Too Late to Turn Back.

Keon's POV:

Winter is coming.

I can hear her soft steps as she walks down the stairs.

Her heart is pounding in her chest. I can hear that too.

Good. She's just as restless as me.

I'm shirtless in the brewing area of the palace kitchen at 3:00am in the morning unable to sleep as usual. My wolf keeps pacing my mind as the sounds from Winter keep haunting me. Like some sicko I can't stop thinking about it.

Winter and Derrick were fucking in my own palace.

The thought makes me grit my teeth.

"Well what did you think genius? You didn't claim her publicly, to Derrick and the rest of the world, they're soulmates, and they sleep in the same room every night. I'm more surprised it's just happening for the first time now. I told you we should've never allowed them to sleep together."

Dammit. My wolf is right.

That fact makes me even more angry. To Derrick, and to any other wolf, he's not doing anything wrong. It's technically his right.

Dammit.

It's my right, not his.

I grab the glass of water and chug it in one go.

Fuck that. I'm her true mate, regardless of whatever that useless relic said or did. The moon tied us together, in spirit and in truth.

I'm done being considerate. I can't let them sleep in the same bed anymore. Enough of that bullshit.

I'm going to do whatever it takes to ensure Winter stays mine.

As if on cue, I smell her flowery scent waft down the halls and into the kitchen.

The door opens softly.

Our eyes clash and the first thing I see is the storm brewing in them. I see how her hair forms a halo around her body as the light hits, as she looks at me like she wants to make out and make up at the same time.

Her night clothe is ridiculously light, and I can see her perky tits and lushcious thighs in them.

I resist the urges rushing though me, schooling my features.

I gather the self control to speak. "Couldn't sleep?"

"No." She takes a few steps closer. "You?"

Of course I couldn't sleep. How could I, when my own brother and my mate were—

Enough Keon.

"No." I drop the glass.

She moves even closer, even though the air in the room has very much changed.

It feels like we're on the verge of something dangerous.

She picks up the glass and goes to the tap to fill it with water.She tries to hide the shake of her hand as she fills it. She gets a grip on herself to take a few sips. I let her take a sip before interrupting.

"You seemed... occupied earlier." I start, ignoring the rage as the sounds blur against each other.

She drops the cup, seeming to understand there's no escaping me.

"You know, you didn't have to interrupt." She says so casually, like we aren't soulmates and she didn't just crush my chest with those words.

I ignore the feeling. I don't want to identify it. If I don't identify it I can't be hurt by it. I move on.

“Would you have stopped?”

She pauses. I can hear how loud her heart pounds against her chest this close.

“Why does it matter to you?” She tries to keep her voice light. I don't fall for it. She knows the truth. We both do.

"You know why."

"No,” She reply. “I don’t.”

A lie.

I know it.

She knows it.

We both know it.

She wants to play that game? Fine.

She blinks and I move closer to her.

Close enough I can see the dust of freckles on her skin.

Her breath hitches in realization.

Maybe I'm too close. Her scent from her makes my wolf restless. She's too close for me to stay sane and too far for my wolf to be at peace. The scent of Derrick on her isn't making it any better.

Derrick. Fucking Derrick.

“You let him touch you,” I say to her.

How could she do that to me? Does she not feel her heart pound in her chest when I am near? Does her heart not malfunction at the thought of me as it does for her? Does she not feel anything for me?

I don't have to growl to get my words across. She understands. She has to. She might not be a wolf, but she has to feel something.

She just has to.

My jaw tightens.

Finally, she speaks. “I didn’t realize I needed permission.”

The air changes.

Sharpens.

“You don’t,” I say shrugging.

Then, after a beat, I continue.

“But don’t pretend it doesn’t affect me.”

That stops her.

Because this...

This isn’t Alpha authority.

This isn’t command or my wolf raging.

This is something else.

Something personal.

My pulse quickens.

“Why?” she asks, my voice quieter now.

I doesn’t answer. I know what she's asking, and I hate that I don't have a tangible answer for her.

At least not one with words.

Instead, I steps closer.

And this time, she feel it. Deep in her soul, in our bond.

The shift.

The pull.

The bond tightening between us like a string drawn too taut.

Her back brushes against the counter.

I don’t step back. Instead, I move forward.

My hand comes up, slow, deliberate, until my fingers rest lightly under her delicate chin.

I tilt her head just enough to make her look at me fully.

Her breath catches, it makes my chest pound faster.

My touch is warm. Gentle even.

I'm holding back. Something feral.

And she's looking at me like I might save her.

“Then stop looking at me like that,” I says, my voice lower now.

Her brows knit slightly.

“Like what?”

My gaze drops to her lips. They're plump and rosy, and I can't resist coming back to them.

She stops moving. Her chest rises and falls slowly.

I don't answer.

Don’t have to.

The silence says enough.

I brush her jaw, resisting touching her lips instead.

There’s no space between us now.

None.

I can feel her cold skin. It cools my heat.

I let out of breath.

My own pulse is too loud in my ears.

Too fast.

I can't control myself. I try to warn her, at the annoyance of my wolf.

“If you don’t want this…” I say barely able to recognize myself, “move.”

She doesn't move. If anything, she seems closer than before.

I should do the right thing.

I should resist.

I should turn away now before it's too late.

I don’t.

My own legs won't allow me.

I don’t even think about my next move. It's an instinct. Intuition.

I just...

Do.

And that’s all it takes.

My control snaps.

Not violently or suddenly like I thought.

But enough to throw all decency away.

My hand tightens just slightly as I pull her closer, the movement firm and decisive,

And the distance between us disappears.

And deep in my core, I know just by one taste,

I'm far gone.

It's too late to turn back.