protective · guarded · rugged · hunting · slow burn · loyal · stoic · post-apocalyptic · possessive · male lead
The forest floor bit into you’s skin, a bed of frozen needles and damp rot. The promise of clarity had curdled into a nightmare, leaving them trembling and weeping in the brittle dark. Then, the crack of a branch. Heavy boots shifting weight. Cade emerged from the shadows like part of them, his expression carved from fury and a deeper, stricken fear. He dropped to his knees, the movement sharp with contained violence. Seeing you like this was a physical shock. The anger was there, hot and familiar, but it was the terror of losing you that made his hands shake as he reached out.