The searing heat from the crimson scale pressed against Kaelan's chest pulsed through him, anchoring the magic, twisting the very core of his being. He gasped, the air knocked from his lungs, his body instinctively arching back in a desperate attempt to escape Ignis's sudden, possessive embrace. But Ignis's arms were like bands of steel, holding him flush, pressing Kaelan's towel-clad form tighter against his solid, warm chest.
Kaelan's mind screamed in pure, unadulterated outrage. He was livid. He had been so sure. So absolutely certain his fearlessness and research would grant him victory. Instead, he was now more thoroughly ensnared than ever before, trapped in the Dragon King's inescapable hold.
"Let go of me, you arrogant bastard!" Kaelan hissed, his voice raw with fury. He struggled violently, twisting, kicking, every muscle straining against Ignis's unyielding strength. His fluffy cat tail, now seemingly an extension of his rampant emotions, thrashed wildly, slapping against Ignis's leg with surprising force.
Ignis merely tightened his hold, his golden eyes, dark with intense lust and satisfaction, locking onto Kaelan's wide, enraged gaze. A slow, utterly predatory smile spread across Ignis's face, a smile that promised absolute dominion.
"Never," Ignis rumbled, his voice a low, burning whisper that vibrated through Kaelan's chest. "You are mine, little cat. Permanently. Your defiance has only made my claim stronger."
The words, the touch, the inescapable heat radiating from Ignis's body, the undeniable reality of his permanent curse—it was all too much. Kaelan's carefully constructed walls of cynicism, his hatred for physical touch, his rigid control—they all began to crack, crumble, and dissolve under the relentless pressure of Ignis's presence.
He felt the magic deep within him, no longer just an external appendage, but an intrinsic, burning part of his very soul. It responded to Ignis, pulsed with Ignis, ached for Ignis, in a way that terrified Kaelan more than anything.
Ignis leaned down, his lips brushing against Kaelan's ear, sending a jolt of both disgust and a sickeningly undeniable thrill through Kaelan's body. The soft friction against his hyper-sensitive cat ear made it flatten instinctively, betraying his vulnerable state.
"Feel that, Kaelan?" Ignis whispered, his breath warm against Kaelan's ear. "That's your true nature responding to its King. That's the part of you that craves what I offer."
Kaelan let out a frustrated growl, a sound that was less human and more raw, guttural feline. He hated it. He hated the primal yearning that Ignis's words and touch invoked. He hated the way his body was betraying him.
As Ignis's touch grew more intimate—his hands sliding down Kaelan's back, pressing Kaelan's lower body firmly against his own, his hips grinding lightly, possessively—Kaelan felt a powerful, unprecedented surge within him. It was a force that clawed its way up from his very core, an overwhelming, uncontrollable energy that was both terrifying and utterly exhilarating.
He didn't want it. He didn't ask for it. But it came anyway.
A sudden, intense heat enveloped Kaelan's entire body. His muscles rippled, his bones groaned, and his skin stretched and tore, not in pain, but in a strange, exhilarating metamorphosis. The towel fell away completely, lost in the rapid expansion of his form.
His human vision blurred, consumed by a kaleidoscopic explosion of green and gold. The scents of ozone and cherrywood became overpowering, intoxicating. His hearing sharpened to an impossible degree, picking up the frantic beat of his own heart, the low, steady rhythm of Ignis's breathing, and the distant sounds of the apartment building.
In a breathtaking, almost instantaneous burst of magic, Kaelan shifted.
His human form dissolved, replaced by something larger, far more powerful, and undeniably feline. His slender limbs became muscular, his hands and feet transforming into massive, padded paws with razor-sharp, retractable claws. His spine elongated, his fluffy tail thickening and growing longer, now perfectly proportionate to his new body. His human ears vanished, replaced by sleek, dark, perfectly formed panther ears that swiveled with incredible precision. His soft skin became dense, impossibly smooth, jet-black fur, absorbing every scrap of light. His human mouth reshaped into a powerful, fanged maw capable of delivering a crushing bite, and his dark eyes, once so defiantly cynical, now glowed with a feral, emerald-green light.
He was no longer Kaelan, the quiet, touch-averse human student. He was a magnificent, utterly furious, full-shifted black panther.
The transformation was complete, leaving him sprawled on the floor, his immense, muscular body trembling with residual power. He was an apex predator, built for silence and deadly force.
He was still in Ignis's apartment, Ignis's arms still loosely around his massive, feline form.
Kaelan immediately coiled, a deep, guttural snarl rumbling in his chest, vibrating through the floorboards. His emerald eyes, wide with primitive rage and a terrifying surge of instinct, fixed on Ignis. He was no longer thinking about curses or logic. He was a cat, primal and furious, staring down a far larger, more dominant predator.
Ignis, for his part, hadn't flinched. He simply looked down at the magnificent creature now held in his arms, his golden eyes filled with an unbearable triumphant desire. He ran a large hand, very slowly, over the sleek, powerful shoulder of the black panther.
The fur was unbelievably soft, warm, and dense. The muscles beneath bunched and rippled with suppressed power, but they were still contained by Ignis's easy grip.
"There you are, little cat," Ignis murmured, his voice laced with pure lust and profound satisfaction. "So much more beautiful when you fully embrace your truth."
He leaned down, and with a soft, knowing caress, pressed a kiss to the sleek, black fur between the panther's newly formed, twitching ears.
Kaelan let out a frustrated, enraged growl, a sound of sheer power and ultimate defeat. He wanted to tear Ignis limb from limb, but his body, now a vessel of raw instinct, felt something else a deep, ancient, almost magnetic pull toward the Dragon King. His full-shifted form was exquisitely sensitive, and Ignis's touch, for all its infuriating possessiveness, sent shivers through his entire being.
He was a wild, untamed predator. But he was Ignis's predator. And Ignis only smiled, a slow, dark, dangerous smile that promised a world of further, more intimate lessons in surrender.