D-I-D-N-T... W-A-N-T... T-O… P-R-E-S-S-U-R-E... Y-O-U.
"You didn't want to pressure me," I repeat, making sure I understand. "Because I was sick? Because I was scared?"
He nods. Then his gaze flicks to the floor and he adds,A-N-D... B-E-C-A-U-S-E... O-F... M-E.
"Because of you?" I frown, not following. "What do you mean?"
He keeps his eyes on the floor as his hands move again, more hesitant now.
L-O-O-K... A-T... M-E.
He gestures to his masked face, his scarred eye, his massive height and frame. All of him. The simple statement breaks my heart.
"I am looking at you," I say softly. "I've been looking at you since the moment we met."
His eyes widen slightly as he glances up, disbelief clear in those blue depths.
"I appreciate that you didn't want to pressure me," I continue, taking another step closer. "That you gave me space and time. That you respected my boundaries when no one else has. But I need to know something."
He waits, watching me with an intense gaze.
"Was itonlybecause you didn't want to pressure me?" I ask carefully, weighing the words on my tongue before speaking. So much is hinging on me not screwing this up. "Or… was it also because you didn't think I'd want you if I knew?"
The question hangs heavily in the air between us. Wraith's eyes close briefly, a flash of pain crossing what little I can see of his face. When they open again, there's a raw vulnerability in them that makes my chest tighten.
His hands move, forming a single word.
B-O-T-H.
The honesty in that admission, the courage it must have taken to acknowledge his fear of rejection, makes my chest ache. I close the remaining distance between us, stopping just a foot away.
"You're wrong," I say softly. "About me not wanting you."
Pupils dilating, his eyes search my face for any sign of deception or pity. He finds neither.
"I do want you, Wraith. Scent match or not."
A slight tremor runs through him, so subtle I might have missed it if I weren't standing so close, and his throat moves beneath the black fabric of his mask. His hands lift, hovering in the air between us as if he's afraid to form the words.
W-H-Y?
Such a simple question.
Such a complicated answer.
I swallow hard, struggling to find words for something that feels more like instinct than thought. "God, I don't—" I start and stop, running my hand through my hair. "It's not just what you've done for me, Wraith. It's... you."
He watches me, his gaze unreadable.
My heart hammers as I speak. "The way you fill up a room just by existing. How my skin practically buzzes when you're near me." I laugh nervously, unable to meet the intensity of his stare. "Even that first day in the tunnels, when you were behind me at the vending machines and you scared the shit out of me. There was this... pull."
Forcing myself to look at him now, heat crawls up my neck. "Your shoulders. Your hands. Those blue eyes that somehow seeright through me. The way you move—like some giant predator who's constantly holding back. It does something to me."
His brow furrows slightly, doubt creeping into his gaze. He doesn't understand why that would be attractive to me. That's okay. He doesn't need to. He just needs to believe me.
"So when I say I want you," I continue, my voice steadier now, "I mean I wantyou—not just the alpha who helped me when I needed it. Your body, your scent, everything about you that makes my inner omega respond. Not just because you were kind and good and protective when other alphas weren't."
Wraith stands perfectly still, as if he's afraid I'll change my mind if he moves an inch, his eyes never leaving mine.
