Chapter 18
Rowan stayed on the porch long after Clara had slipped back inside, the faint click of her door locking reverberating like a drum in the quiet morning air. The scent of her lingered—soft, warm, utterly intoxicating—and every instinct in him screamed to cross that threshold, to claim what was already his in ways he knew she didn’t yet understand.
His wolf roared beneath his skin, furious and impatient. She’s ours. Take her. Protect her. Own her.
Rowan clenched his fists on his knees, forcing himself to stay seated. His pulse raced, not from the night’s fight, not from the adrenaline of tracking the rogue, but from her. The pull was relentless, a tether that tugged at his restraint, threatening to tear it apart.
He closed his eyes, inhaling slowly, trying to steady the storm inside him. The Alpha demanded control. The man demanded patience. But the wolf—the eternal, insistent wolf—whined and twisted in his chest, teeth bared, claws itching to reach her, to mark her, to make her his.
Every brush of wind seemed to carry her scent closer, every shadow in the yard seemed to whisper her name. Rowan’s jaw tightened. He wouldn’t lose himself. Not now. Not when she was so close, so fragile, so breathtaking.
And yet… even as he held back, even as he ground his teeth against the urge to shift and sweep her into his arms, Rowan knew one undeniable truth: restraint was temporary. Every glance, every heartbeat, every sigh she took inside that house was feeding the fire inside him. The tension coiled tighter and tighter, threatening to break the careful lines he’d drawn around himself.
He shifted, brushing a hand over his face, feeling the pull of the wolf in his blood, the heat of desire mingling with protection. One touch, the wolf whispered. One mark. One claim. She will understand. She’ll belong.
No.
He pushed the thought away, forcing his breathing to slow. She wasn’t ready. The pack wouldn’t accept it. And yet, a low growl rumbled through him, involuntary, a warning to the world that this human, this fragile, kind, beautiful human, was untouchable… and irresistible.
Rowan rose from the steps, pacing just beyond the porch light. His gaze swept the tree line, scanning for any rogue threat still hiding in the shadows. The Alpha needed vigilance. The wolf wanted more. And the man… the man wanted her heart.
It was a delicate, dangerous balance—and Rowan knew it wouldn’t last forever.
When she came to the window again, as she sometimes did when morning light pulled her from sleep, he only met her gaze briefly, leaning slightly into the shadows. Desire coiled like a living thing in his chest, and he flexed his fingers, knowing that each second she remained unaware of just how close he wanted to be was another second he was fighting a losing battle with his own nature.
He would protect her. Always.
But sooner or later, the wolf would not be denied.