**EPISODE 20 — "The Kiss He Couldn't Stop"**
The forest was too quiet.
Too still.
As if every creature sensed something ancient and dangerous moving through the darkness.
Lucian's hand held Isha's wrist firmly as he guided her between the trees. His grip was strong—but trembling, just barely—as if touching her both calmed him and terrified him.
The warmth of his embrace from earlier still lingered on her skin.
How he'd pulled her to his chest after the rogue attacked.
How his voice had cracked when he said her name.
But since then…
He hadn't spoken a word.
Finally, Isha slowed, tugging on his hand gently.
"Lucian… talk to me."
He stopped immediately.
A moment passed before he turned toward her—silver eyes glowing faintly under the moonlight.
"You could have died tonight," he said, voice tight.
Isha stepped closer. "But I didn't."
Lucian's jaw clenched.
"That is not the point."
"It is to me."
He inhaled sharply, like the words physically hit him.
"You don't understand what it does to me when you're hurt."
The confession made her chest tighten.
She reached up and touched his cheek softly.
Lucian froze.
His breath caught.
His eyes closed for a moment… then opened again, brighter and darker all at once.
"Isha…" he murmured, "I'm not supposed to feel this for you."
Isha stepped closer, closing the space between them.
"And yet you do."
His hand moved to her waist—slowly, hesitantly—as if he was fighting himself every second.
Their breaths mingled.
His forehead leaned against hers.
"You're becoming impossible to stay away from."
His fingers tightened on her waist.
"And that terrifies me."
Isha's hand slid into his hair, soft and cold between her fingers.
"Lucian… stop running."
Something in him shattered.
His other hand cupped her cheek, thumb brushing her lower lip, making her breath hitch.
"You don't know what you're asking."
She whispered back, "Then show me."
Lucian sucked in a sharp breath—
And then he kissed her.
Not softly.
Not carefully.
But with a raw, desperate hunger he had been holding back for far too long.
His lips crashed onto hers, cold at first, then warming under her heat. One hand wrapped around the back of her head; the other dragged her against his chest as if he feared she might disappear.
Isha melted into him, kissing him back, fingers fisting in his shirt as their bodies pressed together.
Lucian deepened the kiss, mouth moving over hers with a passion that made her knees weak—like he was drinking in every second, every breath, every piece of her.
When he finally pulled away, breath unsteady, he whispered against her lips:
"I shouldn't have done that."
Isha kissed him softly once more.
"But you wanted to."
A quiet, tortured sound escaped him.
"Yes," he breathed.
"I've wanted to since the night I found you."
Her heart thudded painfully.
"Lucian…"
Before she could say anything more—
A low growl echoed through the trees.
Red eyes appeared in the dark.
Rogues.
Three of them.
Hungry.
Watching.
Lucian instantly moved in front of her, fangs descending, eyes glowing metallic silver.
"Stay behind me," he said, voice dark and lethal.
The rogues stepped into the clearing, snarling.
Lucian didn't wait.
He blurred forward—faster than her eyes could track.
The forest exploded with sound—branches cracking, bodies slamming into trees, roars and snarls tearing through the night.
This was not the calm, controlled Lucian she had seen before.
This was something older.
Something monstrous.
Something terrifyingly beautiful.
He moved like a storm—violent, sharp, unstoppable.
One rogue lunged for Isha—
Lucian tackled it mid-air, grabbing its throat and slamming it into the ground so hard the earth cracked.
His voice was icy.
"You touched what's mine."
The rogue tried to crawl away.
Lucian crushed its neck with one brutal twist.
Isha's breath caught.
He wasn't fighting for survival.
He was fighting for her.
Within moments, the other rogues lay unconscious.
Lucian straightened, silver eyes still glowing.
He stalked toward Isha, each step radiating tension… and something darker, possessive.
When he reached her, his thumb gently wiped dust from her cheek.
"Are you hurt?"
Isha shook her head.
"No."
Lucian exhaled—
Then pulled her into his chest.
Not carefully.
But fiercely.
Desperately.
His lips pressed to her hair, his voice breaking—
"I will never let anything take you from me."
Isha hugged him tighter.
"I'm not going anywhere."
His arms tightened around her waist.
"Good," he whispered, breath warm against her ear.
"Because I'm done pretending I don't want you."
The night wind curled around them like a vow.
A bond forming.
Deepening.
Becoming unbreakable.
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**EPISODE 20 COMPLETE**