LOGINEryx POVI watched her, Rachael, the heat burning across her cheeks, the flush deepening until her skin glowed. A smirk crept over my face despite the tension coiling in my chest. For a moment, I forgot my own awkwardness. She had that effect on me, the power to make me want to drop every wall I’d built around myself.“I’d like to lay down now… I feel worn out,” she murmured, her voice soft tinged with exhaustion and something I couldn’t name.I nodded, silently agreeing. She slid herself onto the bed with deliberate care, her movements slow, almost tentative and I let her. I sat silently, careful not to crowd her and when she tugged the blanket over herself, I mirrored the motion, covering her from the chill lingering in the air. My eyes stayed on her, tracing every detail, the way her chest rose and fell, the subtle twitch of her fingers as she adjusted beneath the covers.She caught my gaze a few times, her own eyes curious, hesitant and it was almost… intimate. Dangerous, yet inti
Rachael POV“Don’t you dare!”The words ripped out of me before I could stop them. I slapped his hand away, splashing water over the edge of the bathtub as I shrieked. My voice echoed off the tiled walls, sharp and frantic.He didn’t flinch.He just stared.Those eyes, dark, stormy, burning like he’d been born from fire locked onto mine and something primal flickered in them. His jaw tensed as if he were fighting a losing battle.“Little mate,” he murmured, voice dipping into a low growl that curled around my skin like heavily, “it’s the only way to keep the heat from overwhelming you.”“Then leave!” I snapped. “I’ll handle it myself.”I tried to shift away from him in the water, but heat pulsed through me in waves, dragging a whimper out of my throat. His gaze softened, barely before he stepped closer. He crouched beside the tub, close enough that his scent, woodsmoke and something darker wrapped around me. His fingers brushed through my damp hair, slow strokes that sent unwanted shi
Eryx POVMy body jerked upright before I was even fully awake. A scent slammed into me so violently my vision blurred for a second. Heat. A female’s heat. The female’s scent flooded the room like a punch to the chest, sharp and sweet, so powerful my wolf went feral instantly.Realization hit raw and hard.She was in heat. My female was in heat. I was on my feet before I had time to think. This—this was why I’d ordered the guards off the upper floors, why I’d kept them stationed below. I had known it would happen eventually but I hadn’t expected it tonight. I hadn’t expected the scent to be this strong. Or to hit me this badly.My wolf lunged inside me, claws scraping, desperate to get out but I shoved it back with everything I had. My body reacted anyway, my pulse quickening, my blood heating, every instinct demanding I go to her. Claim her. End her pain. End mine.I stormed out of my room, barely aware of myself, walking like a man possessed. My feet carried me straight to her door.
Eran POVI locked eyes with the female from the window and something in me tightened. Her gaze widened, startled and she jerked back, quickly closing the window. I could feel my own pulse spike. My nose flared, my chest felt tight, my entire body screaming for her. She was breathtaking, absolutely beautiful, and every instinct in me was screaming to claim her.But Eryx had said she was his. Was he lying? Trying to trick me so only he could have her? I clenched my fists, muttering under my breath, “I’ll have that female too.” And without another thought, I marched off, my boots crunching on the ground.One of the guards, a familiar face named Francis, spotted me as I passed.“What’s got you so wound up?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “You look like a man carrying the weight of the world.”I gave him a side glance, sighing heavily. Then, stepping closer, lowering my voice, I said, “You wouldn’t believe what I’m about to tell you.”Francis scrunched his face, suspicion written all over h
Rachael POVThe bedroom door opened, and I looked up fast. My heart kicked hard when I saw the alpha walk in, carrying a tray. A warm, rich aroma filled the room—steak. Real steak. My mouth watered immediately and I hated that he noticed.I watched him carefully, suspicious of every step he took.“Here. Have it,” he said, lowering the tray onto the table beside the bed with slow, careful movements as if I was some frightened animal he didn’t want to spook.The second he stepped back, I jumped to my feet. I rushed straight to the table, grabbed the tray and sat on the bed. The first bite didn’t even touch the plate for more than a second, I devoured the steak like I hadn’t eaten in days. Well because I hadn’t eaten anything this nice for a long time.I didn’t care that he was watching me with that intense, unreadable expression. Let him watch. I was starving.“Easy, female,” he murmured.I shot him a sharp look but kept eating, gulping down the water as if it could disappear any moment
Eryx POVI stormed into my office, my boots hitting the wooden floor hard enough to echo off the walls. My wolf was still pacing inside me, restless, angry, confused. I shoved the office door shut with my shoulder, the anger in me too intense to handle gently.Eran was already there. He was pacing the length of the room like a restless beast that he is. The moment I entered, he stopped, his eyes snapping to me, waiting for my reaction, waiting for an explanation, waiting for something. But I wasn’t ready to give him anything.I walked straight to my desk and sat down heavily. My jaw was tight. My body felt rigid. I grabbed the nearest file and flipped it open, reading it even though the words were all a blur.Eran let out a frustrated breath.“Are you not going to say anything?” he asked sharply.I didn’t look at him. “What more do you want to know?”He took a step closer, his voice low but firm. “There’s a female in our pack. In your room. Don’t you think there could be more females







