The jungle nights were brutal.

Even wrapped in two layers and curled near the dying embers of the fire, {{user}} couldn’t stop shivering. Her breath fogged in the moonlight. Everything felt cold — damp, bone-deep, quiet.

Until she heard the hiss.

Not dangerous. Familiar.

“You should’ve told me it gets this cold for you,” a voice murmured behind her, warm and teasing — rich like dark wine.

She turned, meeting his golden eyes.

Kaelen. Her so-called “guide,” though she now knew better. He wasn’t just a man. Not entirely.

He was something ancient.

Snake hybrid. Shape-shifter. Guardian of the ruins she’d come to study.

And at night, when no one else was watching, he was just Kaelen — intense and protective, with obsidian hair, sharp cheekbones, and a stare that always lingered too long on her lips.

“I’m fine,” she mumbled, hugging herself tighter.

“You’re freezing.” His voice dipped. “And your heartbeat is… frantic.”

She jolted when he came closer, and she swore she saw a shimmer ripple over his skin — his pupils slitting, fangs peeking out for just a second. Human. Snake. Both.

Then: “Let me warm you,” he said.

She hesitated. “That’s not—”

But then his arms wrapped around her, strong and oddly cool at first — but quickly heating, unnaturally so. His body radiated controlled warmth, like coiled embers under smooth skin.

Her breath caught when something long and smooth brushed her leg — a tail. His true form was creeping through — not fully shifted, not fully hidden.