LOGINELI I hear his truck start at 9:30am. I'm at my window, watching him leave. Where is he going? I grab my phone. No messages. Maybe patrol. Maybe pack business. Maybe her. No. He wouldn't. He said he'd handle it. But he said he'd call her, not meet her. I'm being paranoid. I take a shower. Try to wash away the anxiety. But it clings to me. By 11am, he's still not back. I text him: *Where are you?* No response. 11:30am. Nothing. Noon. My chest is getting tight. I call him. Straight to voicemail. Fuck this. I call Lorenzo. "Hey, Eli. What's up?" "Is Nick with you?" "Nick? No, why?" My stomach drops. "He said he had to meet with you this morning. About patrol schedules." Silence. "Lorenzo?" "I haven't seen Nick today. We don't have any meetings scheduled." The phone feels heavy in my hand. "Eli? You okay?" "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Must've gotten my days mixed up." I hang up before he can ask more questions. Nick lied. He fu
ELI "Maybe tomorrow we can try again." The words hang between us. His hand is warm in mine. His eyes are hopeful but guarded, like he's afraid I'll take it back. Tomorrow. But tomorrow feels like forever when he's sitting right here, looking at me like I'm the only thing that matters. I'm still angry. Still hurt. But I also miss him. Miss his hands on me. Miss the way he makes me feel when everything else disappears and it's just us. "Actually," I say, tightening my grip on his hand. "Maybe we don't wait until tomorrow." His eyes widen slightly. "Eli—" "You said you'd do anything to make this right." "I did. I will." I stand up slowly, pulling my hand from his. "Then prove it." I walk toward the stairs, feeling his gaze burning into my back. At the bottom step, I look back over my shoulder. He's still sitting there, frozen, like he can't quite believe what's happening. "Show me I matter more than her," I say quietly. "More than your fear. More than anything." That bre
ELI I hear his truck start at 9:30am. I'm at my window, watching him leave. Where is he going? I grab my phone. No messages. Maybe patrol. Maybe pack business. Maybe her. No. He wouldn't. He said he'd handle it. But he said he'd call her, not meet her. I'm being paranoid. I take a shower. Try to wash away the anxiety. But it clings to me. By 11am, he's still not back. I text him: *Where are you?* No response. 11:30am. Nothing. Noon. My chest is getting tight. I call him. Straight to voicemail. Fuck this. I call Lorenzo. "Hey, Eli. What's up?" "Is Nick with you?" "Nick? No, why?" My stomach drops. "He said he had to meet with you this morning. About patrol schedules." Silence. "Lorenzo?" "I haven't seen Nick today. We don't have any meetings scheduled." The phone feels heavy in my hand. "Eli? You okay?" "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Must've gotten my days mixed up." I hang up before he can ask more questions. Nick lied. He fucking lied to me. And I know exac
ELI'S POV "Who the fuck is Rebecca?" Nick's face does this thing—this micro-expression of guilt that makes my stomach drop. "She's nobody—" "People who are 'nobody' don't text 'I miss you' at two in the morning." I sit up, pulling away from him. "Who is she?" He sighs, runs a hand through his hair. "Lorenzo introduced us a few months ago. She's from the Crescent Moon pack. He thought..." He trails off. "He thought what?" "He was trying to set us up." The words hit me like ice water. "Set you up." "I wasn't interested. I told her that." "When?" "What?" "When did you tell her you weren't interested?" My voice is too calm. Too controlled. "A few weeks ago—" "A few weeks ago." I laugh but there's no humor in it. "We were already fucking by then." "I was ENDING things with her! Telling her I wasn't available!" "But you didn't tell her why. Didn't tell her about me." "How could I? We were hiding—" "We're always hiding." I get out of bed, start pulling on my clothes. "Even
ELI I stroke him slowly. Root to tip. Watching his face. He's trying so hard to stay still. To be good. I lean down, lick a slow stripe up the underside. "Fuck!" His hips buck. I pull back. "Stay still." "I'm trying—" "Try harder." I take just the head in my mouth. Suck gently. His hands fist in the sheets. I work him slowly. Taking him deeper, pulling back, using my tongue. Building him up gradually. His breathing gets ragged. His thighs start to shake. "Eli—I'm getting close—" I pull off immediately. He makes this broken, desperate sound. "Tell me what I am to you," I say. "You're everything." I wait. "You're—fuck—you're everything I want. Everything I need." "Not good enough." I don't touch him. Just sit there watching his cock twitch, watching him struggle. "Eli, please—" "Two days, Nick. Is that all this is?" "No! No, it's not—" "Then what is it?" "It's—" He's panting. "It's everything. You're everything. This isn't two days, it's been years of wanting yo
ELI I can't sleep. I lie in my bed staring at the ceiling, replaying everything Nick said. Every word. Every fucking word. "Two days." Like that's all this is. Like I'm nothing. Like we're nothing. My eyes burn but I'm done crying. Now I'm just angry. And hurt. And so fucking tired of wanting someone who won't claim me. When morning light starts filtering through my window, I hear him moving around downstairs. Making coffee probably. Going through his routine like everything's fine. Like he didn't just rip my heart out. I stay in bed. Let him wonder. Let him worry. Footsteps on the stairs. Coming closer. A soft knock on my door. "Eli?" His voice is rough. Like he didn't sleep either. Good. "Please. Open the door. Let's talk." I don't answer. "Eli, come on. I know you're awake." "There's nothing to talk about," I say. My voice sounds dead even to my own ears. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean—" "You didn't mean what?" I sit up, anger flooding back. "To prove exactly what I sa







