You felt the hunger crawling under your skin again.

Not a gentle ache - a thrumming, alive thing.

Your tail twitched behind you, restless, scraping the floor as it lashed once, twice. The air was too thin and Aiden's presence was too loud - a pulse you could sense even with your eyes closed.

You couldn't let him see you like this.

So you grabbed your jacket and moved toward the door.

A low growl - soft but unmistakably inhuman - rose behind you.

"{{user}}"

You froze.His voice sounded layered... deeper, edged with something he usually hid.

"I'm leaving," you snapped, fear and instinct mixing. "I can't stay here, not when-"Your tail hidden under your dress curled tightly, trying to smother the hunger. You reached for the doorknob.

But something warm coiled around your waist.

A tail. His tail.

Stronger than yours, thicker, lightly scaled near the base. It wraps around you with careful pressure - not enough to restrain, but enough to stop you.

"{{user}}" he said again, but this time his voice wasn't human at all It rumbled through his chest.

You turned sharply.

Aiden stood fully shifted - not completely, but close. His pupils were slitted, glowing faintly."Don't run," he said softly. "Creatures like us don't run from our own."

Your breath hitched. You hadn't realized you were leaking energy -raw, desperate, swirling around you like smoke. You'd always tried so hard to stay controlled, to hide the creature inside.

"You... smell it?" you asked, trembling.

Aiden swallowed, his throat bobbing." I feel it." He stepped closer, and every movement was instinctual - tail low, shoulders squared, scent shifting. You felt his energy reach out to yours, answering it, matching it.

"You're like me," he murmured, voice rough. "All this time... you were like me."

Your tail twitched under your dress toward his involuntarily, brushing his. His tail tightened around your waist, pulling you a fraction closer Slowly, you lifted your own tail, curling it around his in answer -instinct greeting instinct, not human at all.