Chp 5

May POV

I feel bad locking her in her room, but what can I do? It’s for her own safety. If anyone finds out she’s a girl, they’ll kill her. I promised my sister I’d protect her daughter, and I intend to keep that promise no matter what.

I know Pearl is angry with me for keeping her caged, for stealing her freedom. And I don’t even know how long she’ll have to keep living as a boy. Sometimes, I dream of leaving everything behind and starting fresh with her—giving her a real life, a good life, one where she doesn’t have to hide who she is. But her father... he had other plans, and I still don’t know why. Or who murdered him and my sister.

I’ve taken the Gamma’s help to track down their killer. Sirek.

Sirek and I—we were once childhood friends. Lovers, too. We were going to marry. But then everything changed. I lost my sister, and suddenly Pearl was my responsibility. Sirek’s family wouldn’t accept Pearl in our lives. They wanted me to abandon her. I couldn’t.

Now Sirek serves as the general under the Alpha, who is old and growing weaker by the day. Soon, the Alpha’s son will take the throne. The Alpha Prince is already overseeing the pack, and from what Sirek tells me, he hates him—resents his interference. But Sirek only wants to protect him. He’s like a father to the boy, even if the boy refuses to see it.

Sirek also told me something disturbing—that the Prince’s chosen brides have gone missing. No one knows where they are. He suspects the worst… that the Prince may have killed them. He says the Prince is capable of such things.

I was lost in my thoughts when I suddenly felt a strong arm wrap around my waist.

I looked up—and there he was. Sirek.

I smiled and laced my fingers through his. Rising from my seat, I leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips.

“I missed you so much,” I whispered. He had no idea how much I loved him.

He returned my kiss, deeper this time—more urgent, more hungry. I gently pushed against his chest, breaking the kiss with a shy glance away.

“We can’t do this here, Sirek. Pearl might see us.”

He took my chin and turned my face back to his, his voice low and rough.

“You have no idea how much I love you. When I’m away, out there protecting the pack… I miss you every second. I count the hours just to see you again.”

His lips traced down my neck, sending shivers through me.

“She’s in her room,” I murmured. “The maids are watching her. We have some time…”

His smile told me he understood exactly what I meant. Without another word, he swept me into his arms and carried me to my chambers. He set me down on the bed and made sure the door was locked before returning to me.

He lay beside me, brushing my hair back as he pressed a kiss to my forehead, then to my lips. As we kissed, he reached behind and gently tugged the string of my dress, loosening it until it slipped off my shoulders. I reached for him in turn, undressing him slowly, savoring the moment.

“You’re as beautiful as ever,” he whispered. “So soft. I’ll never get enough of you.”

His mouth moved down to my neck, then lower still, his hands finding my breasts. I gasped as his fingers teased my nipples, my breathing growing heavy. Then his lips replaced his hands, warm and insistent. I held him close, aching for more.

I could already feel myself growing wet beneath him. He moved lower, one hand sliding between my legs, fingers finding my clit.

“You’re so wet, May,” he growled. “I know your body too well.”

He slipped a finger inside me, slow and deliberate, drawing out a moan I couldn’t hold back.

I let out a soft gasp as Sirek’s finger moved rhythmically inside me, curling just enough to make my toes curl. His lips never left my skin—trailing from my neck to my chest, worshipping every inch like I was the only thing that mattered in his world. His body pressed against mine, his heat wrapping around me like a blanket I never wanted to leave.

"You always feel like home," he whispered against my collarbone, his breath sending shivers through my spine.

I cupped his face and looked into those dark eyes of his. There was hunger there, yes, but there was also something gentler—an ache, a longing. I kissed him, deeper this time, pouring everything I couldn’t say out loud into that kiss.

He slid down my body, kissing his way to my stomach, then lower. I bit my lip, my fingers tangling in his hair as he parted my thighs and looked up at me like I was the most precious thing he'd ever laid eyes on.

“I want you to fall apart for me,” he said, voice low, almost a growl.

And then he did just that—his mouth found my clit, hot and firm, his tongue swirling with slow, deliberate strokes. My back arched off the bed as a moan escaped my lips. I wasn’t shy with him—I never could be. He knew my body like a sacred map, and he followed every route with devotion.

"Sirek—" I gasped, my voice cracking.

He pulled away only for a second to whisper, “Don’t hold back, May. Let me hear you.”

And I did. As he brought me to the edge and then over it, I cried out his name like a prayer, clinging to him as my body trembled with release.

But he wasn’t done.

He rose, his body hard and ready. I reached for him, needing to feel every part of him. He aligned himself at my entrance, his eyes locked on mine.

“Are you ready, love?”

“Always,” I whispered.

Then he slid into me, slow and deep, filling me completely. The stretch, the heat—it was overwhelming, in the best way. He moved with control at first, as if savoring every second, but soon his pace quickened, driven by the same need that set my skin on fire.

Each thrust stole the breath from my lungs. The room filled with the sound of skin against skin, and my soft moans tangled with his rough groans. His hands gripped my thighs, pulling me closer, deeper, until we were nothing but fire and shadows tangled in moonlight.

He collapsed beside me, our bodies still entangled, breathless and spent. For a moment, there was only silence, save for the gentle rustle of sheets and the faint heartbeat pounding in my ears.

Sirek reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my damp forehead. “You’re everything to me, May. You always have been.”

I smiled, my fingers tracing idle patterns along his chest. “Then why does it still feel like we’re running out of time?”

His jaw tensed, the softness in his eyes replaced by something more guarded. “Because we are,” he whispered. “Once the prince ascends fully, the court will come for me. They don’t trust me... and they never liked that I loved you.”

I sat up slowly, the air suddenly colder. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying,” he said, pulling me back down into his arms, “we don’t have much time left to pretend we’re just lovers behind closed doors. Soon, we’ll need to decide—if we run… or fight.”

I stared at the ceiling, my body aching in the sweetest ways, but my heart now heavy. Somewhere down the hall, I imagined Pearl still locked away, unaware of the storm building around her. My niece. My secret, our fate!.

Sirek was holding me tightly, his arms wrapped securely around my waist. My back was pressed to his chest, and the warmth of his embrace still lingered when a sudden knock on the door stirred me from my light sleep.

I sat up quickly, clutching the bed sheet to my chest, still unclothed beneath it. Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I grabbed my night robe and slipped it on in haste before hurrying to the door.

When I opened it, three male servants stood before me, their heads bowed, a worried expression on each of their faces.

“The young lady is missing, my lady,” one of them said cautiously. “It appears she’s slipped out of her room.”

My heart skipped a beat. A wave of panic surged through me. Pearl—how could she be so reckless? She knew the danger. She knew she was walking through this world as someone she wasn’t.

“Call Lydia,” I said sharply, trying to keep my voice steady. I walked into the main room and sank into a chair, tension building in my chest.

Lydia rushed in moments later, eyes already brimming with tears. She fell to her knees before me, her head bowed low.

“I’m so sorry, my lady. I tried to stop her. She said she couldn’t bear being caged anymore, that she needed her freedom.”

I raised a hand to silence her. “You’ll receive your punishment later. For now, we must find Pearl.”

I turned and walked swiftly into my room, where Sirek sat at the edge of the bed. His broad back rested against the carved headboard, his legs stretched out with the ease of a warrior at rest.

The room glowed softly in the flickering light of the oil lamp beside him.

In one hand, he held his pipe—dark cherrywood with a silver rim, worn smooth from years of use. He took a slow, deliberate puff. The tobacco glowed warmly, releasing a smoky scent laced with earthy, herbal undertones that hung in the air like a comforting spell.

I paused for a moment at the foot of the bed, watching him. The tendrils of smoke drifted around his face, softening the angles of his jaw and casting his profile in a quiet, contemplative light. He looked weary, but content—as though, in this small stolen moment, he could finally breathe.

I shut the door behind me and strode quickly toward him.

“I need your help,” I said, breathless. My heart was pounding. “Pearl is gone. Her parents’ killers are still out there. That night—they didn’t just come for her parents. They tried to kill her, too. If they discover she’s alive, they’ll come for her again. We need to find her before they do.”