Bella's POV
I could still taste him.
Even after he left the room, the air still carried his scent — cedar, storm, and something I couldn't name.
My lips tingled, traitorous and warm, replaying the way he'd kissed me — hard at first, then almost trembling, like he hated himself for wanting me.
Then he pulled away.
Like it never happened.
Like I never happened.
I stood there for a long moment, every nerve still alive, every thought a blur. My heart was beating too loud, my chest rising too fast, my mind screaming what just happened?
It wasn't the kiss that scared me. It was what it made me feel.
He was supposed to be my captor. My tormentor.
So why did one touch from him feel like home and fire all at once?
I sat down on the edge of the bed — his bed — trying to steady myself. My eyes caught on the faint claw marks across the wooden frame, on the way the room smelled faintly of earth and pine.
Everything about him was controlled, sharp, untouchable.
Everything except the way he had kissed me.
I can't rest until I know.
I didn't know if I meant what I was to him, or what he was to me. Maybe both. Maybe more.
My body still ached from training; my mind spun until exhaustion finally dulled the edges of everything. I laid back against the sheets without realizing it, breathing in the faint warmth he'd left behind.
Before I knew it, sleep found me — deep, heavy, uninvited.
---
Xavier's POV
The door creaked as I stepped into my room, muscles still tense from the fight in my own head.
And then I froze.
She was there.
Curled on my bed, the moonlight painting her face in soft silver. Her lashes rested against flushed cheeks, lips parted just slightly as she breathed.
My first thought was to wake her. To tell her she shouldn't be here.
But I couldn't move.
Something in me went quiet — the noise, the guilt, the endless control.
For once, there was only her.
I walked closer, each step heavier than the last. I knelt by the bed, just watching. Her hair had come loose from its braid; strands glowed pale in the moonlight.
Without thinking, my hand reached out.
I brushed a strand from her face, fingers barely grazing her skin. She sighed softly, turning toward the touch — and gods, my heart almost stopped.
I shouldn't have done it. I knew I shouldn't.
But I leaned in anyway, pressing a single kiss to her temple. Just enough to feel her warmth, not enough to wake her.
She whispered something in her sleep — my name, I think — and the sound of it broke me in ways I didn't understand.
For the first time in years, I didn't want to be Alpha. I didn't want to be the son of a curse, the heir of a war.
I just wanted… her.
I lay down beside her, careful not to touch, just close enough to hear her heartbeat. It was steady, strong, alive. The one sound in this whole damned house that made sense.
Sleep crept in before I could stop it.
---
Morning
The first light of dawn spilled into the room, and I woke before she did.
For a moment, I let myself look — really look — at her.
At the peace I'd stolen from her life, at the quiet strength that kept surprising me.
Then I forced myself to move.
I pulled the blanket higher around her shoulders, brushed another lock of hair from her face, and stood.
By the time she woke, I would be gone.
Because if she saw me like this — if she knew what she was starting to mean — I'd never be able to let her go.
And I might have to.