Chapter 63 Fire Between Hearts 💕 🔥 ❤️

Chapter 63 Fire Between Hearts 💕 🔥 ❤️
The fire won’t just leave me alone.

It crawls under my skin while I stand in the shower, water burning hot against my back.

Steam fills the small bathroom. I brace my hands on the wall and breathe through my nose. Slow. Controlled.

It doesn’t help.

Every time I close my eyes, I see the rogue’s smile. I hear Kael’s voice. I feel Riven’s arms around me. Too much. All of it stacked too close together.

I turn the water off and grab a towel. My hands shake as I dry my hair. That never happens. Not like this.

I dress fast and step into the kitchen. Riven is already there. He hasn’t slept. I can tell by the way his shoulders sag, by the cup of untouched coffee in his hand.

“You’re up early,” he says.

“I didn’t sleep,” I answer.

“Me neither.”

Silence sits between us. Heavy. Not awkward. Just loaded.

“The rogue we met,” he says. “He wasn’t a scout. He was bait.”

“I know.”

“They wanted to see how we’d react.”

“And who would show up,” I add.

Riven nods once. “Kael.”

I don’t respond. I grab my boots and sit. My fingers hesitate at the laces.

“He followed you,” Riven says carefully.

“Yes.”

“Does that bother you?”

I tie one boot too tight. “Everything bothers me lately.”

He watches me for a moment. Then he sighs.

“You don’t have to explain yourself.”

“That’s the problem,” I say. “I think I do.”

We leave the apartment before the sun rises fully. The pack training grounds are quiet this early. Just dirt, trees, and the faint scent of wolves. Home for him. Not for me. Not really.

I step into the clearing and let the fire come up. Just a little. Enough to warm my palms.

Riven circles me slowly. “Show me what you felt last night.”

I hesitate. “You might not like it.”

“I don’t need to like it,” he says. “I need to understand it.”

That makes something twist in my chest.
I exhale and let the fire grow. It flares bright, sharp, licking up my arms. The ground under my feet darkens. Cracks spread.

Riven stops moving. His eyes widen, but he doesn’t step back.

“This isn’t rage,” I say. “It’s pressure. Like everything inside me wants out at once.”
The fire surges. A tree at the edge of the clearing smolders.

“Selene,” he says. Calm. Steady. “Look at me.”
I do. Barely. My vision shakes.

“You’re still here,” he continues. “You’re not losing control.”

I shake my head. “I almost did last night.”

“But you didn’t.”

My breathing comes fast. “What if next time I don’t stop?”

Riven steps closer. The heat doesn’t push him back. He stands right in it.

“Then I’ll be here,” he says. “Not to stop you. To pull you back.”

Something snaps. Not the fire. Me.

I laugh, short and broken. “You sound like you think you can save me.”

“I don’t,” he says. “I think you can save yourself. I just don’t want you to do it alone.”

The fire flickers. Weakens.

I drop to my knees before I realize I’m falling. Riven catches me. Holds me up. My forehead presses into his chest. His heartbeat is steady.
Too steady.

“I don’t want to choose wrong,” I whisper.

His arms tighten just a little. “I won’t ask you to choose.”

That hurts more than if he had.

A sound cuts through the clearing. Slow clapping.

I pull back at once. Fire flares again.

Kael stands at the tree line. Black coat. Hands relaxed. Watching us like he owns the ground we’re standing on.

“Touching,” he says.

Riven turns, placing himself half in front of me without thinking.

“You’re not welcome,” Riven says.

Kael’s gaze doesn’t leave me. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

My jaw tightens. “Why are you here?”

“Because you’re burning yourself alive,” he replies.

“I’m fine.”

“No,” he says. “You’re cracking.”

Riven growls. “You don’t get to assess her.”
Kael finally looks at him. Cold. Sharp. “I do. She’s bound to me.”

“No,” I snap. “She’s not.”

Kael steps closer. The bond slams into me. Hard. My breath stutters.

“You felt it last night,” he says softly. “That pull. That fire. That wasn’t him.”

I hate that he’s right.

Riven stiffens. “Enough.”

Kael ignores him. “You think this ends with investigation and strategy? They’re provoking you. Because they know what happens when you lose balance.”

“And you think you’re balance?” I ask.

His mouth twitches. “I think I’m restraint.”

I laugh. Bitter. “You don’t restrain. You conquer.”
His eyes darken. “And you need that.”

Riven steps forward. “You don’t get to tell her what she needs.”

Kael’s smile is sharp. “Neither do you.”
The air thickens. Wolves on edge. My head pounds.

“Stop,” I say. Loud. “Both of you.”

They freeze again.

I stand straight, even though my legs shake.
“This isn’t about who wants me more. It’s about what’s coming.”

Kael studies my face. “Then listen to me.”

Riven says nothing. That scares me more.

“They will force a choice,” Kael continues.

“Soon. They’ll put blood on the ground and make you decide who lives.”

My stomach drops.

“I won’t play their game,” I say.

“You already are,” Kael replies.

Silence stretches again.

Riven finally speaks. “If they try to use her, they answer to me.”

Kael snorts. “You?”

“Yes,” Riven says evenly. “And my pack. And her fire.”

Kael’s eyes flick back to me. “You trust him.”

I swallow. “I trust that he sees me.”

That lands. Kael’s jaw tightens.

“Do you see me?” he asks quietly.

I hesitate. That’s the answer.

Something shifts in his expression. Pain flashes through before it’s gone.

“Be careful,” he says. “Both of you.”

Then he turns and walks away. No threats. No last word.

Riven exhales slowly. “That was bad.”

“Yes,” I say. “And it’s going to get worse.”

He looks at me. “What do you want?”

I open my mouth. Close it.

“I want this to stop hurting,” I admit.

He steps closer. Hesitant now. “And if it doesn’t?”

I meet his eyes. “Then I want to feel something real before it breaks me.”

His breath catches. He reaches out, then stops. Waits.

I close the distance myself. My hand rests on his chest. I feel his heart race now.

“This doesn’t fix anything,” I say.

“I know.”

I rise onto my toes and kiss him.

It’s not gentle. It’s not careful. It’s desperate. His hands grip my arms like he’s afraid I’ll disappear. My fire flares, but it doesn’t burn him. It wraps around us instead.

For one moment, the world narrows. No packs. No rogues. No bonds pulling me apart. Just heat and breath and the taste of something I shouldn’t want this badly..

I pull back first. My forehead rests against his.
“This changes things,” he says.

“Yes,” I whisper. “And I’m terrified.”

From the edge of the clearing, a shadow shifts.
I don’t look. I already know.