Sure, I had a moment of weakness in the initial presence of the alpha, but my fight or flight instincts would have surely kicked in just in time to save my life.
Perhaps I’m running on fumes right now, the remnants of being a match against the demon when the Alpha could barely touch the spirit, but it must count for something.
“You do realize that you wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for me?” he taunts with a haughty chuckle, leaning back against the sofa with one brow raised skeptically.
“Youdistractedme!” I accuse, hands planted on my hips as I scold him. I have no idea where this boldness comes from, except that it feels right to finally be brave enough to speak my mind and stand up against the alpha.
It feels like I can finally get justice for how badly he hurt me in the past, even if I refuse to acknowledge what happenedback then. Even now, my heart does a tiny flip when my eyes rake over him, how he’s casually splayed out over the sofa, the veins coursing beneath the richest, creamiest honey-golden skin of his arms, pulsing with his natural heat. Absentmindedly letting the tip of my tongue skim my bottom lip, I catch myself before falling victim to the alpha’s inherent charms.
So what if his hazel eyes are speckled with gold glow as if he’s sizing me up?
So what if those dexterous fingers promise a plethora of pleasure that I will never get to experience?
So what if I was once in love with him because of what I wrongfully thought was his kindness?
There isn’t an ounce of that kindness evident in those eyes that I once thought were warm.
“I distracted you?” he scoffs. “I’m the one who saved you when you were clearly about to give up.”
“Yeah! Only because you were there! You distracted me when I was about to take that thing down!”
“This is stupid, Aurora. Go to bed,” he says flatly, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes.
With the way I’m feeling right now, I can’t stand idly by and accept defeat. I’ve been called many hurtful, belittling names in my life, and “stupid” is one of them. Triggered by his words and his lack of interest in what I have to say, I take a bold step forward and grunt to get his attention.
“It isnotstupid, Elias!” I bleat. “I was on the verge of discovering—aah!” I wail when a smarting pain rips through my lower belly and spreads out through every fiber in my core.
Oh no…
It’s happening again…
Biting on my inner lip to get a semblance of control over the nagging ache between my thighs, it must appear as if I’m pursing my lips, refusing to say the words hanging on the tip of my tongue.
Elias becomes curious, a frown tugging his brows as he leans forward.
“On the verge of what, Aurora?”
I whimper and mewl, my cheeks heating with embarrassment when I have to clamp my thighs shut to stop a puddle of heat from slipping into my panties. It’s happening again, but this time, my mind turns foggy, and the only air I’m breathing is full of his scent.
It’s intoxicating, and I’m on the verge of losing my mind as I lose control of my bodily functions, my limbs quivering with a desperate need for something to burst out of me.
The sensations rolling over my body are alarming, forcing me to shake my head in disbelief as Elias cocks his head speculatively.
“Aurora…?” he asks sternly, but I continue shaking my head—a head that feels like it’s going to float off into the void any second now.
With what’s left of my sanity, even as it hangs by a thread, I spin on my heel and bolt for the first door I can find, knowing that behind it, I’ll find a safety net. Much like the cave, the bedroom is a sanctuary that houses my vessel as it succumbs to a nagging ache between my thighs.
Keeling over as my arms hug my waist, I kick off my shoes somewhere along my journey to the bed, sighing with relief when my knees hit the mattress.
“This will pass,” I chant to myself, repeating the mantra as I shut my eyelids and fall forward on the bed. The only compensation for Elias finding me in the woods is the comfort of a bed instead of cold, moist rocks.
I lug in deep breaths through puckered lips, clutching my belly while the covered spot between my thighs tingles with need even more intense than I’d experienced in the forest. Shutting my eyes in an attempt to see the silhouette of the man who brought with him a mild sense of soothing to the pain, I struggle to find him.
“Where are you…?” I whimper despondently, tipping over on my left side as I curl my knees toward my chest when the shadowy figure doesn’t appear to quell my pain. Sweat beads my forehead and drips down onto the pillow, joining the tears of anguish that slip out from my eyes.
“Aurora…? What’s going on?”
Elias’s gentler voice startles me, and I throw my eyes open to find him towering over me beside the bed, blocking out the light, his tall, muscled form appearing like the silhouette of the stranger behind my eyelids during my first bout of heat.
