The warehouse was still cloaked in darkness when Adair stirred. Her head rested on Dominic's chest, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat grounding her in a way she hadn't known she needed. For the first time in days, she felt safe—not because the world had grown less dangerous, but because of the man holding her like she was the only thing left worth protecting.
Dominic's eyes were already open, watching the ceiling, his mind far from rest. When she shifted, he glanced down, a small, unguarded softness flickering across his features.
"You didn't sleep," she murmured.
"Wolves don't sleep when the forest burns," he replied quietly. But his arm tightened around her, as if admitting—even to himself—that he didn't want to let go.
She studied him, her hand brushing the edge of the scar near his collarbone. "You don't always have to be the wolf with me, Dominic. Sometimes… you can just be the man."
He caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm, lingering there as though her touch could wash away years of blood. "You don't know what that means to me," he said, voice rough.
For a while, they stayed like that—silent, wrapped in a rare moment of peace. It felt almost fragile, as though the world outside had forgotten them.
But the illusion didn't last.
A faint click echoed from the metal corridor outside the warehouse door. Dominic froze, every muscle tensing. His eyes met Adair's—sharp, warning, protective.
"Get dressed," he whispered, already reaching for the gun on the nightstand.
Her stomach dropped. "Dominic—"
"Now," he hissed, his wolf's edge returning in an instant.
The soft intimacy of the night shattered, replaced by the chilling truth: the world hadn't forgotten them at all. It had simply been waiting for the right moment.
Adair's hands trembled as she slipped into her clothes, every nerve screaming. Dominic moved with lethal calm, checking his weapon, sliding back into the man she both loved and feared—the predator, the king, the survivor.
The silence outside thickened. Whoever had come for them was patient. Watching. Waiting.
Dominic took one last look at her, and his voice softened despite the danger pressing in. "Stay close to me. No matter what happens."
Adair swallowed hard, her heart hammering. "Always."
And just like that, the fire and the shadows collided once more