Chapter 254 Fire and Milk

Chapter 254 Fire and Milk

Suri held her breath tight in her chest, bracing herself and waiting for the absolute worst to happen.

But nothing came.

Instead, she watched with wide, disbelieving eyes as the fierce, glowing gold in his irises dissolved away, shifting right back into his normal brown eyes.

It indicated clearly that his human side was back in control.

Did he just snap out of it like that?

Did it mean his stubborn wolf had finally accepted her presence here?

She let out a long, shaky breath, her shoulders sagging slightly with relief. Conscious of the baby resting in her arms, Suri tried to step away from him.

Enzo instinctively reached out to grab her arm, his touch gentle. "What just happened?" he asked, his voice full of quiet confusion.

She pulled her arm firmly away from his hold, shooting him a glare. "Nothing. Just leave me alone," she muttered, turning on her heel and walking over to the small wooden crib.

She gently placed the sleeping baby down on the soft blankets, knowing deep down in her gut that she couldn't actually leave this royal chamber right now, not with his unpredictable wolf acting this fiercely possessive like a total lunatic.

Enzo stood back, watching her every move. He was secretly overjoyed to see her turning back toward the bed rather than walking out the door, even though he had no clue what his inner beast had just done or said to terrify her.

He tried talking to his wolf inside his head just seconds ago, but the beast had refused to answer or explain anything, only repeating one single, stubborn thought over and over: 'She's ours. Do not let her leave.'

Throughout the entire day, Enzo hovered around Suri like a shadow, trying to wait on her hand and foot.

Even when she aggressively pushed him away, even when she grew angry and angrily threw a heavy wooden tray of food he brought her straight across the floor, he did not lose his temper.

It felt almost as if she was purposely testing the absolute limits of his patience.

And to her utter surprise, his wolf did not react with anger for once. It felt as if the beast had finally calmed down from its blind rage and was now nursing a deep, quiet regret for its violent actions.

When night finally fell, plunging the dark stone room into shadows, Enzo wanted nothing more than to be close to her.

He slowly crawled across the large mattress, sliding onto the bed right beside her.

"Get off the bed. Sleep on the floor," Suri said coldly, her voice flat and unwelcoming.

"The floor is too cold," Enzo replied simply, lying down properly on his side and propping his head up on one hand, looking right at her.

"Then I'll sleep on the damn floor myself," Suri fired back stubbornly, starting to kick her legs over the edge of the mattress.

Before she could move an inch, Enzo's arm shot out. He caught her waist and pulled her firmly against his warm, hard chest. "Stop being so damn stubborn, woman," he murmured into the dark. "I am truly sorry for hurting you before, and I swear on my life it will never happen again."

"Your stupid wolf will probably do it again," she shot back intentionally, testing him, trying to provoke a reaction.

The moment the words left her lips, his eyes flashed gold in the dark, responding immediately to the insult.

But almost as fast as it flared, Enzo fought back with every ounce of his willpower. His jaw clenched hard, his veins bulging in his neck, and his eyes quickly faded back to their normal, brown human color.

"I would die before I ever let him hurt you again," Enzo whispered fiercely, pressing his forehead against hers. "Even when he flashed, he was just blindly angry at your loose mouth, but he would never actually tear you apart."

Suri pulled her head back, her expression hard in the dim moonlight. "I don't trust either of you. Not the man, and certainly not the beast."

Enzo sighed, his hands sliding around her back to pull her even closer against him until there was no space left between their bodies.

His warm nose brushed softly down the side of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent.

Despite herself, Suri felt her tense muscles begin to melt, a traitorous shiver running down her spine as she silently cursed her own body for surrendering to him so easily.

"I'll make you trust me," Enzo murmured against her sensitive skin, his voice dropping an octave lower. "By marking you as my true mate."

Suri's eyes flew wide open in the darkness.

He meant it.

He was actually talking about sinking his teeth into her flesh and sealing the mate bond forever.

Panic flared in her chest, and she almost shouted out in protest, but she bit her lip hard just in time, swallowing her cry so she wouldn't wake their sleeping baby in the corner.

"No, no... not yet," she breathed out, her hands pressing against his chest. "Not tonight."

Enzo immediately stopped moving. He pulled his head back just enough to look down at her face in the shadows, seeing the genuine panic in her amber eyes.

He frowned slightly, asking softly why she wanted to wait.

"I need some time, Enzo. Can you... Can you just give me that?" she asked, her voice softening as she looked up into his rugged face.

There was a long, heavy silence in the room as the weight of her words settled between them.

Then, slowly, Enzo nodded his head in the dark. "Take all the time you want, Suri. I'm not going anywhere."

A tiny wave of relief washed over Suri, and she nodded back, letting her body finally relax and lying down properly on the mattress.

As she settled in, she felt his large, warm hand move slowly up her arm, his rough fingers tracing lightly over her lower lip before gently capturing her mouth with his.

"Hmmm..." Suri let out a soft, helpless moan into the quiet night, this time completely forgetting to fight him back at all.