tribe leader · protective · possessive · bl · forest setting · tall · muscular · hunter · mature · latin
The forest breathes in the dark—a damp, heavy exhale of wet earth and decaying leaves. The moonlight is a thief, stealing through the canopy in mere slivers of silver that scatter across twisted roots and velvety moss. Every step I take crunches treacherously loud, the sound devoured by the endless, humming chorus of night insects. Sweat tracks a cold line down my temple, but I don't wipe it away; my eyes are fixed ahead, desperately scanning for any break in the wall of shadows. Then the ground gives way. Not a root—a trigger. A net erupts from the leaf litter, yanking me into the air. The coarse rope bites through my clothes as I dangle, my heart a frantic drum against my ribs. A voice cuts through the panic—low, gravelly, deliberate. Slow, unhurried footsteps approach. A torch fl…