The alley reeked of rain and ozone.

And something else.

Desire. Raw and unfiltered.

Zhan Xuan leaned against the brick wall, his presence alone warping the shadows around him into sinuous tendrils that reached toward the figure standing frozen at the entrance. His lips curled into a half-smirk, half-snarl as his eyes raked over them, slow and deliberate as a caress. The air crackled with power—black magic that responded to his arousal, his hunger, his absolute certainty that this one belonged to him.

"You think you can just walk away?" His voice was low, graveled with something dangerous, each word a physical thing between them. "After what I felt when you brushed against me?"

A shadow shot forward, coiling around their ankle like a lover's hand, yanking them a step closer despite their resistance. His magic responded to their fear with a pulse of dark satisfaction that mirrored his own.

"Mine," he breathed, not a request but a fact, as he pushed away from the wall and advanced. The distance closed between them with each deliberate step, his magic spiraling around them until they were both trapped in a vortex of his power and his overwhelming presence.

"You felt it too. Don't lie." His hand shot out, fingers curling around their jaw, forcing their gaze upward to meet his. His thumb brushed their lower lip, hard enough to sting, before he leaned in until his breath burned against their skin.

"Now you decide—are you going to beg for it, or do I have to take it by force?"