"Ahh!! It's really so good."
"Next is my turn."
"Can you feel it. It's so good."
"Ohh!!"
"Please!! Don't make it like this. It's so good."
"Please!! Ahh!!"
This voices heard over a night.
*****
Dawn barely breaks over the ruined village. Kael rises slowly, muscles stiff and chest still burning from the night. The mark pulses faintly, a constant reminder of the three girls' obsession.
Seris kneels beside him, fingers brushing his arm. Her violet eyes glimmer as she leans closer, whispering low and intimate. "Do you feel me? Every step you take, I am with you. I cannot leave you. You are mine."
Kael swallows hard. His pulse quickens even though the morning is cold. Her closeness, the heat of her voice, presses against him like a weight he cannot resist.
Elira moves beside him, golden eyes flashing with fire. "Do not let her claim you so easily," she warns, voice husky and soft. Her hand brushes his shoulder, fingers lingering just enough to make him tense. "I am here too. Only I can hold you. Only I deserve this."
Lyra follows, calm but impossible to ignore. She places a hand lightly on his forearm, voice quiet yet commanding. "You cannot escape any of us. We are bound to you. You feel it, do you not? The curse pulls you to all of us. You cannot deny it."
Kael's chest burns hotter. Every glance, every whisper, every touch tightens the chains around him. The three girls press closer, surrounding him, their eyes, their voices, their devotion a storm he cannot escape.
Seris presses her hand to his chest. "Do you hear it? The mark sings when I am near. It wants me to hold you. It wants me to feel you trembling under my touch."
Elira steps closer, her lips brushing his ear as she speaks. "Do not listen to her alone. I am here too. I can make your heart race faster than she ever could. You belong to me as much as her."
Lyra's fingers slide along his arm, tracing faint lines as she murmurs. "Even the curse cannot ignore me. Every heartbeat you take, every breath, is mine too. You cannot leave."
Kael closes his eyes, unable to move. He feels the pull of their obsession, the thrill, the pressure, and the intimacy. Each whisper drives the mark to flare hotter, every possessive touch a new chain around him.
The road stretches ahead, long and uncertain. Thornhall is still tracking them. Yet Kael knows he cannot escape the storm of desire pressing against him. He is bound to all three. Every step, every breath, every heartbeat belongs to them.
The girls' voices continue around him, low and intoxicating, promising, claiming, urging him to surrender. He does not resist. He cannot. The curse, the chains, the obsession—all of it consumes him as they walk together, the ruined village fading behind them.
Their footsteps echo through the forest path. The morning mist hangs low, clinging to their clothes and hair. The air feels heavy, almost alive, humming with the faint pulse of Kael's curse. The girls walk close, too close, as if afraid he might vanish if they leave even a breath of space between them.
Seris walks ahead, her hand brushing away branches, her violet hair damp from dew. She glances back every few seconds, eyes half-lidded, voice soft as a spell. "You are falling quiet again, Kael. Are you thinking about us? Or are you thinking of escaping?"
Kael meets her gaze, his throat tightening. "There is nowhere to go," he says, and it is true.
Elira smirks at that, stepping up beside him. "Good. Because I would find you. Even if you ran to the edge of the world, I would track you by the sound of your heartbeat." She presses a hand to his chest, fingers resting just above the mark. "It beats faster when I am near. Do you notice it?"
He does. He always does. The mark burns brighter, the rhythm echoing in his ribs.
Lyra walks behind him, calm but watchful. "It is not only her," she says, voice barely above a whisper. "The mark reacts to all of us. It grows stronger when we are together. You cannot separate us anymore. The curse has already decided."
Kael's breath catches. He feels their words pressing into his mind like invisible chains.
Seris stops walking and turns. "Then let it decide," she says quietly. "If the curse binds us, then let it bind us completely." Her gaze lingers on Kael, and something dark flickers behind her eyes.
Elira narrows her eyes, but before she can speak, the faint sound of a bell echoes from somewhere ahead. The mist shivers. A distant chime, rhythmic and deep, spreads through the forest.
Lyra stiffens. "That is not natural," she says, her tone sharpening. "That sound belongs to Thornhall."
Kael's blood runs cold. The girls move instinctively, forming a protective ring around him. Their possessive warmth turns to fierce readiness.
Seris draws her blade, eyes burning. "They will not take you. Not while I breathe."
Elira steps closer, voice low and fierce. "They will have to carve through us to touch him."
Lyra raises her hand, runes glowing faintly in the mist. "Then let them come. We will show Thornhall what happens when they chase what is already claimed."
The bell rings again, louder this time. The air ripples, and dark figures emerge from the mist.
Kael feels the mark flare beneath his skin, reacting to both the threat and the girls' obsession. He knows this fight will decide more than survival. It will decide who truly holds his heart.
The mist thickens. The chains burn. And as Thornhall's hunters close in, the forest itself seems to hold its breath.