477- Little Beast Unleashed
POV Thalyndra Moonclaw:
He was beautiful, perfect.
Anton choked, spitting curses. He grunted, and then a low, rough purr escaped his lips, carrying an animalistic timbre that made my skin crawl.
I watched every fleeting reaction, hypnotized, unable to look away.
He sat back on his knees and pulled his hand from inside my pants. I saw the gleam on his fingers. He brought them one by one to his lips and licked them eagerly, until nothing but saliva remained.
"Delicious," he murmured, smiling, his fangs showing at the corners of his mouth.
I swallowed slowly, trying to ease the dryness in my throat.
I didn't know why, but I felt so proud of that. It was as if I were marking territory—now he had my taste on him, my scent.
He was mine!
The primitive thought frightened me, but not enough to make me stop. Slowly, I pulled my hand away from him.
Anton looked down and started laughing. I looked in the same direction, noticing the wet stain on his jeans.
"So, this is what it feels like to come in your pants?" he mocked, then looked at me. "Congratulations, Little Beast, you have so much power over me that you made me come like a true pup."
I stood frozen, my body tense as a statue, a blush rising to my face. Even as I tried to hide it, the embarrassment was evident in the stiffness of my shoulders.
I had never lost control like that before. A kiss turning into almost sex? Gods!
I pushed myself up on my elbows and scrambled away from him. In one motion, I was on my feet. I ran a hand through my hair, pulling out twigs and dry leaves that had gotten caught in the strands.
I cleared my throat.
"That was nice," I murmured, looking away. He made a sound in his throat.
"Nice? Nice?" he scoffed, offended. "I was expecting at least incredible, since I never expect less than that from myself."
"Your expectations are yours, not mine," I taunted.
He stood up, wiping his palms on his shorts to clean his hands. He approached me, leaning down to align our faces.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes, I am."
"With all of this?"
How could I tell him I had no idea what had just happened? That I'd never felt that strange connection, that I'd never been so affected by anyone? It was easier to keep denying than to try to understand what we meant to each other.
But we weren't children, nor were we innocent.
I had wanted that, just as he had. No matter how embarrassed I was by my lack of control, I needed to act like the adult woman I was and take responsibility.
I lifted my face and met his gaze.
"Yes, I am. And you?"
He laughed out loud, the sound making my heart race.
"Did you really just ask me that?" He tilted his head slightly to the side, never losing his smile. "Despite feeling like an idiot for coming in my pants, I'm great. And I'm not ashamed of this achievement—I thought this would never happen to me, but as always, you never cease to surprise me." He leaned down and planted a kiss on my forehead. "Thank you for that."
He... he was thanking me for making him come in his pants? Heavens, what kind of man was he? A madman, or just the idealized version of the romance novel characters Lunara loved so much?
I couldn't contain my laughter.
"You're welcome, I suppose."
He ran his hand through his hair and looked down again, more precisely at the area between his legs.
"We can continue training, but I'd prefer to change clothes first." He scratched the back of his neck. "It'll be pretty awkward if someone shows up and sees me like this. You know, I'm an alpha, the future leader of Eldoria."
I shook my head in refusal.
"It's fine, I need a shower too. I think for today, this is enough." I didn't know how to act, how to handle everything I was feeling.
No.
"Do you want me to take you home?" I shot him an incisive look.
"To lie about getting lost?" He snorted a laugh.
"You're never going to forget that, are you?"
"Forget that you made me sleep in the middle of the woods? Hmm... I think not."
He rolled his eyes.
"But it's daytime, nothing to worry about." He lowered his voice. "I only get lost at night if I'm in the company of attractive young women, you know? I can't focus on the path if her beauty distracts me."
"That's the most absurd pickup line I've ever heard." He placed a hand over his chest.
"Well, in that case, I have plenty more for you."
"You can keep them, Anton. I'm fine as I am." He laughed.
I realized then that he was doing it to lighten the mood, to break the tension. He could feel the tension radiating from me, the shame concentrated on my face, turning my skin red, and he was trying to make things lighter, easier.
The more he acted that way, the more he tangled my feelings and left me confused.
I took a step back, followed by another and another, until I was far enough away.
"See you later, Thalyndra!" he said goodbye, before I could say anything.
I spun on my heels and walked at controlled steps away, toward Edric and Lunara's house. I wanted to run, but I managed to restrain myself.
The absence of his proximity, his scent, his warm touch, hit me hard. The chill of his absence made me shudder. My she-wolf whimpered, as if disapproving of the distance.
I wrapped my arms around my body and kept moving forward, not allowing my animal instincts to take over. I was in control.
Anton gave me pleasure and I gave him pleasure, as two young adults, single and unencumbered, often did. And that was that. There was nothing to overthink about it, nothing to analyze. People did the same thing all the time.
I shook my head, pushing the thoughts away, emptying my mind before I lost it completely.