Amara
The fire cracked softly, casting long shadows across the cave walls. I sat curled on the edge of the blanket Grayson had laid out, the scent of smoke, pine, and something unmistakably him wrapped around me like a second skin. I couldn't tell if the shiver that ran down my spine was from the night air or the way his gaze lingered when he thought I wasn't looking.
I was keenly aware of every sound. Every breath. Every heartbeat. Every flicker of the fire. The rhythmic hum of crickets outside.
The way the embers pulsed with each soft breeze from the cave entrance.
And especially the one pounding in my chest.
Sera was restless. She paced just under my skin, brushing up against the walls of my soul like a cat wanting out. Her excitement had grown unbearable since the moment Grayson stepped from the trees.
He's close. He smells like safety. Like storm. Like home. Like everything we've waited for.
"I don't even know him," I whispered back.
But I do. I knew the moment our bond flared. He's ours. Always has been. You just couldn't see it before.
A slow breath left me as I wrapped my arms around my knees. I could feel him across the fire—Grayson. The silent storm of a man. He hadn't pushed. Hadn't questioned. Just… stayed. That made him more dangerous than Cassian ever was.
Because Grayson didn't demand trust. He earned it without even trying.
I looked down at myself. The only thing between my bare skin and the night was Grayson's hoodie. It smelled like him—earth, rain, cedar, and something wild and masculine. My legs were bare, goosebumps dancing across my thighs. Every time I moved, the hem of the hoodie slipped higher, teasing my nerves. I wasn't wearing a bra or panties. Just his warmth cocooning me.
And Goddess, it made me ache.
The cave was quiet, the outside world muffled by thick stone walls. Inside, the air was warm from the fire, but every nerve ending inside me was alight from something far hotter. His presence. The mark. The bond.
I shifted slightly, and my thighs clenched. I was wet. Aching. And my wolf was howling for him.
Grayson
I kept my distance, but fuck—it was killing me.
Amara sat on the edge of my makeshift bed like she belonged there. The firelight kissed her skin, turning her cheekbones to gold and her lips to temptation. Her ceremonial braid had loosened, silver threads shimmering like moonlight caught in ink. Her legs stretched bare toward the flames, the hoodie barely covering the tops of her thighs.
She looked like a dream. My hoodie still hung from her shoulders. Too big. Too soft. Too mine.
Kael stirred, agitated. She's ready. She wants us. Claim her. She's ours. Now.
But I held him back, breathing deeply. She'd been hurt. Betrayed.
And yet—she hadn't broken.
She was steel wrapped in silk. And every second I didn't touch her was a battle I was barely winning.
My eyes roamed over her. The way her lashes fluttered when she blinked. The way her breath caught every time our eyes met and held for too long. Her lips were red from biting them, her legs shifting as if she couldn't find comfort.
I didn't need Kael's voice in my head to know what she was feeling. Her scent was thick in the air—sweet, feminine, needy. It wrapped around me, filled my lungs, clouded my head.
She was aroused. And the thought of her sitting there, wet and aching, wearing my clothes, thinking of me—
It nearly broke me.
"You can't sleep?" I asked, my voice low and rough.
She shook her head. "Too much noise in here." She tapped the side of her temple.
I nodded. I understood that noise all too well.
"Come here," I said before I could stop myself.
She looked at me like she wasn't sure if she'd heard me right.
I patted the blanket beside me. "Just to sit. Not to…" I trailed off, forcing the wolf back down.
She stood slowly, walked over, and lowered herself beside me. Close—but not quite touching. Her knee brushed mine, and I nearly lost it. The bond thrummed with her nearness.
Then she whispered, "Why are you holding back?"
I turned to look at her. "Because if I don't, I'll ruin this before it begins."
She held my gaze. Unflinching. Unafraid.
"I'm not fragile, Grayson."
"No. You're not," I said. "But you've been hurt. Betrayed. You need time."
Her fingers brushed mine.
"What if I don't want time?" she whispered.
My breath caught.
Her eyes dropped to my mouth, and when she looked up again, something in her gaze challenged me. Dared me.
I leaned in, slow and deliberate, giving her every chance to stop me. But she didn't. Her breath hitched, lips parting, and that was all the invitation I needed.
And then I kissed her.
No hesitation. No apology.
Just the raw, hungry press of lips that had waited a lifetime.
She responded instantly—arching into me, her hands fisting the hoodie, pulling me closer. My fingers slid into her hair, tilting her head for a better angle. My tongue swept into her mouth, tasting her moan, deepening the kiss until I forgot where I ended and she began.
She climbed into my lap, straddling me. Her body molded perfectly to mine. Her scent wrapped around me like a drug—aroused, sweet, unmistakably mine. My cock throbbed in my jeans, straining against the tight fabric.
Kael was rabid now, clawing for control. Taste her. Touch her. Take her.
I groaned into her mouth as her hips rolled against mine. Her heat seeped through the denim, soaking me, and the pressure was maddening.
My hands roamed beneath the oversized hoodie—my hoodie—skimming the bare skin of her waist, her back, the curve of her hips.
She wasn't wearing anything beneath it, and that knowledge nearly snapped what little control I had left. Her skin was hot silk beneath my fingers, and when I palmed the swell of her ass, she gasped into my mouth.
"Say it," I murmured against her lips. "Say you want me to touch you."
"Yes," she breathed. "Gods, yes."
My hand slid lower—just grazing the curve of her ass, trailing along the seam where thigh met heat. Her arousal coated her inner thighs, and the scent of it was maddening. I ground against her, hard and throbbing.
"You feel that?" I growled, voice husky. "That's what you do to me, Amara. Every fucking second I'm near you."
Her breath hitched, and her fingers tangled in my hair. "I want to see you lose control."
I gritted my teeth. "You make me want to pin you down and worship you with my tongue until you forget your name."
Amara
His dirty words had my thighs clenching. I could feel every twitch of his cock beneath me. Thick. Hard. Impossibly tempting.
"I'm so wet," I whispered. "So ready for you."
His eyes darkened. "Don't tempt me, little Luna. You'll find I'm not gentle."
I rolled my hips against him. "Maybe I don't want gentle."
His growl rumbled through my body. One hand slid up to my throat—not squeezing, just holding. Possessive. Claiming.
"I'm going to ruin you," he said. "But not tonight. Tonight, I remind you who you belong to."
My lips parted, breath shallow. "I already know."
Grayson
I kissed her again—slow and thorough. Hands roaming. Tongues tangling. Bodies grinding. But I didn't cross the line. Not yet.
Because when I finally claimed her—it would be unforgettable.
We curled together near the fire, her head tucked under my chin, her body pressed to mine. The bond between us thrummed like a
live wire. Kael purred in the back of my mind, satisfied—for now.
Sera's aura wrapped around us, her joy echoing in my soul.
The night wrapped around us like a shroud, and the storm inside me whispered: Soon.