Chapter 29 29
Chapter 29 29
From Silas's point of view.
Damn it all to hell. My heart was thundering against my ribs with such violence I was surprised it didn't crack my sternum.
She was right there. Standing in the silver wash of the moonlight, her hand outstretched toward me, trembling just enough to show her fear, yet steady enough to show the fire I’d always loved in her.
“Mate, mate... our mate!” my wolf roared inside my skull, the sound vibrating through my marrow.
The bond was screaming, a white-hot cord of lightning connecting my soul to hers, making my very skin feel like it was on fire.
“Shut up, you idiot! She can't hear you! She only sees me,” my wolf snapped back, his arrogance more unbearable than ever. He was preening, soaking in her attention as if he hadn't spent the last five years prowling the dark in lonely agony.
The second I had seen Lyra slip out of that bar, my self-control had evaporated. I didn’t care about Wyatt, the Council, or the diplomatic nightmare I was leaving behind at that table.
I moved through the back exit, the shift into my wolf form happening mid-stride—a brutal, bone-snapping transformation that usually hurt like hell, but tonight, I welcomed the pain.
It was nothing compared to the hunger for her. I had to protect her. In this black, suffocating forest, with Wyatt’s shadows lurking, I was the only thing that could keep her breathing.
I had tracked her through the trees, my paws silent on the damp earth. I couldn't help it; I had to get closer.
I needed to inhale the scent of her fear, her sweetness, her life. Even though I hated that I was stuck behind these golden wolf eyes right now, unable to pull her against my human chest and beg for a forgiveness I didn't deserve, I was fucking ecstatic just to be in her orbit.
I watched her through the predatory lens of my wolf sight. Lyra. She looked so small against the ancient oaks, a delicate spark in a world of shadows. But as I stepped into the light, I felt the air shift.
The spike of adrenaline in her scent began to mellow. The frantic beat of her heart slowed into something rhythmic, something... recognized.
Can she feel it? The thought sent a jolt of hope through me. Does she know it’s me? Or is it just the bond calling to her soul?
“Hello, little wolf,” she whispered.
Her voice hit me like a physical caress, melting the ice around my heart. In an instant, the terrifying, legendary Alpha of the North was gone. My tail gave a traitorous, involuntary wag. I felt like a pathetic, love-struck puppy, my dignity dissolving under the warmth of her gaze.
“Come closer. Slowly, dammit. Don't scare her off,” I ordered my wolf, though he didn't need the prompt. He was already leaning into her presence.
The truth was, my wolf was a monster. He was the largest the kingdom had seen in generations, a mountain of jet-black fur and lethal muscle that made even other Alphas look like lapdogs.
I expected her to scream, to scramble away in a panic, to treat me like the beast I was. Instead, she took a breath, and her fingers—those small, pale fingers—reached out and brushed against the velvet of my ear.
I leaned my massive head into her palm, a low, rumbling throb starting in my chest. It wasn't a growl; it was a purr of submission.
I felt her flinch for a split second, her eyes searching mine, but when she saw the golden devotion in my gaze, she didn't pull away. Instead, she knelt in the damp grass, ignoring the sting of her scraped elbows
“You’re hurting,” she murmured, her eyes dropping to a small nick on my shoulder I’d gotten while charging through the thicket. Before I could react, she leaned in.
The scent of strawberries and rain overwhelmed my senses as she pressed her lips to the wound in a fleeting, chaste kiss.
The contact was electric. A surge of Alpha power flared through my veins, nearly forcing me to shift back to human form right there just to grab her.
My wolf let out a sharp, needy whine, burying his muzzle in the crook of her neck.
For a moment, we were just two broken things finding a piece of home in the middle of a dark woods. I licked the blood from her scraped elbow, my tongue rough and warm, trying to heal the damage I had indirectly caused by chasing her into the night.
“You’re a beautiful wolf...” she said, a hint of mockery dancing in her voice, as if she knew exactly how much power she held over me. “Are you the one who’s been following me?”
I was completely mesmerized. Her fingers tangled in the thick, black fur behind my ears, scratching the exact spot that made my hind leg want to thud against the ground.
She was gaining confidence, her touch turning from hesitant to possessive. She was stroking my head, her touch a balm to a thousand scars
My tongue hung out of the side of my mouth as I panted, my tail thumping against the earth. I was a disgrace to my title, a total fool, and I didn't care.
All I could think about was how to tell her. How do I tell you that I’m your mate, Lyra? That every breath I take is for you? That I’d burn the whole world down just to see you smile like this at me again?
But my thoughts were cut short when she pulled back, the loss of her touch feeling like a sudden frost.
“Would you like something to eat? I can give you some food. Just wait here a moment,” she said, her voice bright with a kindness I hadn't earned.
With one last, lingering stroke between my ears, she stood up. Her movements were calculated, graceful, as she began to walk toward the porch of her small cabin.
For a second, the possessiveness flared. A low growl rumbled in my throat—I didn't want her to leave me. I didn't want the darkness to swallow her up again.
But then, a sharp hiss came from her full, sweet lips—the kind of sound you’d use to scold a disobedient pet. It was so unexpected, so her, that it stunned me into silence.