Snowflakes drifted in slow spirals above the park, catching hints of Christmas lights in their delicate crystals. The air smelled faintly of cinnamon and pine, a festive sweetness that clung to Talia's scarf as she walked beside Luka. He moved with the kind of confidence that made every other person fade into the background, as if the world adjusted itself to accommodate his presence.
Talia kept stealing glances at him, shy but unable to stop.
Luka noticed every single one.
"Little bunny," he murmured without looking at her, "if you stare at me like that, people will think you belong to me."
She stumbled over her own boots. "W-what? I… I didn't mean"
He smiled, slow and devastating. "I didn't say I mind."
Her face heated instantly. This role-play thing was supposed to be fun, silly, flirty…not something that made her heartbeat vibrate through her entire body. She forced herself to look ahead, but his presence pulled her in like gravity.
He walked a little too close.
She breathed a little too fast.
And the longer they moved through the snowy park, the more she felt it… something shifting in the air. Something she couldn't name.
***
"Talia."
"Mm?" she answered, trying not to slip on the snow.
"You're nervous."
"I'm… new at this," she admitted.
To her surprise, he chuckled softly. The sound vibrated warm and low in her belly. "You're honest. That's rare."
Before she could respond, he suddenly slowed and tilted his head… not toward her, but toward the far end of the path. His eyes narrowed, pupils focusing on something she couldn't see.
"What is it?" she whispered.
Luka didn't answer.
He inhaled.
Deep.
Slow.
Like he was scenting the night.
Talia blinked. "Are you… okay?"
His jaw tightened. He stepped in front of her slightly, shielding her without explanation.
"Just stay close," he murmured.
Stay close? The path was empty. Completely harmless. A couple a hundred feet away was taking pictures by a Christmas-lit arch. Nothing dangerous in sight.
But Luka didn't relax.
His posture changed… his shoulders broader, stance wider, eyes sharper. Like something primal inside him had opened one eye.
"Luka?" she whispered.
He snapped out of it and turned to her, expression softening. "Sorry. Sometimes I get… protective."
"Over me?" she laughed shyly.
"Yes."
The answer was immediate. Not even a hesitation.
Her breath caught.
He took a step closer. "I can feel when something looks at you too long."
"'Looks at me?' There's… no one here."
"There doesn't have to be."
She blinked up at him. "Is this part of the role-play?"
His eyes flared… just for a second. The dark brown deepened, almost glowing with amber.
Luka swallowed hard. "Yes," he said slowly. "Let's call it that."
But Talia wasn't stupid.
Something felt too real.
Too instinctive.
Too… animal.
***
They continued walking, and Luka kept adjusting their path… subtle but deliberate. When a group of three boys passed, laughing loudly, Luka moved closer, his hand hovering near her waist in an almost protective gesture.
The boys barely glanced her way, but Luka's posture was rigid until they passed.
"You can relax now," she teased. "They're just guys."
"Exactly."
She blinked. "Luka"
"They looked at you."
"For two seconds!"
"That's enough."
Her heart stuttered.
This wasn't the playful "wolf" persona from their messages.
This felt… innate. Automatic. Like a reflex he couldn't control.
"Are you… jealous?" she whispered before she could stop herself.
Luka stopped walking.
The snow fell silently between them.
He didn't look angry.
Or embarrassed.
He looked… conflicted.
"Jealous isn't the word," he said finally. "It's instinct."
"In-instinct?"
He stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"When a wolf finds something he wants, he doesn't like competition."
Talia's breath tangled in her throat. "And… you want me?"
Luka's lips parted. His breath clouded the cold air between them.
"Talia," he murmured, voice deep and trembling with restraint, "I'm trying very hard not to show you how badly."
Her stomach dropped.
He raised his hand slowly, hovering his fingers near her cheek…so close she felt the warmth, but he didn't touch.
"If I touch you," he whispered, "I won't want to stop."
The words sent a shiver down her whole body.
"But…" she managed, "this is still role-play… right?"
Luka's eyes flicked over her face like he was memorizing every reaction.
"Yes," he said at last.
But the word sounded like a lie he wanted to believe.
***
Too Sharp
They walked again, but the world around them felt different now. She could hear her own pulse in her ears. Could feel Luka watching her… not in a creepy way, but with an intensity that felt like a warm hand on her spine.
He heard everything.
Every crunch of snow.
Every distant Christmas song.
Every soft inhale she made when he got too close.
At one point she slipped slightly on a patch of ice- barely a wobble
Luka caught her before she even fell.
But he didn't touch her.
His arm was just… suddenly there, blocking the fall.
She gasped. "How did you?"
"I saw it coming."
"You weren't even looking at me!"
"I don't have to."
That did it.
Her entire body froze.
This wasn't normal.
No human reacted that fast.
***
They reached a small, empty corner of the park where fairy lights draped over snow-covered bushes. It was quiet, peaceful, romantic even… until Luka turned to her fully.
"Talia," he said slowly, "there's something you should know."
A shadow passed through his expression.
A ripple.
A crack.
His pupils thinned
Elongating,
Sharpening,
Glinting gold beneath the brown.
Her breath left her lungs.
Luka looked away instantly, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Damn," he muttered under his breath. "Not now."
"What… was that?" she whispered.
He didn't answer.
Instead, he inhaled again…rapid, pained, like he was fighting something inside him.
"Luka," she said shakily. "Are you okay? You're scaring me"
He took her face gently between his hands…warm, steady, trembling.
"I would never hurt you," he said fiercely. "Never. Remember that."
"But your eyes"
"Forget my eyes."
"I can't."
He clenched his jaw, swallowing hard. "Talia… I'm losing control."
Her heart tripped.
His voice dropped lower. Rougher.
"Your scent"
He stopped, chest rising sharply.
"…is driving me insane."
"My…my scent?" she echoed.
He shuddered. "I can smell when you're scared. When you're excited. When your heartbeat…"
He leaned in, nose almost brushing her temple.
"…jumps like that."
Talia froze.
He pulled back, breath shakier than hers.
"I shouldn't have brought you here tonight."
"Why?"
"Because I thought I could pretend."
His voice cracked.
"I thought I could act like a man."
Her eyes widened. "Luka… what are you?"
He looked at her with tortured honesty.
"Not what you think."
Before she could move, a branch snapped somewhere behind them. Luka's head whipped toward the sound instantly, body tense, jaw clenched, instincts raging.
"Talia," he said softly, eyes hardening from gold back to brown, "do exactly as I say."
She swallowed. "W-what's happening?"
He stepped in front of her, voice deeper than ever
"Someone's watching you."
The snow around them went silent.
Luka growled. Actually growled.
And Talia's knees nearly buckled.
Because this was no role-play.
No harmless Christmas fantasy.
This was real.
And Luka…
Luka wasn't human!