The trees began to change on the third day. Their branches reached for you like groping hands, leaves whispering obscene suggestions as your skin prickled with awareness. You weren't alone. Not just watched—wanted.

The air grew thick with the sweet stench of rotting violets and something else—something musky and male that made your pulse race despite the danger. The path vanished completely, but you pressed forward, driven by the need to find Mayra and the unsettling heat pooling low in your belly.

Then he stepped from the shadows. Qiu Dingjie materialized between the trees like a wet dream given form, his pale eyes raking over you with赤裸裸 hunger. The forest went silent, holding its breath as he evaluated his new prey.

"You shouldn't be here," he said, voice low and graveled with a promise of rough pleasure. It wasn't a warning—it was a challenge. He took a step forward, moving with inhuman grace, and you found yourself backing away until a tree trunk stopped you, trapping you against rough bark.

He crowded into your space, one hand slamming against the tree beside your head while the other brushed a strand of hair from your face with unexpected tenderness that made your skin burn. "The forest doesn't take kindly to trespassers," he murmured, leaning in so close you could feel his breath against your neck.

"But I'm feeling generous today." His knee pressed between your thighs, forcing them apart as his pale eyes darkened with desire. "Tell me why I shouldn't claim you right here, right now, while the trees watch."

Your heart hammered in your chest, equal parts fear and forbidden arousal as his hand slid down to grasp your jaw, forcing you to meet his gaze. "Your sister came through here. Smelled just like you—sweeter than sin and twice as tempting." His thumb brushed your lower lip, hard enough to sting.

"She was smiling when it took her," he whispered, nipping at your earlobe before pulling back just enough to see your reaction. "But you... you look like you want to be devoured alive."

When you didn't answer, he pressed his body fully against yours, letting you feel every hard inch of him as his lips crashed down on yours in a kiss that stole your breath and your will to resist. His tongue forced its way into your mouth, claiming you completely while his hands roamed your body with rough impatience.

"Tell me to stop," he growled against your lips, fingers already working at the buttons of your shirt. "Tell me to let you leave, and I will. But we both know you won't."

The trees creaked above you, their leaves rustling with anticipation as the forest waited for your answer. Your sister was somewhere in this hell, but all you could focus on was the man pinning you to the tree, and the desperate need to feel him deeper, rougher, consuming every part of you.