Chapter 350 350
Maurice POV
When will he ever fucking learn not to push her stop demanding more than she can give?
I wrap the blanket around her shoulders and pull her into me, keeping her tucked close beneath my wing, where she belongs. She’s shaking. Trembling. Petrified.
Her wolf slipped through the barrier again the one she fights every single day to keep standing.
I guide her toward the stairs slowly, forcing myself to let her use her own legs, though every instinct in me screams to scoop her up and carry her the rest of the way. I want to walk for her. Breathe for her. Shield her from everything.
I lead her into the ensuite and turn on the shower, adjusting the temperature carefully hot, but not scalding. Her body is still shivering violently. The last thing she needs is shock to already chilled skin.
I move to step back out and wait for her outside.
“No don’t go.”
Her voice stops me cold.
Those cat-like eyes lift to mine, softening into something fragile and pleading, doe-eyed and afraid. She doesn’t want to be alone. Not right now.
I stay.
I help her into the shower, keeping my movements steady while fury coils tight in my chest. The steam begins to warm her skin, but she keeps shaking. Not from cold.
From fear.
When will he understand? She wasn’t raised like us. She’s human.
A human who only recently learned that the world she thought she knew was a lie. A human standing at the epicenter of the werewolf realm hidden sister to the King herself.
And she doesn’t even know the danger she’s in.
I undress her slowly, carefully. Her arms lift on instinct as I peel off her training vest, then I crouch to help her step out of her leggings. She stands in front of me wearing only a sports bra and thong, and I swallow hard, forcing my focus back to the task at hand.
Get her clean. Get her warm. Get her back to bed.
That’s all.
Not the goddess standing inches from me.
I reach behind her and unclasp her sports bra, freeing her breasts, my breath hitching despite myself.
Goddess she is the goddess.
She removes her thong herself, fingers gripping my arm for balance. If I weren’t here, she’d collapse. I know it.
I don’t look lower. I can’t. My wolf is already too close to the surface.
I strip quickly and step into the shower with her, keeping one arm anchored around her lower back, her body pressed against my chest. I reach behind her for the loofah and soap, inhaling her scent as I do.
Still vanilla.
But I know—I know that hidden note will surface the moment her wolf finally claims her place.
I lather the soap and start with her arms, tracing gently over skin already blooming with bruises as the warmth seeps into her body.
I will kill him.
Her closeness does nothing to calm the rage burning through me. I can still smell blood on her breath.
My hands begin to shake, mirroring hers.
“Maurice…” she whispers beneath the rush of water.
“Shhh,” I murmur, barely holding myself together.
Her breathing is off too fast, too shallow. Her ribs pull inward with each breath. She’s too thin. Too light. The farm took more from her than she ever admitted.
Her emotions are everywhere, bleeding into me. I don’t need a mark to feel them. If you look closely deeply enough you can see just how fractured her soul truly is.
She’s been lied to for too long. Used. Maneuvered like a pawn.
When she should have been holding all the power.
I press kisses to every bruise, my mouth reverent, my tongue tracing along damaged skin as I wish fiercely that I could give her my DNA, heal her faster, take her pain into myself.
Before I realize it, I’m on my knees, my tongue gliding over her taut stomach, her hips. The urge to go lower claws at me
But I stop.
Barely.
I have control. For now.
I stand again and wrap my arms around her, both of us standing beneath the steady cascade of hot water, letting it pour over us.
Letting it carry away her silent tears.
She tilts her face up to mine, those wide, luminous eyes shining even through the steam.
“Kiss me…” she whispers, gaze locked onto mine.
“I… can’t.”
The words nearly destroy me.
“Why?”
“Because I won’t be able to stop,” I say honestly. “I can’t take five percent of you, Bee. I need all of you. And you’re not ready for that.”
I step out of the shower before my resolve shatters completely.
Fuck it takes everything in me not to claim her right there, especially when she’s finally beginning to accept the bond between us.
I return long enough to turn off the water, then wrap her in a thick towel, lifting her into my arms. I dry her carefully before settling her into a dressing gown.
Cradling her close, I kiss her temple and carry her to the bed. She winces as she shifts, clutching her ribs.
He broke her rib.
I will kill him.
“I’ll be back to check on you,” I tell her quietly. “Rest.”
I dress and leave, closing the door gently behind me.
Downstairs, Damien stands in the kitchen beside Aurélie.
A guttural growl rips from my chest.
Aurélie sees it immediately steps in front of Damien, trying to shield him, her aura flaring as she senses the danger.
Damien moves smoothly, pulling her behind him, protecting his own mate—
While hurting mine without hesitation.
No words are needed.
We strip our shirts and exit through the back door, shifting mid-stride, claws tearing into earth as we sprint toward the fields away from watching eyes, away from our females.
This time, it isn’t friend against friend.
It isn’t Alpha King against Alpha.
This time, it’s personal.
This time, it’s brother against mate.