LOGINCameron’s breath hitched like he’d taken a blow straight to the soul. His forehead dropped to mine, eyes squeezed shut for a heartbeat as silver flared bright beneath his lashes.“Clara…” My name left him like a vow.I felt him then. Not just physically, but everywhere else. His strength. His restraint finally released. The way his wolf surged forward, not to dominate but to claim and protect and anchor.The room faded.There was only heat. Only breath. Only the slow, powerful rhythm that built between us, pulling tighter and tighter until thought itself dissolved into sensation.The bond burned brighter with every heartbeat.When his mouth found my shoulder, it wasn’t to claim.It was to steady.His lips pressed there, warm and grounding, breath sinking into my skin as if he was anchoring us both to the moment. My wolf eased - not gone, not quiet, but satisfied in a way that felt deeper than instinct.I exhaled, long and shaky.Cameron’s hand slid up my back, spanning me with effortl
Then he leaned in and kissed me. Not claiming yet. Not taking.Sealing.His mouth moved with intent now. No hesitation, no restraint left to pretend with. The kiss wasn’t frantic; it was consuming in a slower, far more dangerous way. Like he was memorizing me. Like every breath we shared mattered.His hands framed my body, not searching, not demanding - acknowledging. As if my shape had already been carved into his instincts and he was simply tracing what he knew by heart.Heat gathered where his touch lingered. Not sharp, not overwhelming at first - just a deep, coiling awareness that grew with every second we stayed connected. The bond responded instantly, tightening, glowing, humming like it had been waiting for this moment since the first breath I ever took.I tasted myself on his tongue. My scent mixed with his hit my nostrils.The realization stole my breath.His control fractured then - not shattered, but bent. I felt it in the low sound he made against my mouth, the way his bo
His mouth followed the curve of my body, not skipping a single inch. He kissed the places the world had taught me to hide. The softness. The fullness. The strength wrapped in flesh that refused to apologize for existing.My thighs trembled when he pressed his lips there: slow, open-mouthed, utterly focused. Not hunger. Appreciation.Worship.I threaded my fingers into his hair, breath coming shallow, the bond humming so loudly it felt like it was written into my bones. Every touch fed it. Every kiss drew it tighter, brighter.Cameron took his time.His mouth learned me the way a wolf learned a boundary - patient, thorough, intent. Each kiss lingered just long enough to make me ache for the next. His hands steadied me when my body began to betray me, when my hips shifted without permission, when my breath fractured into soft, helpless sounds.“Oh, Goddess..” he murmured against my skin, voice low and intimate. “You taste so good..”That only made it worse.Heat gathered, slow and relen
His restraint didn’t last.It cracked - not violently, not recklessly - but with a low, dangerous sound in his chest as his mouth found mine again. This kiss was different. Deeper. Hungrier. Less patience, more truth.His hands slid from my waist to my back, fingers splaying like he needed to feel all of me at once. I gasped softly into his mouth, and that was all it took.“Gods.” he murmured, voice rough, reverent. “I’ve wanted this.”He kissed me again, slower this time, as if savoring. His mouth traced from my lips to my jaw, down my throat, lingering where my pulse raced. Each kiss felt intentional. Claimed without force.I leaned into him, my hands gripping his shoulders, feeling the solid warmth of him beneath my palms. The bond pulsed brighter with every heartbeat, tightening like it knew exactly where this was going.His fingers found the edge of my nightgown. He didn’t rush.He slid the fabric from my shoulders inch by inch, watching my face the entire time, as if checking wh
A silk robe the color of moonlight brushed my calves, loose, unbelted. My hair fell down my back in natural waves, untouched by pins.No crown. No claws. Just a woman who had survived the day.The bond hummed low and steady, no longer restless - anticipating.He’d promised. I felt him before I heard the knock came again.Three taps. Controlled. Certain.My wolf lifted her head, every instinct aligning toward the door.I didn’t ask who it was. I crossed the room and opened it.Cameron stood in the doorway, jacket gone, shirt open at the throat, dark hair still damp from a shower. He looked… undone. Not weak - never that - but stripped of the edges he wore for the world.His eyes found mine and held. For a long moment, neither of us spoke.We’d nearly died. We’d drawn lines that couldn’t be erased. We’d promised restraint for survival.But this? This was living.“You came.” I said softly, though the bond had known he would.He stepped inside and closed the door behind him with deliberat
The Vale war room didn’t look like a war room.No maps. No blades laid out in ceremonial precision. No blood on the floor.Just glass, screens, coffee, and the quiet understanding that every decision made inside these walls would ripple outward - into markets, packs, and lives that would never know how close they’d come to collapse.I stood at the center of it, arms folded, watching my brothers argue.“We don’t need to show force.” Rowan said, tapping a stylus against the table. “We need credibility.”Damon scoffed. “Credibility won’t stop someone from putting another poison in her drink.”Kieran didn’t look up from the file he was reading. “Neither will brute strength in Zurich.”All three turned to me. I smiled sweetly.“Congratulations.” I said. “You’ve all just described why this has to be done my way.”Cameron leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, observing - not interfering. He’d been like that since morning. Present. Watchful. Letting me lead.It made something warm and da







