16: An Overwhelming Want

RAGUEL

The hot water cascading over my shoulders was scalding, yet it did nothing to quiet the blood pulsing in my veins. My body had been working overtime since the moment Lyra Quinn walked through my doors with that pathetic excuse for a man weeks ago.

Nothing in me had settled since then.

I braced my hand against the tiled wall, lowering my head as the water ran down my face.

This wasn’t normal. Not for me. I had known women, seen them and even been offered more than most men ever would.

None of them had ever made me feel like this.

Like I was one breath away from losing control.

It had been a torture of my own making. I had sat through that first dinner with a pulsing, heavy ache in my dick, forced to watch her adjust her dress and look at Aaron with eyes that begged for a validation he was too stupid to give. The scent of her arousal had hit me like a physical blow—sweet, primal, and overwhelmingly mine.

Later that night, when she was in the shower, I had heard her. The sloppy friction of her fingers in tight cunt, the catch in her breath, and finally, the way she had moaned my name when her orgasm came crashing. It had taken every ounce of my Alpha restraint not to tear that bathroom door off its hinges and take her against the cold tile until she forgot her own name.

I leaned my forehead against the wet marble, a low growl vibrating in my chest. Even now, it was taking a greater deal of restraint not to go to her. Her scent was everywhere and that was a big problem because I wasn’t supposed to want her the way I did.

She was the prophesied Luna I had spent years searching for—a sovereign line thought to be extinct. She was supposed to be a legendary instrument to stabilize the factions and secure the future of the throne. She was not supposed to be a woman I wanted to devour.

I stepped out of the shower, ignoring the towel. I dressed quickly, my movements sharp and agitated. I was pulling on a clean pair of sweatpants when a soft knock sounded.

I didn’t respond immediately and the knock came even louder.

“Enter,” I growled.

Emily stepped in, her expression guarded. She had been my Beta for a long time, she knew exactly what was  going on.

“She’s insisting on leaving, Raguel,” Emily said, leaning against the doorframe. “She told me she followed you here due to a ‘temporary lapse in judgment.’ She’s currently sitting on the bed in a state of total disarray.”

I pulled on a clean T-shirt and looked at her. “She isn’t going back to that world, Emily. There is no world left for her there.”

“You can’t hold her against her will,” Emily reminded me, her voice gentle but firm.

I met her gaze then. “I know.”

She held steadfast to my gaze. “You’re still going to keep her, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” I replied without hesitation.

Emily’s lips pressed together briefly. “She’s just confused,” she added. “She doesn’t understand what’s happening.”

“She will.”

“When?”

“When she needs to.”

For a moment, Emily said nothing, then she inclined her head slightly. “As you wish, Alpha.”

I moved toward the door, my presence causing the air in the room to shift. Emily didn’t move.

“Are you going to tell her?” she asked. “Everything?”

I stopped with my hand on the heavy brass handle. I could feel Lyra’s heartbeat from here—fast, fluttering, terrified.

“No,” I said, my voice dropping to a low, authoritative rumble. “I’ll tell her what she needs to know to survive the night. The rest... the rest she earns.”

“She’s smarter than you’re giving her credit for, Alpha,” Emily warned.

Without a response, I pushed the door open and headed down the hall. Every step toward her room made the itch under my skin intensify. And God help me, I didn’t know if I wanted to crown her or consume her.