Page 5 of Kraved By Krampus

He turns to face me fully, shadows curling around his massive frame. “Not yet. But you will be.”

The certainty in his voice sends a jolt through me. I take a step back, needing to put some distance between us. “You’re delusional if you think I’ll ever be yours.”

“Am I?” He takes a step closer, and the air seems to thicken. “Then why do your shadows reach for mine even now?”

I glance down, my breath catching. He’s right. The darkness at my feet stretches toward him, tendrils curling around his boots. I jerk back, but the shadows follow, clinging to me like cobwebs.

“Stop it.” I try to shake them off, but they only wind tighter. “I don’t want this.”

“You do.” He closes the distance between us, towering over me. “You’re just too afraid to admit it.”

I stare up at him, my heart still thumping fast. The shadows twist around us, binding us together in a dark embrace.

“I’m not afraid of you.” But my voice shakes, betraying my lie.

“No?” He leans down, his breath hot against my ear. “Then why do you tremble, little mate?”

Trembling, my body reacts to his proximity in ways I can’t control. Heat blooms beneath my skin, and the ache between my thighs intensifies.

“It’s cold.” But we both know that’s not the reason.

He chuckles, the sound vibrating through me. “Then perhaps we should find a way to warm you up.”

The implication in his words sends a flush through my entire body. I try to step back again, but the shadows hold me in place, tethering me to him.

“I don’t need warming up.” I lift my chin, trying to project a confidence I don’t feel. “Especially not from you.”

“We have time, little mate.” His shadows release me and he glances toward the window, where the storm rages on. “And I intend to use every moment of it to show you exactly what you need.”

Chapter four

Krampus

The delicious scent of her fear mingles with her natural allure as she backs away. My magic pulses, calling to the latent power within her. Time to show her exactly what she’s been writing about.

I lift my hand, directing shadows to dance across the walls. “The storm will keep us here until you accept what you are.” The windows rattle as wind howls outside, my power manifesting in the weather.

Her pulse races. I can hear its frantic rhythm. “You can’t keep me here.”

A dark chuckle escapes me. “I already have, little one.”

The manuscript’s ashes now swirl at my feet, responding to her surging emotions. Perfect. I gather the dark particles,weaving them into reality. The cabin’s warm interior melts away, replaced by the midnight forest from her fevered writings.

Her eyes widen as massive trees materialize around us, their branches reaching like gnarled fingers toward a star-strewn sky. Mist curls around our feet as the scene solidifies. Her practical sweater and jeans transform into the gossamer dress she’d described in such loving detail—all flowing fabric and shadows, hugging every delicious curve.

“This isn’t real.” Her voice trembles, but there’s wonder beneath the fear.

“Your imagination made it real enough to summon me.” I stalk forward, savoring how she retreats. “Every word you wrote called to me.”

She turns and runs, exactly as she’d written. My blood pounds with raw hunger as I give chase through the phantom forest. She’s my prey.

Her bare feet barely touch the ground as she flees, the dress streaming behind her like smoke, the gossamer fabric catching the moonlight. The forest seems to bend to her will, creating a path that only makes the chase more thrilling.

I let her think she’s escaping, savoring the way her heart races, the way she glances back with those wide, expressive eyes.

Her terror radiates from her, yet beneath it pulses something deeper—a flash of wild delight that matches the thrill coursing through me. But when she darts behind a massive oak, its ancient bark rough and unyielding, I’m already there.

I cage her with my arms, the heat of our bodies mingling in the cool night air. Her back presses against the tree, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she realizes there’s no escape. Not from me. Not from this.

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