Chapter 22 Wolf Feelings
ELIJAH
I honestly hadn’t thought she’d actually let me kiss her, and I’d been terrified that making that move would completely ruin everything between us.
But she didn’t pull away or protest. Her body responded to my touch exactly the way I’d hoped it would. I could feel Ezra’s overwhelming happiness as I touched her soft skin.
She smelled absolutely incredible, I couldn’t quite identify the specific scent. I needed to touch her more, to get a better sense of what she was really like. Since Ezra still didn’t know what her wolf looked like, I decided to explore with my hands instead.
I’d barely gotten anywhere when Hazel completely ruined the moment.
Why did she have to show up right then? Couldn’t she have just waited a few more minutes?
I could see that infuriating smile on her face, clearly delighted that she’d caught me in such a compromising position. But honestly, I wasn’t ashamed of it at all.
She was my mate, after all.
I could tell Adriana was flustered, though I wasn’t sure if it was because Hazel had caught us or because of the kiss itself.
“Well, I guess patience isn’t really your strong suit, is it?” Hazel teased through the mind link.
“You should be incredibly grateful I can’t physically hurt you through this connection. So, so grateful.”
She laughed in my head.
“Are you seriously telling me you didn’t hear me coming? Or smell me outside the door? You always know when I’m approaching.”
Hazel had an exceptional sense of smell. She could always detect when someone was nearby, even before they arrived or several minutes after they’d left a location.
“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, Alpha. I didn’t hear anything at all.”
“But you definitely smelled me out there.”
She didn’t respond to that accusation, but I already knew the truth.
“I hate you so much right now. You should be banished for this interruption.”
She actually laughed out loud at me before offering to leave first.
Witch. She’d completely destroyed the mood and now she wanted to just walk away. I was absolutely certain she’d only interrupted specifically to embarrass me.
“The same advice goes for you too, Elijah. It’s late. You should get some sleep.”
Did Adriana actually want me to leave? Was she only saying that because Hazel was standing right there? Either way, I decided not to stick around to find out.
She’d had an incredibly long and exhausting day. She needed proper rest.
After saying goodnight, I wondered briefly if it would be too forward to try kissing her goodnight. But I didn’t want to scare her off, so I resisted the urge.
Besides, I needed to go and kill Hazel.
Not only had she ruined my moment with her, but now she’d actually locked the door from the outside.
Adriana’s eyes went wide after I told her. She grabbed the doorknob, shaking it violently to confirm.
If I didn’t have a legitimate reason to banish Hazel before, I definitely had one now.
“You are completely dead. So dead,” I told her through the mind link.
“Enjoy your night together, Alpha,” she responded cheerfully.
“What are we going to do?”
I could see the worry written all over her face as she glanced back at the bed.
“It’s fine. I’ll just sleep on the floor.”
She whipped around to stare at me.
“What? Absolutely not. This is your house. You should sleep on the bed. I’ll take the floor—it’s completely fine. I’m used to it anyway.”
I wanted desperately to ask her what she meant by that comment, but I didn’t want to ruin the relatively good mood we’d established.
“It might be my house, but it’s your room and I’m the one stuck in it uninvited. So you’re taking the bed and I’m taking the floor. That’s final.”
“But—”
“I’m the King!” I blurted out, and she actually laughed at my ridiculous declaration.
“Okay, okay. You win.”
She handed me a blanket to lay on the floor and another one to cover myself with.
“Goodnight.” I looked up to see her head hovering over me from the bed, and I couldn’t help laughing softly.
“Goodnight, Adriana.”
When was the last time I’d actually slept on a floor? Probably never? Well, maybe when I used to go hunting trips with my father and we’d camp out in the woods overnight, but that had been so many years ago.
Maybe that’s why I was finding it absolutely impossible to fall asleep. I just kept tossing and turning constantly.
“Are you okay down there?”
I froze. I probably looked like a deer caught in headlights with the way my eyes widened. I’d thought she was already asleep.
“Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just trying to get comfortable with this situation.”
She was quiet for several long seconds.
“Why don’t you come up here instead? The bed is definitely big enough for both of us. We can share it. I’m worried you’re going to hurt your back since you’re clearly not used to sleeping on floors.”
I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable or cross any boundaries.
“No, really, it’s fine. I’ll fall asleep eventually.”
“You absolute fool!” Of course Ezra would choose this moment to chime in. “Get up there right now!”
“No, I actually want you up here, Elijah. I’ll feel much more at ease knowing you’re comfortable.”
I wanted to refuse again, but it was close to a full moon and Ezra could completely take over. Which he did.
“Of course I’ll join you.” he answered for me.
Since I couldn’t take those words back now, I picked myself up off the floor and walked around to the other side of the bed.
The way she was looking at me made it seem like she’d been waiting for me specifically, and that thought alone did dangerous things to my self-control. Different shots of her waiting for me but in entirely not innocent scenarios made my body burn from the inside with need.
It didn't help that she’d changed out of the dress she’d been wearing earlier and was now in a nightgown that wasn’t doing much to cover her body at all.
I was absolutely certain Hazel was somehow responsible for providing that particular garment.
The deep neckline showed way too much of her breasts, and I had to physically force myself to look away before she’d think I was some kind of pervert.
The fact that I was lying right next to her, breathing in her intoxicating scent, was going to be the death of me.
I positioned myself practically at the very edge of the bed, trying desperately to maintain distance from her. Obviously that didn’t help matters at all because I could still feel myself growing harder every single time the image of her flashed through my mind or i got a whiff of her scent. Which was with every breath.
I’ve never been this hard in my entire fucking life.
“Elijah?”
Her voice sounded like it was right next to my ear. I actually trembled when I heard it.
Fucking trembled.
I paused for a moment before turning around just to confirm she wasn’t actually that close to me.
“What was it like when you found your mate? I mean, how did it make you feel?”
Ezra had been the one to experience that moment to its absolute fullest. I’d mostly just been trying not to get beheaded by her father at the time.
“It was honestly the most incredible feeling ever. It felt like taking a breath of fresh air for the first time when I saw her.”
If only she knew I was talking specifically about her right now.
“Wow, that must have been really amazing to experience. I’ll never get to feel that again.”
Again? That made my heart stop beating. Had she had a mate before? Please God, don’t let it have been that pathetic excuse for a man who’d slapped her back at her pack.
I wanted to ask, but the words refused to make it past my lips.
“Everything’s going to be okay.”
I placed my hand gently on her back and patted her reassuringly.
“I feel it!” Ezra suddenly shouted through my head forcing me to stop my movement.
“What are you going on about now?”
“Her wolf! I can feel her wolf!“