemed to know many things about you.”

Azran’s jaw clenched hard enough that I could see the muscle twitch beneath his skin. For a brief second, something primal and ruthless flickered across his feature. An expression that didn’t belong to a man living quietly at the edge of the woods.

“Did he threaten you?” Azran asked instead.

“No,” I shook my head. “Not physically if you’re asking.”

His hand came up suddenly, not touching me this time, but bracketing me against the porch railing. The movement was swift and decisive, cutting off my retreat without ever laying a finger on me. My breath hitched despite myself.

“Indirect threats are his speciality,” Azran said coldly. “That’s how men like him operate. They plant fear and let it rot. Are you scared, Kaela?”

I swallowed hard as he leaned closer, his voice dropped an octave lower, roughly caressing my ear lobe. “You don’t listen to him. Whatever he says, about me, about my family, about anything in particular. Do you understand me?”

I nodded instinctively without giving it a second thought.

Only then did his gaze softened just a fraction. But it didn’t make him less dangerous. If anything, it made him harder to read.

He was an enigma.

“You’re under my roof,” he continued, quieter now, but no less firm. “That means you’re my responsibility. And I don’t take kindly to people forgetting that.”

The implication settled heavily between us.

I glanced past him, toward the tree line again, and suddenly aware that the woods no longer felt inviting. The felt very mysterious for weird reason.

Azran followed my gaze. His expressions tightening once more. “There are things you don’t understand yet,” he said, almost to himself. “And people who would use that against you if given the chance.”

He straightened, stepping back at last, giving me space but not freedom. His eyes lingered on me, assessing, calculating as if weighing something only he knew.

“Stay close to the house,” he said finally. “And if Ian speaks to you again… you come to me. Immediately.”

I hesitated. “What will you do?”

A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips.

“I’ll remind him,” Azran said softly, “exactly where his boundaries are.”

A chill slid down my spine.

This man, he was something far more dangerous than I initially thought. Who was he exactly except that he was a beast and I ahd to be aware of him.

I realized something with unsettling clarity, the forest wasn’t the only thing hiding secrets.

And Azran… Azran was one of them.

Azran didn’t look back as he walked toward the house, but he slowed just enough to know he was waiting.

“Come inside,” he said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. After a beat, he smiled. “You should eat something. Breakfast must be ready.”

The sudden shift unsettled me more than the confrontation had.

One moment, he was all mysterious and dangerous and the next, he sounded… almost domestic. Grounded like a man inviting someone he cared about into the ordinary rhythm of his morning.

I hesitated only a second before nodding and following.

He didn’t touch me, but he stayed close as we walked, I could feel the heat of his body against mine. Every so often, I felt his attention flicker toward me, brief glances that lingered too long to be accidental.

Inside, the house was warmer. The scent of food bombarded my nostrils, my stomach betrayed me immediately, tightening with sudden hunger.

The dining table stopped me short. And my mouth watered at the sight.

The food was laid out generously and lavishly, felt excessive for two people. Pancakes stacked high, bowls of fruit glistening with honey, eggs, toast, syrups, cream. It looked like a feast.

Azran moved to the head of the table without a word and sat, posture relaxed, confidence radiating from him. He glanced at me, eyes flickering over my dress, the cardigan and the way I hovered uncertainly near the chair beside him.

Instead of gesturing to the empty seat, he patted his lap. “Sit.”

I hesitated., a blush rising to my cheeks as I glanced at the chair, then back at him. His lap looked warm, inviting and the thought of sitting there sent shiver down my spine. I knew I should sit, maintain some distance, but his commanding presence made it hard to refuse. Hesitantly, shyly, I took a step closer, then another, until I stood right next to him. Azran’s eyes flicked up to meet my timid ones. A slight smirk playing at the corners of his mouth as if he knew exactly what effect he was having on me.

He raised his brow, as if to dare me to disobey him and patted his lap again, more insistently this time, and I felt my resistance crumbling.

With a soft sigh, I perched myself on his lap, hyper-aware of every point where our bodies touched. The firmness of his thighs beneath me like last night, the solid heat of his chest against my back, and the way his arm circled my waist to pull me closer. I kept my hands folded primly on my lap, my eyes downcast, feeling small and shy and somehow… owned. It was a strange feeling, but not an unpleasant one.

Azran seemed to approve of my compliance, I felt his smirk widen behind me.

“There,” he said softly, close to my ear. “Much better.”