Kongar's cold hands cooled my skin as he pressed his lips against mine. But the instant his lips touched me, Arkan moved.
As I tried to understand what was happening, he reached behind Kongar's head, and my eyes widened involuntarily.
That was not a human hand.
The back of his hand was covered in dark fur, and sharp claws gleamed at the tips of his fingers.
Kongar, however, seemed completely unconcerned by the claw gripping his head. His gaze never left mine as the darkness in his pupils slowly spread across his yellow irises.
The next moment, Arkan hurled him away with tremendous force.
I expected Kongar to slam into the wall, but that wasn't what happened. Instead of being thrown across the room, he hung suspended from the ceiling in a strange way. There wasn't a trace of yellow left in his eyes anymore; they had turned completely black.
"Get over here, you damned creature!" Arkan roared.
His voice filled the entire room as he extended his claws and locked his gaze onto Kongar.
"I'll tear you apart."
"Come and catch me, furball," Kongar said, crooking a finger at him.
He was openly mocking him.
Part of me was annoyed by it, but another part was terrified that something might happen to him. Then I remembered that Kongar was a being created through magic. Maybe Arkan couldn't truly hurt him.
Even so, I couldn't stop worrying about him.
"Kongar!" I shouted.
The moment he looked at me, the black wolf leapt toward the ceiling.
I hadn't even noticed when Arkan had transformed.
Opening his massive jaws, he seized Kongar's body, sank his teeth into him, and landed back on the floor. Growls rumbled from his throat and filled the room as he began shaking Kongar violently from side to side in his mouth.
"No!" I cried and ran toward them.
By the time I reached them, the wolf had turned his back to me and was blocking my path to Kongar with his enormous body.
Fear wrapped itself around my entire body, and the pounding of my heart had grown so loud it nearly drowned out everything else.
I had to save Kongar.
I didn't care whether he was a hallucination or a being created through magic. For some reason I couldn't fully explain, I felt like I had to protect him.
I buried my hands in the wolf's thick fur and tried to pull him back, but I couldn't move him even an inch.
When the wolf briefly turned his head toward me, his blue eyes locked onto mine. At the same moment, I realized Kongar's pitch-black eyes were fixed on me as well. A black liquid was dripping from his body, yet he showed no sign of pain whatsoever.
The moment I noticed the wolf's attention shift to me, I took a step toward Kongar.
That only made him angrier.
A threatening growl rumbled from his throat as he began shaking Kongar from side to side before turning his back to me once again.
Jealous creature!
Why was he jealous of Kongar?
Kongar was nothing more than a being created by a witch. One day, when we found a witch, our paths would separate.
The thought made my chest tighten.
Maybe I had gotten used to him much faster than I had realized.
I grabbed onto the wolf's fur again and pulled with all my strength, but instead of turning toward me, he started swishing his massive tail in my face. The huge, fluffy thing blocked my vision while simultaneously tickling me.
After wrestling with it for a while, I finally managed to catch it. I immediately turned my back and tried to haul it over my shoulder.
The tail thrashed wildly in my grip like a fish caught in a net, but then it suddenly slipped free from my hand.
I lost my balance and crashed face-first onto the floor.
"Ah!"
Hissing in pain, I slowly pushed myself upright. My eyes widened when I noticed several red drops falling onto my hospital gown.
No.
My nose was bleeding.
At least I was in a hospital, I thought.
The idea was so ridiculous that I ended up laughing at myself. But the moment I laughed, my nose throbbed again, and a groan escaped my lips.
The growling in the room had stopped sometime after I fell.
Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced toward them to see what had happened.
The wolf had turned toward me.
Just minutes ago, he had been roaring in fury. Now he was making a sound that almost seemed pained. His blue eyes remained fixed on me as he slowly started walking in my direction.
Kongar's eyes were locked on me as well, but the mocking smile that had been on his face was gone, replaced by a hard, serious expression.
As they approached, black wisps began to curl and twist around Kongar once more.
Then he placed both hands against the wolf's jaws and tried to force them open.
The moment the wolf noticed him moving, he growled angrily and clamped his jaws down even harder.
Fear flooded my body. Forgetting the pain in my nose, I tried to get back to my feet.
But before I could even stand, my eyes widened in shock as I watched Kongar slowly begin to pry apart the wolf's powerful jaws.
The next moment, he was free.
Kongar started walking toward me, but the wolf quickly recovered from his surprise. With an enraged growl, he lunged at him again.
This time, however, Kongar slipped deftly away from his teeth, moved behind him, and grabbed his tail. Then he yanked hard, causing the wolf to stumble backward.
As the massive body toppled toward the floor, Kongar effortlessly stepped aside and appeared in front of me a moment later.
"I told you, Kayra," he said.
His voice was deeper than usual.
Standing directly before me, he seemed almost different. The black wisps swirling around him brushed against my skin, making me shiver. There was a weight to his gaze now.
"That heart is mine."
The wolf scrambled back to his feet and pinned his ears toward us.
"He..." Kongar said, pointing at the wolf without taking his eyes off me. "...keeps frightening it and making it suffer."
Then he raised a hand and pointed at my chest.
Did he care about my heart?
Or his own?
As those thoughts ran through my mind, a white handkerchief suddenly appeared in his outstretched hand. With unexpected gentleness, he used it to wipe the blood from my nose.
"I would never hurt it."
Those words only made my heart beat faster.
"Leave the wolf and come with me," Kongar said, holding out his hand.
Before I could answer, the wolf growled furiously and lunged at him again.
This time, I didn't let him attack.
I hurried in front of Kongar, spread my arms wide, and squeezed my eyes shut.
I waited for the impact.
Instead, warm breath brushed across my face.
Then that dizzying scent flooded my nose once more.
Before I could open my eyes, I felt something wet against my neck. The moment his tongue traced over the mark, my body tensed involuntarily.
Damn it.
I had just opened my mouth to moan when Kongar wrapped an arm around my waist from behind and pulled me back against him.
My eyes flew open in surprise, and I found myself staring into the wolf's blue eyes.
The moment he bared his teeth and tensed as though he were about to lunge at Kongar again, I quickly raised my hand and smacked his wet nose.
"Bad wolf," I said.
Where had that come from?
The wolf let out a pitiful whine and sat down in front of me. His ears flattened back against his head. One moment he was looking at me and whining, the next he was growling at Kongar.
Could I control him?
Or was this what Kongar had been trying to tell me all along?
Taking advantage of the situation, Kongar pulled me a little closer against him.
When the black wisps began curling around me as well, I flinched and slapped at the arms wrapped around my waist.
"Let me go, Kongar," I said.
His grip tightened at first, but a few seconds later, he finally released me.
The wolf was still sitting in front of me.
His mouth was slightly open, and his tail swayed slowly behind him. It was hard to believe he was the same creature who had been trying to tear Kongar apart only minutes ago.
For the first time, he looked cute.
When I reached out my hand, he lowered his head.
His eyes drifted shut as my fingers disappeared into his fur.
"Good boy," I murmured.
My hand slowly slid down to his neck. Then I took another step closer and wrapped my arms around him.
The moment I buried my face in his fur and drew in a deep breath, that familiar scent filled my lungs once again.
This scent was genuinely intoxicating.
"Kayra, I wouldn't recommend getting that close to him."
I lifted my head at the sound of Kongar's voice.
The wolf let out a low growl as soon as he heard those words.
When I pulled away from him and looked at Kongar, I realized the black wisps surrounding him had completely vanished. His eyes had returned to their familiar yellow shade.
"You might fall under his influence again and want to kiss him," he said.
I blinked several times.
Actually, he was right.
Controlling this body around Arkan was far more difficult than I had expected.
"Arkan, change back," I said.
The wolf responded by thumping his tail against the floor and letting out a series of restless growls.
"Or I'll leave with Kongar."
I grabbed Kongar's hand.
The familiar tingling immediately spread up my wrist the moment my fingers touched his skin, forcing me to pull my hand back.
The wolf grumbled a little longer and smacked his tail against the floor a few more times before finally getting to his feet.
I couldn't take my eyes off him as sounds like bones shifting and snapping echoed through the room.
A few seconds later, Arkan was standing in front of me once again.
Completely naked.
My gaze wandered over his body before I could stop it, and I felt heat rise to my face. Even though I tried to look away, my eyes slowly drifted lower.
Then I saw it.
I swallowed hard.
It had very obviously reacted.
A wave of heat flowed through my body, and I pressed my legs together, trying to regain control of myself.
At that exact moment, Kongar reached around from behind and covered my eyes with his hand.
"Don't look."