Chapter Twenty-Two

Killian POV

The second I’m back inside the house, I head straight to the shower, needing to wash Aurora’s scent off me before Rosa picks it up. I step under the spray, closing my eyes as the hot water rushes over my skin, and I let out a deep breath, frustrated at myself for being so careless. I should’ve known better than to touch Aurora, but resisting her is nearly impossible, especially with the bond pulling at me nonstop.

I scrub at my skin until it’s raw, even though I know no amount of soap can erase what we did or stop my wolf from pacing restlessly inside me, furious that I’m even trying. Once I’m sure Aurora’s scent is gone, or at least faint enough that Rosa won’t notice, I switch off the shower, grab a towel, and step out, wrapping it loosely around my hips.

I'm barely through the doorway when Rosa’s voice hits me, her sharp tone already grating on my nerves.

“How was she after the incident?” she demands, standing by the window with her arms crossed.

“Really, Rosa, give me a second,” I snap back, irritation flaring hotly beneath my skin. “I just got out.”

She narrows her eyes at me, clearly annoyed I’m not jumping to answer. “I need to know if she needs to be dealt with.”

I shake my head roughly, dropping down onto the edge of the bed, not bothering to hide how tense I am. “Aurora’s fine. She handled herself exactly how she should’ve.”

Rosa eyes me carefully, as though looking for cracks in my story, but then her expression shifts, turning softer. She moves closer, sliding onto the mattress beside me.

“Did work go okay?” she asks gently, her voice suddenly sweet and calm, the complete opposite of a moment ago.

“Yeah,” I grunt shortly, staring at the wall. “Everything’s fine. Expansions are going well.”

She leans into me, and before I can react, her lips brush against mine. My wolf instantly snarls inside my head, recoiling violently. Every part of me wants to jerk away, but I know I can’t, not without raising suspicion. So instead, I grit my teeth and count silently, forcing myself to tolerate her touch for a few more seconds.

When I finally pull back, Rosa’s smiling like nothing’s wrong, like everything’s perfectly fine between us. My wolf, however, is clawing at the walls of my control, demanding I put space between us immediately.

“We should go away for a few days,” she suggests softly, running her hand lightly over my chest. Her touch feels wrong, uncomfortable, and I have to force myself not to shove her hand away.

“No,” I answer shortly, pulling back just enough to break contact. “Right now’s not a good time. I’ve got too much shit to handle here.”

Her eyes narrow again, annoyance quickly replacing her sugary smile. “Well, had you let the wedding happen, Caelan would be here, and we’d have plenty of time for ourselves.”

My frustration instantly boils over, and I stand abruptly, towering over her as I glare down. “I made that decision, Rosa. Aurora’s not marrying Caelan, unless I say so.”

Rosa stiffens visibly, shock and anger flashing through her eyes. “Aurora is my daughter,” she snaps back bitterly. “If I want her married off, that’s my decision. If not Caelan, I’ll find someone else suitable.”

The rage burning inside me turns lethal, and I step closer, making sure she understands exactly how serious I am. “You seem to forget who runs this pack,” I growl darkly. “You were forced on me, Rosa. You haven’t contributed anything, not even a heir, to this pack. So don’t think for one second you have a say in what happens here.”

She recoils like I’ve struck her, her face draining of color instantly. “Killian,” she whispers faintly, eyes wide and wounded, but I shake my head roughly.

Before I can reply, an overwhelming rush of heat crashes into me through the bond, making my whole body tense painfully. Aurora. What the hell is she doing right now? My stomach clenches, and my jaw tightens as her need pulses through me, raw and demanding.

“Get out,” I rasp hoarsely, turning away from Rosa, fists clenched at my sides. “Now.”

Rosa hesitates, clearly shaken by my sudden shift, but she finally nods and quickly leaves, closing the door behind her. As soon as she’s gone, I move swiftly to lock the door, bracing myself against the cool wood, trying to calm my racing heartbeat and the fierce hunger growing stronger inside me with each passing second.

Aurora’s emotions are overwhelming me, her need blisteringly intense, and I can feel every damn thing through the bond, her desire, her desperation, the ache inside her body. My wolf snarls viciously, demanding I go to her, mate with her again and erase the memory of anyone else ever touching her.

Frustration and desire war inside me, leaving me ragged and breathing roughly, my body painfully hard beneath the towel. Why is she doing this now? Is she deliberately tormenting me, pushing the bond to see how far it stretches, or is she just as trapped as I am, unable to control the bond between us?

Either way, I know I’m fighting a losing battle. Aurora’s need tears through me with ruthless force, leaving my self-control shredded and my defenses collapsing rapidly. As much as I know we shouldn’t, as much as I try to resist, can’t escape one painful, undeniable truth.

Aurora is mine. She always was, and the bond won’t allow either of us to forget it.

I press my forehead to the door, my hands braced on either side of the frame like maybe if I hold still long enough, I’ll find the strength to resist. But it’s not working. The bond isn’t quieting. If anything, it’s screaming louder, every breath I take filled with her... Aurora.

I can feel it, the exact moment her fingers slide lower. The way her pleasure blooms in waves through the link, sharp and hot and impossible to block out. My jaw tightens, breath catching in my throat as my stomach tightens with the same heat. It wraps around my spine and drags a groan from deep in my chest.

She doesn’t even know she’s doing it. Or maybe she does. Maybe this is her getting payback for me using her body to get pleasure? To be fair, she got far more pleasure than I did.

That thought makes my hand slam against the door hard enough to rattle the hinges. My wolf snarls, pacing just beneath the surface, furious that I’m not already halfway to her room, kicking down her door, claiming what’s ours. But I can’t, not here, not this close to others. I’ve already pushed too far. I should’ve never touched her. I should’ve never let her close.

I let myself get too close and now I’m fucking burning.

My cock is even harder, pressing against the towel in a way that’s gone from uncomfortable to unbearable. My whole body is strung tight, like any second I’ll snap and do something I’ll regret, or maybe not regret at all. I can feel the edge she’s teetering on. The way she’s close, so close, and trying to chase that high that we barely had time to explore.

I stumble back from the door, chest heaving, and drag the towel loose. It drops to the floor, forgotten, as I fall back against the wall. My hand fists in my hair, the other already wrapping around my cock without me even thinking.

“Fuck,” I breathe, eyes squeezing shut.

Her pleasure spikes again, and it tears through me like lightning, straight down my spine and into my core. My grip tightens, stroking slow and firm, and the first sound I let out is guttural and raw. I imagine her under me again, lips parted, eyes wide, body arching into every touch like she’s starving for it. I didn’t even get to be inside her for as long as I wanted. Not really. I tasted her, claimed her with my mouth, but now every inch of me aches to be deep inside of her again.

My hips move into my hand, slow at first, trying to hold on to something that resembles control. But I can feel her again. Her fingers moving. Her breath hitching and her thighs trembling. It’s too much. The bond won’t shut up, it won’t give me a moment’s peace.

I lean my head back against the wall, stroking harder now, imagining it’s her hand wrapped around me instead of mine. Her lips and her heat taking me. The way she’d moan my name if I were the one inside her right now, not her own fingers. I growl low in my throat, the sound echoing in the empty room as I chase the rhythm she’s setting on the other end of this damn tether.

The bond pulses again, she’s close.

God, I can feel her tighten around nothing, just like she would around me. My hand jerks faster, my body trembling with the effort it takes not to break down her door and claim her like I should’ve from the start.

Her release crashes through the bond like a wave, and it hits me hard. My hips buck forward, and I curse through clenched teeth as pleasure tears through me, sharp and relentless, stealing every breath from my lungs. I come hard, the force of it rocking through me until I’m left panting, chest heaving, every muscle still strung tight like I’ve barely taken the edge off.

My back slides down the wall, legs shaky, hand still wrapped around my now-softening cock. There’s sweat cooling on my skin, and I can’t stop shaking.

I shouldn’t have done that.

I really shouldn’t have done that.

But god help me, I don’t regret it. Not even a little.

Because as wrong as it is, as dangerous as this bond is, I know one thing for certain, she’s mine, and there’s only so long I’ll be able to stay away.