Chapter 52 52
Sofía woke early the next morning.
The past three days had passed without incident no arguments, no tension sharp enough to cut. Almost… calm.
Fernando, however, had been distant. Busy with things she neither knew nor dared ask about. He barely spent more than a minute or two at home. They left for the academy together and returned the same way, though she always walked a short distance away before he picked her up. It felt deliberate controlled.
Still, he’d been thoughtful in his own way. He made sure to collect notes from her other instructors, ensuring she had everything she needed to prepare for her exams. Because of him, she wasn’t behind.
She checked his room.
Empty.
Which meant he hadn’t come home at all the night before.
A small, curious ache tugged at her chest, but she brushed it aside. She wasn’t in a position to question where he went or who he was with.
Lost in thought, she hummed softly, a tune of her own creation, her hips swaying as she moved around the kitchen. She wore an oversized shirt that swallowed her frame, nothing beneath it except her panties. Comfortable. Free. She wouldn’t have dressed like this if he were home.
Her hair was piled into a messy bun, loose strands brushing against her cheeks and neck as she worked.
She’d been cooking for them for three days now. Fernando had eaten her food only once and he’d liked it. Every other time, he hadn’t been home. Yet he still paid her. Paying her to cook food he rarely ate.
The kitchen itself was pristine spacious, elegant, far larger than her own. A place where she could cook endlessly without constraint.
It was a holiday. She’d woken earlier than usual, craving a proper breakfast. And now, she was completely absorbed in it.
“Andrés knows you’re alive.”
Ricardo’s voice echoed softly through the abandoned building as Fernando stared at the rusted wall ahead, expression unreadable.
“Then they’re eager to die sooner,” Fernando replied coldly.
Ricardo smirked. “I figured.”
After a pause, he added, “When are you coming back? And… what about our Luna?”
Fernando’s jaw tightened. “Soon. She doesn’t know what I am.”
“What?” Ricardo screeched, earning himself a lethal glare.
“She’ll find out eventually,” Ricardo said more quietly after the shock settled.
“I know.”
“Then why wait?”
Fernando exhaled slowly. “I’d rather let her love me first before she learns to hate me.”
Ricardo said nothing.
“Keep the pack protected,” Fernando continued. “Their Alpha is coming home soon.”
And with that, he left.
He parked and stepped inside the house, immediately greeted by the rich scent of food and beneath it, her.
Mate.
His body reacted before his mind did.
His feet carried him straight to the kitchen.
And the sight there nearly shattered his control.
Sofía stood with her back to him, clad only in a large white shirt. Her bare legs were smooth and exposed, and the gentle sway of her hips of that soft, rounded ass had Hunter roaring awake inside him.
Silent as a predator, he moved behind her.
His calloused hand clamped over her mouth before she could scream. His other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back flush against his body.
His lips descended on her neck hungry, sloppy, unrestrained.
Sofía jolted.
Panic surged as she struggled against the stranger’s grip until she heard it.
That deep, familiar growl vibrating from his chest.
Her body stilled.
It was him.
Her beast.
She tried to pry his hand from her mouth, but he held firm. Her gasp died against his palm when she felt the unmistakable hardness pressing into her lower back.
“You have no fucking idea what you do to me,” he rasped, mouth still working along her neck tender kisses paired with unforgiving hands.
She struggled again, needing to speak, but he refused.
“Your scent,” he growled against her ear, tongue flicking over her earlobe. Electricity shot straight down her spine, stealing her breath.
“This little voluptuous body of yours makes me want to sin, Ana.”
He spoke her name like a curse and a prayer.
Sofía felt herself drowning lost in desire, swallowed whole by him. He was the ruler of that dark ocean.
Her tormentor.
Her cure.
“And I will do all of it,” he murmured, thumb stroking her ribs, setting sparks ablaze. “And you’ll beg for more.”
His lips brushed her jaw, feather-light, devastating.
Her eyes fluttered shut. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, breath shallow.
Those breasts of hers full, heavy were a crime.
“Only if you knew what I have planned for you,” he whispered.
Please… show me, she wanted to beg but his hand spared her that humiliation.
“You’d run for the hills,” he added softly.
Fear slithered down her spine. Her eyes flew open.
He pressed one last kiss to her cheek.
Then he stepped away.
Without a glance, without a word, he left the kitchen.
Sofía stood frozen, legs trembling. She gripped the island counter to stay upright, heart racing wildly.
This man was chaos.
A lethal blend of danger and desire.
A storm of hunger and need.
A spark of something terrifyingly new.
This man… would surely be the death of her.