Chapter 35 MORNING AFTER
Adam woke up feeling like his skin didn’t belong to him.
He lay in Kael’s bed, curled on his side, eyes wide open and unfocused. The memories of last night: the glowing mark, the burning heat, the way something inside him had moved… it all looped over and over in his mind.
He barely noticed when Kael sat beside him.
“You’re shaking.” Kael’s voice was gentle, careful. As if he were afraid Adam might fall sick again. “Tell me what you need.”
Adam didn’t know. He only hugged his knees tighter.
Kael brushed a hand through Adam’s hair. “Come with me. Just for a while. I know a place that might help.”
Adam didn’t want to move. He didn’t want to feel anything. Everything inside him felt unfamiliar and deeply wrong. But Kael’s eyes were warm, steady, and patient.
So Adam nodded.
Kael quietly got him dressed, pulling a warm sweater over his head, guiding him into soft boots. Adam barely realized they were leaving until cold morning air hit his cheeks.
“Wait—where are we going?” Adam asked as Kael led him toward the stables.
“Horse riding,” Kael said. “Into the woods.”
Adam blinked. “Riding? I’ve never even touched a horse.”
Kael only smiled and squeezed his hand.
\---
The horse was huge.
Too huge.
Adam’s feet froze the second he stood beside the animal. “Kael. Kael—Kael, I’m going to die.”
“You’re not going to die,” Kael murmured, placing both hands on Adam’s waist and lifting him like he weighed nothing.
Adam made a squeaky sound. “Kael, don’t—Kael, wait—!”
Suddenly he was sitting high up on the horse’s back, legs dangling, no ground beneath him.
Too much air. Too much height.
Adam gripped the saddle, knuckles white. “Kael! My feet aren’t touching anything!”
“That’s how riding works,” Kael chuckled, mounting behind him with a smooth movement that pressed Adam back against his chest.
“Kael, I’m floating!”
“You’re sitting.”
“BUT I’M FLOATING!”
Kael chuckled again and wrapped both arms around him, securing the reins and anchoring Adam firmly against him.
“You’re safe. I’m right here.”
“What if I fall off?!”
“I'd catch you before you do.”
Kael nudged the horse forward, and Adam instantly stiffened.
But Kael leaned closer, lips brushing Adam’s ear. “Lean on me.”
And slowly, very slowly, Adam leaned on Kael.
____
The forest air was cool and sweet, smelling of moss and dew. Sunlight filtered softly through the leaves, quiet and peaceful.
After a few minutes, Adam’s panic loosened. He relaxed enough to feel Kael’s steady breathing behind him.
“So…” Adam said carefully. “Where exactly are we going?”
“To pick fruit,” Kael answered simply.
“Oh.” Adam relaxed more. “Like berries on bushes?”
“No.”
“…Peaches on small trees?”
“No.”
Adam narrowed his eyes. “Kael. What kind of fruit?”
Kael pointed ahead.
Adam followed the gesture… and his mouth fell open.
“Kael,” he whispered. “That’s a full tree.”
“Yes.”
“A tall tree.”
“Yes.”
“With fruit near the top.”
“Yes.”
“And we’re CLIMBING it?”
Kael hummed. “I am.”
Adam stared at him in horror.
The moment they got down from the horse, Kael climbed the tree like he could do it with his eyes closed… smooth, effortless, muscles shifting under his shirt in a way that Adam tried very hard not to get distracted by.
Adam stayed below, pacing nervously around the trunk.
Kael plucked fruit and tossed it down.
“Catch.”
“I can’t—!”
The fruit hit the ground.
Adam sighed, picked it up, and placed it in the bag Kael had given him.
Another fruit fell. Adam bent and picked it up.
“Kael, please throw softly.”
“I am throwing softly.”
“You are throwing like a man who forgets gravity exists! It'd still be pushed down even if you don't throw so hard.”
Kael laughed from above.
Adam felt warmth bloom in his chest despite himself.
When Kael climbed down, he walked straight to Adam and crouched.
“…What are you doing?” Adam asked warily.
“Get on,” Kael said.
“Get ON? On what?”
“My back.”
“Kael, no.”
“Adam.”
“No Kael, we can talk about this—”
Kael glanced over his shoulder, eyes warm and coaxing. “Trust me.”
Adam froze.
Those two words softened him faster than anything.
Reluctantly, face hot, Adam wrapped his arms around Kael’s shoulders. Kael lifted him easily, supporting his thighs as he stood.
Then, Kael started climbing again.
Adam clung to him with both arms and legs, hiding his face in Kael’s neck.
“Kael—Kael, I swear if we fall—”
“We won’t.”
“You don’t know that!”
“I do.”
“How?”
Kael smiled softly, voice low. “Because you’re with me.”
Adam’s heart flipped painfully.
Soon, they're high above the ground
When they reached a sturdy branch, Kael settled himself with Adam still in his arms. They sat side by side, backs against the trunk, overlooking the forest.
The view was breathtaking… endless green, sunlight dancing through leaves, the gentle sway of the high branches.
Adam forgot his fear for a moment.
“It’s… beautiful,” he whispered.
Kael watched him, not the view.
“Yes,” Kael murmured, brushing a piece of fruit to Adam’s lips. “It is.”
Adam flushed but took a bite.
Then paused.
“…Is this edible?”
Kael laughed so softly it felt like a caress. “I wouldn’t feed you poison.”
“But you didn’t check—”
“I checked yesterday.”
Adam blinked. “You planned this?”
Kael’s eyes softened. “I wanted to take your mind off the stress.”
A lump rose in Adam’s throat.
“Kael…”
But Kael only stroked his cheek with his thumb and fed him another fruit.
And up on that branch, in the quiet of the woods.
They stayed like that for some time, and when they returned to the pack house, the training field was busy. Young men practiced with bows, arrows slicing through the air with precision.
Adam’s eyes lit up. “That’s… cool.”
Kael immediately reacted. “Do you want to try?”
Adam blinked. “What? No—well—maybe—”
Kael handed an order to a guard, and within minutes someone brought a bow.
Kael stood behind Adam, guiding his arms, adjusting his stance… but all Adam was paying attention to was the fact that they're standing too close.
Adam’s pulse raced.
Kael lifted Adam’s chin slightly. “Focus where you want it to land.”
“I—I am trying—”
Kael leaned in, breath brushing Adam’s ear. “Good. Just like that.”
The arrow flew…
…and landed crookedly in the dirt.
Adam groaned, hiding his face.
Kael smiled, moving even closer. “It’s a good start.”
Adam’s heart tripped. But before he could say anything…
Someone gasped.
“Alpha—look!”
Adam looked down only to end up horrified… His arms, his neck, his collarbone, his ribs… new marks. They were new mark all over his body.
Appearing one by one like ink rising through his skin.
Adam couldn't believe his eyes. Horror swallowed everything else.
He dropped the bow and ran…
…Straight to their chamber. He burst into their chamber, breathing hard, slamming the door shut. Kael was right behind him.
“Adam—wait—”
“No!” Adam shouted, backing away. “Don’t—don’t touch me!”
Kael paused, pain crossing his features.
Adam’s voice cracked. “I hate this. I hate everything, Kael.”
Kael stepped forward gently. “Adam, breathe—”
“Don’t tell me to breathe!” Adam shouted, tears spilling. “I don’t even know what I am! Getting pulled into some werewolf world should have been the worst thing that could ever happen to me, but no!”
His voice shook violently.
“Ohh no,” he whispered, wiping his fa
ce with shaking hands. “Here I am. About to turn into some monster because apparently the me I knew all along wasn’t even real.”
Kael’s chest rose sharply.
“Adam…” His voice was quiet. Heartbroken. “Come here.”
But Adam took a step back.
Trembling, and feeling lost.