Chapter Ten.

Ray's POV

Flynn is so weak and fragile. Although she's safely cradled against my chest, I can still feel her cringing slightly.

“Gosh!!” I gnash my teeth. “I was supposed to protect her.” I beat myself.

I look down at her, my heart burning hot with agony and a mix of anger despite the immense cold that surrounded us as I stared longer.

“Those bastards,” I cursed. “How they try to lay hands on my mate. They are surely lucky that her wolf did justice to them. I would have given them a slower and more painful death.”

I move my gaze from the empty darkness and back to Flynn. She's so beautiful, despite the dirt and the stain of blood on her face, her well framed jaw still stood out. And oohhh! Those pink lips, any man would want it for himself.

I shake my head, trying to shake off the innate desire to drop my lips against hers.

I watched as each breath she took though shallow, soft, but steady drew my attention to her breast.

“Damn! Get yourself to order.” I rebuke myself again. This time, a lot firmer.

It is hard to keep to myself. Her scent — warm, wild, threaded with the faint metallic tang of the shift and the rain — wrapped around me, sinking into my skin like it belonged there, took away all the senses I had, and my brain for the first time refused to cooperate as my cock grew firmer.

Finally, we were close to the entrance. It didn't do much to help the way I felt inside, but the presence of other people, especially my subordinates, sent an alarm to my brain and body to put themselves in order.

As I approached the entrance, the maids by black metal door straightened themselves at the sight of us. I bet they were still afraid of losing Flynn after she'd been entrusted in their care.

Their eyes darted from Flynn’s body form to my face. One of them — the youngest — paled and looked away entirely. They knew they’d failed. I didn’t speak. I didn’t need to. Leo was close enough to the surface that my silence pressed on the air, heavy and sharp. They bowed their heads as I passed, skirts trembling against their legs.

I didn’t stop until we reached my room. My space. The one part of this house that no one else touched unless I allowed it. I laid her gently on the bed, easing her down so her head rested against the pillow. She panicked, and her wolf, still tensed up, immediately came to the surface turning her beautiful eyes golden-yellow.

“Shhhh…” I let out softly, rubbing her hair calmly. “You are safe, now…there's no danger.”

After a few minutes of soothing her, Flynn finally coiled herself to sleep. The soft golden lamplight spilled across her face, painting her lashes in shadow. She murmured something — half-formed, drowsy — and shifted toward me instinctively. My fingers hovered near her cheek before I pulled them back.

“Chief maid,” I called, not raising my voice but making sure it was audible enough.

She appeared within seconds, her hands twisting in her apron.

“Prepare the bath.”

Her brows flicked up. “Should I have the other maids—”

I turned my head toward her, just enough for our eyes to meet. She knew what it meant.

Immediately, her voice cut off. She swallowed.

“Right away, sir.” she uttered clearly before disappearing like a smoke, the door clicking shut behind her.

I sat on the edge of the bed, brushing a strand of hair from Flynn’s face, although her skin was flush from exhaustion, she was warm now and her breathing slow, but every now and then her fingers curled against the blanket as though clutching for something unseen. My wolf stirred uneasily — protective, possessive.

Minutes later, the sound of water running echoes from the bathroom and steam begins to drift into the room. I glance at Flynn. She’s watching me now, still weak, but her lips curve faintly like she’s trying to be brave.

“You need to get clean,” I said quietly, as I bent over to help her up, sliding an arm beneath her back and another under her knees.

She stirred faintly, allowing her body to relax into my arms, as her lashes lifted just enough for her to catch my face and just as our eyes met, she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. “Will you please stay with me?”

Surprise, I hesitate, swallowing the knot in my throat that took my voice away, and for a heartbeat, all I hear is the steady drum of my pulse.

I move toward her, my eyes staring right back at hers “Yes, I will.”

I couldn't tell if it was the heat from the steaming water or the heat emanating from our bodies that made my heartbeat bang like it did.

I closed my eyes, said a few words to myself before taking a step towards Flynn who I had settled on the edge of the bathtub against a wall for anchor.

Slowly, I knelt beside her and began to ease off the remnants of her clothes.

As my skin touched hers, Flynn flinched in fear or maybe, passion.

“I can get the maids,” I said slowly, speaking in the calmest way I can as I held back the urge to have her to myself.

Flynn didn't say a word, but nodded in disagreement.

“Okay then, I am going nowhere. I am right here with you.” I say just before I continued to take off her clothes this time more carefully and slowly, not because I needed to be careful, but because I wanted her to feel no urgency, no threat.

“Lean on me,” I said, sliding an arm around her as I helped her step into the water after her clothes were finally off.

I lower her into the water, the steam wrapping around her like silk. In reaction, she let out a soft sigh and tipped her head backwards.

“Damn!” I exclaimed in my head as memories of our first night came to light. I recalled how silk she was in my arms but that memory was nothing compared to sight in front of me.

Shaking off the memories, I forced my focus on the task — Immediately, I settled behind her on the rim of the tub, rolling my sleeves up past my elbows as I reach for a cloth, dipping it into the water, then trailing it along her arm, her neck, then moving to the sensitive parts of her body.

Her head tilted slightly toward my hand, a quiet, trusting movement that hit me harder than any touch should.

“Behave, Leo. Behave!” I reprimand my wolf who was trying to take over, claiming and marking her for life. “Not now, not this way. She has to let us in.”

Still in the discussion with my wolf, Leo, I didn't notice I had stopped. My name on Flynn’s lips brought me back to the task before me.

I opened my eyes to see Flynn looking at me. Her gaze flickers to my mouth, then back to my eyes. I can feel the magnetic pull between us—dangerous, inevitable. Drawn in by the pull, I brush a damp strand of hair from her cheek. My thumb lingers against her jawline.

She tilts her face slowly, her entire body moving in the way that pulled me more than any touch would. I could feel our breaths mingle. Our heartbeat quickening.

“Damn!” I curse beneath my breath. I knew I had lost the battle. Without hesitating, I pulled her in and hungrily planted my lips against hers to my surprise she didn't push back, she let my wolf and I in as she kissed me in return.

The kiss starts slow, tentative, then deepens—heat surging between us, my hands gripping the edge of the tub to keep from pulling her fully against me…but as my cock grew firmer, my control frays. Without waiting to think, and with our lips still pressed against each other, I jumped into the bathtub…