Chapter 325
Heat and Steam
Third Person POV
475
75
Pearls
Aubrey felt her temples throb. Somehow the situation had completely spun out of her control -like a wild wolf that refused to be reined in.
She had lived through betrayal, through agony, even through death, yet here she was, pinned beneath another alpha’s overwhelming scent, her body responding against her will. Henry’s dominance pressed against her bones, coaxing awake instincts she thought she had buried.
“Alpha Henry…” Her voice was strained, muffled against his chest. “There are countless she- wolves in this world. Any one of them could be your mate. Why…”
“I told you. I want this tree. If it kills me, I’ll still hang from it. And trees,” his violet gaze caught hers, glinting with iron will, “don’t get a say.”
His words coiled around her like chains. Just as she drew breath to argue, his palm slid behind her head, gently but firmly pressing her against the solid rise of his chest.
“Sleep.”
“But-”
“If you can’t, we’ll do something else. I swear I’ll find a way to devour you without risking infection. Do you want to test me?”
His lips grazed her ear, voice low, rough, and dangerous enough to make her whole body tense.
She froze.
Then–unexpectedly–what she heard was not his threat, but the steady, sonorous rhythm of his heart beneath her cheek.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The sound was strong, grounding, seeping through her defenses. Slowly, against her own reason, her breath evened, her lashes fluttered, and she drifted off to sleep.
In the darkness, Henry’s mouth curved. She wasn’t nearly as resistant as she claimed. The cold walls around her were ice, nothing more–and he would melt them, no matter how long it took.
When Aubrey woke, Henry was gone. For a moment she blinked, surprised. He had left quietly? Without forcing an awkward morning confrontation? That was… uncharacteristically
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13:18 Wed, Sep 24
Chapter 323 Heat and Steam
considerate of him.
Fine. Better this way.
&
75
Pears
Feeling sticky from a night spent tangled in his arms, she stripped and headed straight for the bathroom. But the moment she opened the door, steam rolled over her, heavy with heat and the faint scent of soap.
And then she saw him.
Henry stood bare, fresh from the shower, water still sliding down his muscled back in gleaming rivulets. His hair dripped, his towel hung loose in one hand, and at the sound of the door, he turned.
Their eyes locked. Both froze.
Her gaze, traitorous and unstoppable, dropped–skimming hard chest, taut stomach, and lower still…
“Oh, huge!”
Ella’s voice rang out in her mind, a wolf’s guttural, unabashed appreciation. Pure animal instinct purred through the bond, full of smug delight at Henry’s raw, physical endowment.
Henry’s body stilled, but his eyes darkened in an instant. They raked over Aubrey’s naked form standing in the doorway, pale skin flushed by the rising steam. Heat burned through the air as predator and prey–except neither of them could tell which was which–stared across the haze.