Chapter 13: The Alpha's Shadow (Part 3 - The Midnight Devotion)
The firelight in the cottage was no longer a flicker; it was a warm, golden blanket that clung to the curves of the room. I had shed my jacket and my shirt, leaving them forgotten on the floor. I stood over her, the moonlight hitting the hard planes of my chest.
In the city, I had been thin, almost fragile-looking. but the months in Redpaveley—the training in the woods, the fighting for our lives—had carved my body into a weapon. My abs were tight and defined, pulsing slightly with the hidden strength of my bloodline. A faint, silver scar ran across my ribs—a souvenir from the night I saved her—and it glowed under the moon.
Wolfie looked up at me, her breath hitching. Her amber eyes traveled slowly down my torso, taking in the raw, masculine power I usually kept hidden beneath tailored silk.
"Drayan," she breathed, her voice a mix of awe and hunger.
I sat on the edge of the bed, the mattress groaning under my weight. I reached out, my cool fingers trailing over the warm, soft skin of her shoulder. The contrast was electric. I felt like a block of ice being pressed against a summer sun.
"You were so worried about that girl from the city," I whispered, my voice dropping into a dark, velvet register. "You thought I missed the 'perfection' of my old life."
I took her hand and guided it to my chest, pressing her palm flat against my skin. I wanted her to feel the solid reality of me. "Does this feel like a man who wants to go back to a cold palace? Does this feel like a man who is 'sacrificing' himself for a contract?"
Wolfie's fingers curled, her claws digging slightly into the muscle of my chest. It wasn't to hurt me; it was the instinctive reaction of a wolf claiming her mate. The small sting of pain only fueled my fire. She leaned forward, her lips brushing against the hollow of my throat, her heat radiating off her in waves that made my vampire senses dizzy.
"You're so cold," she murmured against my skin, her breath hitching as she traced the lines of my abs with her other hand. "And yet, you're the only thing that makes me feel like I'm burning."
I let out a low, predatory growl—a sound I didn't even know I was capable of making. I gripped her waist, my fingers sinking into the soft curves of her hips, pulling her flush against me. The feeling of her soft robe against my bare skin, the scent of her—like rain, cedar, and wild honey—was more intoxicating than any blood I had ever tasted.
I began my "punishment" in earnest. I kissed her with a slow, agonizing thoroughness, trailing my lips from her jaw to the sensitive skin of her shoulder. Every time she tried to pull me closer, I held her back, forcing her to endure the slow torture of my devotion.
"Drayan... please," she whispered, her head falling back, her eyes fluttering shut.
"Not yet," I murmured. "I want you to remember this feeling. The next time you see a girl like Bianca, I want you to remember exactly who I belong to. I want you to remember that my body, my blood, and my soul were made for only one person."
I moved with a sudden, fluid grace, laying her back against the furs. I looked down at her, the moonlight highlighting the silver-blonde of her hair and the flush of her cheeks. She looked like a dream I had been searching for through a hundred years of darkness.
She reached up, her arms wrapping around my neck, pulling my head down to hers. As our lips met again, the world outside—the Academy, the villagers, the city—all of it vanished. There was only the sound of our breathing, the heat of the fire, and the heartbeat of the forest.
I spent the night worshiping her, showing her with every touch that she wasn't "just a wolf." She was the queen of my heart, the anchor of my life, and the only woman who would ever see the man behind the vampire mask.
When the first light of dawn finally touched the window, she was asleep in my arms, her head resting on my chest. I watched the rise and fall of her breath, my hand resting protectively over her waist.
The misunderstanding was gone. The doubt was dead. And as I looked at the moonstone ring on her finger, I knew that no matter what the city sent next, they would never be able to take me away. I had found my home in the wild, and I was never letting go.