The transition from the Forest of Giant Trees to the temporary encampment at the base of Wall Rose was a blur of emerald shadows and the rhythmic, soul-crushing thud of horse hooves against the damp earth. The humidity of the forest had clung to their uniforms like a second skin, heavy and smelling of ancient decay. Elina felt a cold sweat prickling her spine, and it wasn't because of the Titans lurking in the periphery of their formation.
It was Hange Zoë.
Throughout the entire journey back, Elina could feel Hange's singular eye boring into her back. It wasn't the manic, inquisitive gaze Hange reserved for a new Titan specimen; it was something far sharper. It was the look of a predator who had found a crack in the armor of the world's most invincible soldier. Every time Elina's horse strayed too close to Levi's, she could see Hange's lips curl into a knowing, dangerous smirk.
When the order to dismount was finally barked out by Commander Erwin, the relief Elina expected didn't come. Instead, the air felt thicker, charged with a silent electricity that threatened to strike at any moment.
As the sun began to dip behind the colossal stone shoulders of Wall Rose, casting long, skeletal shadows across the camp, Elina retreated to the edge of the horse stalls. She needed a moment of solitude to stop her hands from shaking. She reached for a brush to groom her stallion, her movements mechanical, her mind a chaotic storm of Levi's touch and the looming threat of discovery.
"You're brushing against the grain, Elina. The poor beast is going to lose half its coat if you keep that up."
The voice was light, almost airy, but it struck Elina like a thunderbolt. She spun around to find Hange leaning against a wooden pillar, cleaning her glasses with a piece of stained cloth. Without her lenses, Hange's gaze felt even more intimate and invasive.
"Section Commander," Elina stammered, snapping into a sharp salute that felt clumsy. "I... I was just lost in thought. The mission was taxing."
Hange stepped closer, the smell of chemicals and old paper trailing after her. She didn't put her glasses back on. Instead, she leaned in, her face inches from Elina's. "Taxing? Yes. I imagine it was. It's hard work keeping up with a man like Levi. He's... meticulous. He likes things done exactly his way."
Elina felt the blood drain from her face. "I don't know what you mean, Section Commander. The Captain is a strict leader to everyone."
"Oh, don't give me that 'Captain' nonsense," Hange hissed, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. She reached out a finger, pointing toward the high collar of Elina's tunic—the one she had buttoned to the very top despite the lingering heat. "The scarf you're wearing... it's a bit thick for a summer expedition, isn't it? And that bruise peeking out from the edge? That's not from a Titan's grip, and it's certainly not a training injury."
Elina's breath hitched in her throat. The world seemed to shrink until there was only Hange's knowing grin and the terrifying weight of the truth.
"Levi is 'Humanity's Strongest' because he has no weaknesses, Elina," Hange continued, her expression softening into something that looked like pity, but felt like a warning. "If he starts making mistakes because he's worried about a girl in the ranks, Erwin will notice. And Erwin... he values the mission over everything. Even Levi's heart. If you value your life—and his—you'll be more careful. Or you'll stop."
Hange turned on her heel and whistled a jaunty tune as she walked away, leaving Elina standing in the gathering gloom, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
Before she could process the threat, a shadow loomed over her. It was one of the younger recruits, looking terrified. "Officer Elina! Captain Levi... he's in a foul mood. He's demanding your presence in his private quarters. Something about a 'discrepancy' in the right-wing supply report. He said... he said if you aren't there in thirty seconds, he'll come fetch you himself."
The threat was clear. Elina didn't argue. She practically ran toward the stone building that served as the officers' temporary barracks.
She reached the heavy oak door of Levi's room, her knuckles white as she knocked.
"Enter," came the short, clipped command.
Elina slipped inside, closing the door behind her with a soft click. The room was sparsely lit by a single oil lamp on a mahogany desk. Levi was standing by the window, his back to her. He had removed his jacket and cravat, his white shirt rolled up at the sleeves to reveal the corded muscles of his forearms. The air in the room was heavy with the scent of bitter black tea and the sharp tang of cleaning alcohol.
"You took forty seconds," Levi said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. He didn't turn around. "You're getting slow, Elina."
"Levi, we can't do this," she blurted out, the words tumbling over each other. "Hange spoke to me. She knows. She saw the mark on my neck. She warned me about Erwin. We're going to get caught, and they'll send me to the Military Police or worse..."
In a movement so fast it was almost invisible, Levi was across the room. He slammed his hand against the door next to her head, pinning her against the wood. His face was inches from hers, his gray eyes burning with a dark, suffocating intensity that made her knees weak.
"Let them look," he hissed, his breath warm against her lips. "Let the whole damn Regiment watch for all I care. Do you think I survived the Underground and years of slaughter just to let some four-eyed scientist or a blond strategist tell me who I can touch?"
"It's not just about you, Levi! It's about the mission! If you're distracted—"
"I am never distracted," he growled, his hand moving to the collar of her shirt. With a sharp tug, he undid the top two buttons, exposing the dark, purple mark he had left in the forest. He traced the edge of it with a rough thumb, his touch both a caress and a claim. "If anything, this keeps me sharp. It reminds me what I'm fighting to come back to. You aren't just a soldier, Elina. You are mine. And I don't lose what's mine."
He leaned in, his lips grazing the sensitive skin of her neck, right over the bruise. A shiver of pure, unadulterated desire raced through her, warring with the logic that screamed for her to run.
"You're shaking," he whispered against her skin. "Is it fear, or do you want me to finish what we started behind that tree?"
"Both," she confessed, her voice a broken whisper.
Levi's grip on her waist tightened, pulling her flush against his hard, muscular frame. He wasn't gentle. He never was. His love was like his combat style—precise, overwhelming, and absolute. He claimed her mouth in a kiss that tasted of desperation and a deep-seated hunger that seemed to grow with every passing hour they spent in secret.
His hands moved with a practiced authority, unfastening the buckles of her gear, letting the heavy leather fall to the floor with a series of dull thuds. He was stripping away the soldier, leaving only the woman.
"I can't lose you to a Titan, and I sure as hell won't lose you to Erwin's politics," Levi muttered, his voice thick with a raw emotion he only ever showed her. "If they try to separate us, I'll burn this whole damn wall down myself."
In the dim light of the oil lamp, surrounded by the cold stone walls of the barracks, the "Invisible Shackle" tightened. It was no longer just about survival in a world of giants. It was about the crushing weight of a love that was never supposed to exist.
As Levi lifted her onto the desk, sweeping aside papers and inkwells, Elina realized that Hange was right. This hesitation, this obsession... it was a death sentence. But as Levi's hands moved over her skin, she knew she would walk into the jaws of a Titan if it meant feeling this way for just one more night.
The storm was coming. Erwin was watching. Hange was smiling. But in this room, for this hour, there was only the sound of heavy breathing and the rhythmic creak of wood against the silence of the night.