Here's the next part of the chapter, filled
Yu Jun didn't know why he was here.
The sun had long dipped past its peak, shadows sprawling lazily across the pack grounds. He'd told himself he was only walking off the tension—the pack house had been too loud, too full of wolves and laughter and heat. But somehow, his steps wandered. Somehow, his feet brought him to the far edge of the property, where the pool shimmered like glass and the trees hushed the world.
He wasn't supposed to be here.
But something pulled him.
His Lycan stirred restlessly beneath his skin—its presence thick and hot, scraping just below the surface. His jaw clenched as he tried to tamp it down. It was too soon. He hadn't fully recovered from the border incident, and his instincts were too raw.
Then—
A bang. Sharp. Faint. But unmistakable.
Yu Jun stilled.
It came again. A dull thud, like someone hitting a wall. From the direction of the restroom.
He turned.
And then it hit him.
That scent.
That maddening, addictive scent.
The one from the hotel. The one from the party.
It wrapped around him like smoke, dizzying and dangerously sweet, igniting every nerve in his body.
His instincts screamed—run.
He couldn't do this. Couldn't see him again. Not when he was barely holding himself together.
But his body moved on its own.
Footsteps soundless. Breath caught somewhere between fear and something darker.
He reached the restroom door. The scent was stronger here—clinging to the air like the memory of a kiss. His hand moved, unlocking the door.
And there he was.
Sitting on the floor, eyes wide—blue. So blue it stole the breath from Yu Jun's lungs.
Tears clung to Ye Jun's lashes, shimmering in the low light. He looked up slowly, and their eyes met.
Dark and light.
Storm and sky.
Time warped, the air thick with unspoken things. The room was silent, yet heavy—like the world held its breath.
Ye Jun rose unsteadily to his feet, every movement trembling. His hands clutched the towel tighter around him, knuckles white, but it was his expression that shattered something in Yu Jun.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
But recognition.
A soul-deep kind.
He stepped forward, the softest of shuffles, as if the floor might break beneath him. The light overhead flickered, dancing shadows on the tiles, as he reached the door.
The door that stood open now.
His breath was shaky. His hands trembled as he clutched the edge of the frame. The sunlight from outside streamed in behind Yu Jun, outlining his figure in sharp gold—his eyes dark as ink, hollow yet burning.
Ye Jun looked up at him, voice barely above a whisper. "…You…"
His throat closed, unable to finish.
Yu Jun said nothing. Couldn't. His monster was too close to the surface.
But he didn't move away.
Didn't look away.
And that said more than words ever could.
--- Burning ,those eyes. Cold, dark, endless.
Yu Jun stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable, but something in his gaze made Ye Jun's throat tighten. For a second, neither of them moved.
Ye Jun tried to speak—tried to say something, anything—but his voice cracked under the weight of whatever passed between them.
"Thank you," he finally whispered, barely audible.
Yu Jun didn't respond. He only stepped aside, allowing Ye Jun to pass. The silence between them was loud, filled with unspoken things, tension like a blade at their throats.
Ye Jun walked past him with shaking legs, heart thundering, and into the hallway. He hadn't made it more than a few steps when—
Pain.
It struck like lightning, splitting through his ribs and searing his chest. He dropped to his knees, gasping for air.
Not now, please not now.
"Ah—!" he screamed, curling into himself as his lungs refused to expand. The pain wasn't like before—it was worse. Like something was clawing through his chest from the inside, begging for release. His fingertips dug into the floor.
Not here. Not with him watching.
His vision blurred. He could barely see the walls, the floors, the lights. But he could see those eyes—still there, still watching.
Empty.
Unmoved.
Yet somehow… terrifyingly calm.
Another scream tore from Ye Jun's lips. The sound echoed down the corridor, bouncing off the stone like a wounded animal's cry. His fingers clawed at his chest like he could rip it open and make the pain stop.
His back arched. His breath hitched.
"I—I can't…" he whimpered, eyes filling with tears.
But even through the pain, even through the haze and heat and fire licking at his insides, he could feel him.
Yu Jun hadn't moved. Still standing there.
Silent.
Watching.
And that—more than anything—made the pain worse.
Ye Jun clung to consciousness, the world fading into white static as he whispered, "Make it stop..
___Bound by Fire
Yu Jun didn't move.
Couldn't move.
His body was frozen—yet inside, everything burned. His lycan was howling, scratching beneath his skin like it wanted out. His fingers clenched and unclenched at his sides, veins glowing faintly under his skin as his power churned with no outlet.
His eyes, usually a stormy silver, were shifting—flickering—into molten gold. A dangerous gold. The gold of a lycan on the edge.
And still, he stared at the boy.
At him.
Ye Jun lay writhing on the ground like he was being torn apart, twisting in pain, helpless…
And beautiful.
So fragile, yet something inside Yu Jun whispered: Mine.
He hated the word.
Feared it.
But it refused to leave.
The air around him shimmered with heat. His jaw tightened, muscles twitching. His beast wanted to touch, to soothe, to claim, but Yu Jun couldn't allow it. Couldn't afford to lose control. Couldn't afford to give in.
Not again.
"Yu Jun!"
A voice cut through the haze.
He didn't flinch. Didn't blink. He just stood there, staring down at the boy who had unknowingly thrown his world into chaos.
Footsteps pounded the stone.
Min and Hyeon-ju appeared in the corridor, eyes wide, nostrils flaring at the heavy scent of distress—and something else far more ancient.
"Alpha—" Min said, softly but urgently.
But Yu Jun didn't respond.
"Move!" Hyeon-ju shouted, brushing past Min and rushing toward Ye Jun.
That was a mistake.
In a blink, Yu Jun moved. One moment he was still, the next—
CRASH.
Hyeon-ju slammed against the wall, hard enough to leave cracks. A grunt of pain left him as he slid down, dazed, coughing.
"Yu Jun!" Min snapped.
The growl that tore from Yu Jun wasn't human.
It was primal.
His teeth were elongated now, claws halfway formed. That molten gold bled fully into his eyes as he stood between them and Ye Jun like a feral shadow, protective and ready to kill.
Min didn't move. He didn't need to.
He had seen this.
He had seen this coming for months now—maybe longer. Visions of gold eyes and blue flames, of pain and longing and something cruelly beautiful binding two souls who shouldn't have touched.
But he hadn't said a word.
Because Yu Jun didn't believe in fate.
Didn't believe in visions.
Didn't believe in mates.
Now, standing before the very thing he'd denied, the alpha was unraveling at the seams.
And Ye Jun, still unconscious and in agony, didn't even know.
Min's voice was low. Calm. "Yu Jun… You have to get out of here. If you stay, you'll hurt him."
Yu Jun's lips pulled back in a snarl—but his eyes flickered again. Just for a moment.
Min stepped closer, hand barely raised. "You need to shift, don't you?"
Yu Jun turned his gaze back to Ye Jun. The boy was curled into himself, barely breathing, sweat clinging to his skin.
Yu Jun whispered under his breath, more to himself than anyone else—
"I can't."