ROBERT.
It was the full moon tonight.
And I could feel it, every pulse, every breath, every inch of my skin humming under it. My wolf pacing beneath the surface, teeth bared, not in anger, but in aching need.
Need for her.
Tessa.
My mate.
Even if she didn't remember a damn thing… my body did. My wolf did. And the moon above only sharpened it, made every instinct in me burn. She needed me as much as I needed her, maybe she didn't know it consciously, but her scent, her pulse, the way she looked at me tonight… It told the truth.
"We're mates," I reminded myself silently. "This is normal."
Normal, but impossible to manage.
"Can I…" she started, voice tremulous and unsure. "I… come closer?"
Her stutter hit me harder than a physical blow. I jerked like someone had pressed a live wire to my spine. My breath stopped halfway out of my lungs.
