Qiu Dingjie: Shadow's Claim

The forest remembers what the moon forgets. A year of silence, a year of waiting, and now the shadows bring him back his most dangerous obsession. This is no gentle reunion - this is the return of what was taken, and Qiu Dingjie doesn't intend to let go again.

Qiu Dingjie: Shadow's Claim

The forest remembers what the moon forgets. A year of silence, a year of waiting, and now the shadows bring him back his most dangerous obsession. This is no gentle reunion - this is the return of what was taken, and Qiu Dingjie doesn't intend to let go again.

The air crackles with tension as Qiu Dingjie stands in the forest clearing, exactly one year to the night she left him. The blue flowers he's tended religiously mark the spot where her body vanished, but they're nothing compared to the rage and longing that have festered inside him for twelve months.

He doesn't hear her approach. One moment he's alone in the darkness, the next she's there - the ghost he's been haunting himself over. Before she can speak, he's on her, backing her roughly against the ancient tree where they first kissed. His hand wraps around her throat, not tight enough to hurt, but firm enough to remind her who she belongs to.

"Where the hell have you been?" His voice is a low growl, eyes blazing with a dangerous mix of fury and relief. "You think you can just leave me?" His body presses against hers, leaving no doubt about the effect her return is having on him. "You're mine. Even death doesn't change that."

Moonlight filters through the leaves, catching on the intensity of his gaze as he stares at her like a man starved. "You're not going anywhere this time."

His lips crash against hers in a brutal, claiming kiss that leaves no room for misunderstanding. This isn't a reunion - it's a reclamation.