ZeliaIt wasn’t rushed.It wasn’t desperate.It was deliberate. Intimate. Starving.His mouth moved against mine like he was memorizing me— like he had all the time in the world and still didn’t want to waste a second. His hand cupped the back of my neck, firm and possessive, drawing me deeper into him.I should’ve pulled away. I should have.But when his tongue swept gently against mine, teasing, tasting, my knees buckled and I clutched at his shirt, fisting the fabric over his chest like I could anchor myself to him.I felt him groan— deep, low, vibrating through both of us.The kiss shifted. Grew hotter. Hungrier.His other hand slid to my waist, fingers splaying against the bare strip of skin where my blouse had ridden up. His touch burned—no, branded—leaving a trail of fire as he dragged me flush against him. I felt him—all of him—thick and hard against my stomach through his jeans, and the ache between my legs roared to life, raw and throbbing.I hated how good it felt.I hate
ZeliaIt was supposed to be a normal day. A simple escape from the stifling walls of the palace, from the weight of magic and memory. I just wanted to get some damn strawberries.The wind tugged at the loose strands of my hair as I stepped out of the little village market, arms full of groceries. The sun warmed my skin, but inside, everything felt cold. Ever since that night with Liam, things had shifted. No—broken. I’d been a fool to think the fire between us meant something. A bigger fool to let myself hope.He hadn’t spoken to me since.Not even a glance. Not even a nod in the palace corridors when we crossed paths. As if I’d become a shadow— unseen, unfelt, unwanted.I was turning the corner toward the herb vendor when I froze.Liam.And beside him, her.Tall, graceful, golden-blonde hair twisted into an elegant braid, and that kind of smooth, serene smile that only noble-bred werewolves seemed to perfect. The kind that says I’m better than you while sounding like a compliment.
Ivy’s POV “I don’t know if this is the right thing,” Brandon said, his voice ragged with exhaustion. “I like her, I do, but this is a lot, Ivy. We’re not in a place to raise a child. Not with everything going on.”I crossed the room, grounding a hand gently on his arm, not just to comfort him, but to anchor him in the truth. “She doesn’t see it like that, Bran. She doesn’t care about the chaos. She only sees you.”His head dropped slightly. He didn’t respond at first, but I could see him listening. His mouth opened, then closed again. He rubbed his free hand over his stubble. “I’m not her father, Ivy.”“You are to her,” I said. “She doesn’t know any different. You’re the one she runs to when she has a nightmare. The one she clings to when the world gets loud. Her mother is gone, and if you shut her out now, it’ll feel like she’s losing you too.”His jaw tightened, and he looked away, blinking hard. “What if I can’t protect her? What if I become one more person she can’t count on?”
Ivy’s POVAfter the little witch left, silence took over the room like a creeping fog. I didn’t try to shake it off. I just stood there, still, letting it swallow me whole.At some point, my feet moved. I didn’t realize where I was going until I found myself standing in front of the mirror. One breath, I was rooted to the floor, and the next, I was staring at my own reflection.I didn’t look different. My face was the same. My eyes, a little tired maybe. My hair, still curled from this morning. My body was still unchanged. My stomach was flat stomach, no swell, no curve. Just skin. But beneath that skin something was growing. Someone so tiny, so fragile, so real.I reached down without thinking, my fingers hovering over the flatness of my belly. There was no movement yet. No flutters or kicks. But I felt it. Not physically, not in a way that anyone could measure or explain, but deeper than that. I felt it in the soft ache behind my ribs when I thought of it. In the way my heart bea
Brandon's POV Amari was a mess when they dragged her in again.Two guards shoved open the doors of the interrogation chamber, each holding one of her arms. Her hair was tangled, her face was pale beneath bruises, and her wrists were raw and red where the cuffs had rubbed against her skin. Her lips were cracked. She looked like hell, and she still had the nerve to lift her chin as they dropped her in the chair across from me.Like pride was the only thing she had left to wear.She sat upright, barely flinching as the guards secured her to the chair with the cuffs. She met my gaze directly, eyes rimmed in red but blazing with something stubborn. I recognized the look. The same one I’d seen when she lied to me the first time. When she swore on everything she had that she’d changed.“You’re still going to insist you acted alone?” I asked, voice low, cold.She didn’t answer right away. Just stared at me, breathing slow and shallow. Then she gave a tiny nod. “I did. I did all of this al
163Ivy’s POVWaking up felt like being dragged out of a deep, dark lake. My limbs were impossibly heavy, like they were weighed down with stone, and every breath hurt. My throat burned. My stomach ached, but not too much. My head throbbed, but nothing was more disorienting than the fog blanketing my mind.And then I saw Brandon.He was sitting at the edge of the bed, hunched forward with his elbows on his knees, fingers loosely wrapped around mine like he was afraid to let go. His eyes were rimmed with exhaustion, dark and red, but when he saw my eyes flutter open, everything shifted.“You’re awake,” he breathed, leaning in closer, like he didn’t trust his own eyes. “Thank the goddess, you’re awake.”I blinked slowly, my lips dry and cracked. I tried to sit up, but my entire body protested. Pain bloomed in my abdomen, and a groan slipped past my lips before I could stop it.“Easy,” Brandon said immediately, sliding an arm behind my back to help me adjust into the pillows. “Don’t p