Chapter 59 Bloom

I froze.

Completely.

His lips weren't just kissing me. They were claiming me. Like he was drawing a line no one else was allowed to cross. Like he had something to prove. And all I could do... was kiss him back.

His hand slid up to the back of my neck, tilting my head exactly where he wanted it. This wasn't a fake kiss. It was hard, deep, and utterly possessive.

The scorching heat of his mouth, the firm sweep of his tongue, the raw hunger radiating from his wolf sent shivers racing through every inch of my body. My knees threatened to give out, and Cassian immediately tightened his grip around my waist, pulling me flush against him to keep me standing.

Right in front of Dominic. Without breaking eye contact with him for a second. He was declaring, for everyone to see, that I belonged to him.

My breath caught, and he took full advantage of it, deepening the kiss until I couldn't tell where he ended and I began. A quiet sound escaped my lips and disappeared into his mouth, and for the first time, I realized just how completely I was losing myself—and my heart—inside this ridiculous lie.

Even if this was only an act...

There was no coming back from this kiss. I was losing myself in exactly the way I'd sworn I never would. When Cassian finally pulled away, a deadly silence settled over the towering halls of the library. Time itself seemed to stop. The air felt frozen.

My lungs struggled greedily for oxygen, while the memory of his relentless kiss and the unmistakable taste that was uniquely his still lingered on my lips. Slowly, I opened my eyes.

Dominic was staring at us. His expression had completely fallen apart. Disbelief. Pain. Defeat. His gaze drifted from the wreck I knew I must look like to Cassian's long fingers still wrapped so tightly around my waist they almost hurt.

That was it.

He couldn't take another second. That crushing display—and the way I'd melted in Cassian's arms—destroyed whatever patience and hope he still had left.

Without another word, he turned, shoved open the library's heavy wooden doors, and disappeared, carrying the fury and heartbreak of his wounded wolf with him.

Even after he was gone, Cassian didn't loosen his hold. If anything, he pulled me even closer.

Like a victorious Alpha, he lifted his chin slightly before sweeping one last deadly look across the students still whispering in stunned disbelief around us. Those piercing blue eyes carried only one message.

To everyone in the school.

To every watcher hiding in the shadows. Cross this line and you die.

***

The second we climbed into the car after school, I knew the fragile line we'd drawn that morning in the kitchen had been completely obliterated. Cassian started the engine, and the tires screeched against the asphalt as he pulled away.

The tension inside the car felt ready to explode. I could see the steering wheel creaking beneath his grip, his knuckles white from how tightly he held it. I couldn't stay quiet anymore.

The fear... The attraction... The anger I'd been forcing down all day... They all erupted at once.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" I snapped, my voice cracking through the cramped car like a whip. "What exactly did we talk about this morning in the kitchen, Cassian?"

He shot me one brief, infuriatingly smug glance without slowing the car.

"We were in public, Bloom." His voice was infuriatingly calm. "Right in the middle of the library."

"Don't play word games with me!" I shouted, twisting in my seat to face him. "It was supposed to be an act! We were supposed to pretend—make it believable. Instead, you kissed me until I couldn't breathe in front of everyone. You practically branded me like I was your property!"

Without warning, Cassian jerked the wheel toward the shoulder and slammed on the brakes. The seatbelt snapped tight across my chest. If it hadn't, I would've hit the windshield. He turned toward me in one swift movement, hiding behind that infuriating cocky expression as his eyes locked onto mine.

"Dominic was standing right there, Bloom."

His voice dropped back into that rough, low tone I'd heard that morning.

"He leaned in. He was close enough to breathe you in." His jaw tightened.

"We had to make it believable. I told you we couldn't leave a single opening for the pack—or our enemies."

Then the corner of his mouth curled into a smug little smile. His eyes drifted down to my lips. "And if I remember correctly..." he murmured, "...you didn't push me away."

His gaze lifted back to mine. "You didn't say no."

A heartbeat passed.

"In fact, I think we both know exactly how lost you were in that fake kiss."

His smile widened just enough to make my pulse jump.

"So don't sit here trying to make me answer for it."

His voice softened into something far more dangerous. "Just be honest."

His words hit me like a slap. Because he was right. I hadn't pushed him away. I hadn't said no. And that truth burned far worse than anything he'd accused me of.

Frustrated, I leaned back against the seat and turned toward the window, refusing to say another word for the rest of the drive.

Kai and Ivy sat silently in the backseat, doing everything they could to make themselves invisible.

As if I could somehow forget there were two witnesses sitting right behind us. By the time we returned to the old estate, darkness had completely swallowed the forest. Twisted shadows stretched across the weathered walls of the house, making the entire property feel even more unsettling.

But the real danger wasn't waiting outside. It was standing only a few feet away from me. The fire ignited by that kiss in the library still clung to both of our skin like something permanent.

The bond no longer cared whether any of this was fake. Whether it was a game. With every breath we took, it pulled tighter between us, almost desperately begging us to close the distance once again.

When Cassian bent down to light the fireplace in the living room, I had to fight every instinct I had not to watch the muscles flex across his bare back.

Inside him, Axel was growing restless, desperate to finish what had been left unfinished—to completely cover me in his scent. That wild, primal need radiated through every corner of the house.

I couldn't breathe under the weight of it anymore. My defenses kicked in before my heart could surrender.

"So that's all this is, isn't it?" I shot to my feet, my voice trembling beneath the anger I forced into it.

Cassian tossed another log into the fire before turning toward me with slow, measured steps.

"What are you talking about now, little fox?"

"I'm talking about that kiss today."

I took a step toward the window, refusing to risk looking at him.

"Don't lie to yourself, Cassian. That kiss had nothing to do with security or making our act believable." My voice sharpened. "You were jealous. You couldn't stand seeing Dominic near me. Seeing him talk to me. Your possessive, primitive wolf lost control, and you used me just to satisfy your own ego and prove you were better than him."

"I am an Alpha, Bloom!" His roar echoed through the stone walls of the estate.

"When someone gets too close to what's mine—someone under my protection—I don't waste time trying to negotiate with my wolf!"

His chest rose with every furious breath. "Yeah. Axel couldn't stand that bastard breathing in your scent."

His eyes burned into mine. "But don't call it jealousy. It's protection. When our enemies are standing at the door, I wasn't about to let someone else get inside your head."

I spun around to answer him and froze. He was close. Far too close. Close enough that I could feel the heat pouring off his body. Close enough that I had to tilt my head back just to meet his eyes. My mind stalled.

"This isn't protection," I managed to whisper. "It's insanity." I forced myself to hold his gaze. "You think I'm some toy you can claim whenever you want." I swallowed. "But have you forgotten? This is just an act."

The change in his eyes happened in an instant. The blue disappeared beneath the unmistakable glow of his wolf. He leaned down, and the heat radiating from his body washed over my face.

His voice dropped to a dangerous murmur. "Whether it's real..." His hands closed around mine before he pulled me sharply against him. "...or not."

I didn't even have time to react. Our chests collided. In the silence of the house, I could hear both of our hearts pounding out of control. One arm wrapped around my waist.

"You can't deny what this bond does to you." His grip tightened. "I can feel it trembling. I can feel the way it answers me." His eyes searched mine without mercy. "You keep saying it's fake..."

His thumb brushed lightly against my side. "...but the second your skin touches mine..." His voice became almost unbearably soft. "...we both know what the truth is."

I couldn't catch my breath.

His lips hovered at that same dangerous distance again, desire and frustration burning together in his eyes until they threatened to consume me whole. I could feel every inch of him. His hands began to move.

One slid slowly upward from my waist while the other stayed firmly planted against my side, as though he thought I might run. Then he lowered his head. His lips stopped just behind my ear, close enough for their warmth to brush my skin.

"What did you think was going to happen?"

My breath hitched.

"You know you're drawn to me." His voice was barely above a whisper. "You know Axel is drawn to you."

His fingers traveled higher, grazing the underside of my chest. "You're mine." His words settled against my skin like a promise.

"No one touches what's mine. No one gets close. I don't share."

I tried to focus on what he was saying. I tried to hold on to my anger. But his hands kept moving, and my thoughts were falling apart.

"Temporary or not."

His fingers slipped lower again, catching the hem of my sweater before slowly lifting it.

"Fake or not."

His eyes never left mine.

"Every inch of you is addictive."

His voice grew rough.

"Every damn part of you is perfect."

A low growl vibrated in his chest.

"I want to walk outside and let everyone know you belong to me."

Then he pressed his lips against the sensitive spot just behind my ear. If I stayed there one second longer...

I knew I would hand him the heart I'd fought so hard to keep hidden behind those walls.

Every part of my body begged me to lean back into his warmth.

Instead, I gathered every ounce of strength I had left, slipped out of his arms, and stumbled back a step.

"That's enough."

The words barely came out louder than a whisper.

"I agreed to play this game."

I forced myself to keep looking at him.

"But I'm not going to let you consume me."

Before he could answer, I turned and hurried toward the stairs. As I climbed the old wooden steps, I could still feel his predatory gaze burning into my back.

The moment I reached my room, I closed the door behind me and leaned against the wood.

Then I slowly slid down until I was sitting on the floor. My heart hammered against my ribs as if it wanted to break free. How much longer could I protect it? While living in this house… right in the middle of this fire?