Chapter 13: Escape Attempt

The full moon was coming. Selene could feel it in her bones a deep, primal pull that made her wolf claw at the surface of her skin, desperate to break free. The bond had become unbearable. Every breath she took carried Enzo's scent, every heartbeat echoed his presence. The fever burned hotter with each passing hour, turning her blood to liquid fire and her thoughts to chaos. She had to get out. Tonight. Enzo had left the penthouse two hours ago for an emergency meeting with his captains. The silver chain on her ankle had been replaced with a longer one, allowing her to move through most of the penthouse. He was growing arrogant. Complacent. She would make him regret it.

Selene moved silently through the dark rooms, her heart pounding so fiercely it was a wonder he couldn't hear it. She had spent days studying every corner, every camera angle, every weak point. The hidden device from her pack still had one charge left, enough to turn off the elevator's security for 90 seconds. Freedom was tantalizingly close.

She dressed in black leggings and a tight sweater, slipping into Enzo's oversized coat for warmth and camouflage. The scent of him on the fabric made her stomach twist with unwanted longing. The bond screamed at her to stay, to return to him, but she ignored it, pushing the thought away like the dark shadows creeping around her.

Using a hairpin and the skills her father had beaten into her since childhood, Selene turned off the first alarm. Then the second. Each click held the promise of liberation. The elevator doors opened with a soft chime that resonated like freedom itself. She stepped inside, pulse thundering in her ears.

The doors began to close.

"Going somewhere, little wolf?"

Enzo's voice froze her blood. He stood in the living room shadows, eyes glowing with fury. He had never left. It had been a test.

Selene's heart dropped, and panic surged through her veins. She slammed her hand on the elevator button, but he was faster. In the blink of an eye, he crossed the room and caught the doors before they shut, yanking her out by her throat.

"Your treacherous bitch," he snarled, slamming her against the wall so hard the painting beside them crashed to the floor. "After everything, you still try to run?"

Selene fought like a wild animal, claws slashing, knees driving upward, teeth snapping at his face. The full moon amplified her strength. For a moment, she felt the edge of freedom almost within reach; she almost broke free.

Enzo roared and pinned her harder, his body crushing hers against the wall. His hand tightened around her throat until stars exploded in her vision. "You think you can leave me?" he growled, voice shaking with rage and something deeper. "After I chose you over my own blood? After I risked everything?"

"I was never yours to keep," she gasped, still struggling against the vice of his grip. With every word, she felt the bond between them crackle and spark, an electric tension she couldn't ignore.

The bond exploded between them. Enzo kissed her violently, punishing and devouring, leaving no room for escape. Selene bit his lip until it bled, but he only kissed her harder, as if trying to brand her with his very essence. They tore at each other's clothes in a frenzy, fabric ripped, skin bared, the desperation of their connection igniting a fire that threatened to consume them both.

He took her right there against the wall, hard, brutal, and unforgiving. No foreplay. No mercy. He slammed into her in one savage thrust, making her scream. The full moon made everything more intense; every stroke felt like fire and ecstasy, merging pain with pleasure in a way that made her head spin.

"You're mine," he snarled with every punishing thrust, his voice low and feral as he claimed her. "Say it."

"Never," she moaned, even as her legs wrapped tighter around him, betraying her resolve. The heat between them was a force of nature, and the fever surged like a tidal wave.

Enzo fucked her like he was trying to imprint himself on her soul. The sound of their bodies colliding echoed through the penthouse, a symphony of chaos and desire. Her claws raked bloody lines down his back, a primal reaction to the need burning inside her. He bit her shoulder hard enough to draw blood, and it only drove her wilder.

When the knot swelled and locked them together, Selene came with a broken cry, her body shattering in the aftermath of their union. Enzo followed moments later, flooding her with hot pulses of cum while growling her name like a curse and a prayer. They stayed locked together, trembling, breathing hard, the world outside forgotten.

But the fever wasn't satisfied. It grew worse.

Selene's vision blurred, and her body started shaking uncontrollably. The bond denied for too long by her escape attempt began punishing them both. Pain lanced through her chest like a dagger, and she could feel Enzo's agony mirroring hers.

"The fever…" she gasped, voice breaking under the weight of their shared pain. "It's spiking. We waited too long."

Enzo's eyes widened in alarm as the same agony hit him. The bond was punishing them for resisting it, for trying to break free. He carried her to the bed, still knotted deep inside her, and held her through the rising torment, his grip protective and possessive.

"If we don't keep feeding the bond," he whispered against her sweat-soaked skin, "it might kill us both."

Selene looked up at him through pain-filled silver eyes, her heart a battlefield of confusion and desire. "Then maybe we should let it." The words tumbled out before she could hold them back, a reckless challenge to a fate she felt powerless to change.

The full moon continued to rise outside the windows, casting an ethereal glow over them. And the real fever had only just begun.