He exhales, the sound rough and frustrated.Not at me, but at everything that put me here.
His shoulders ease slightly.“Later is fine.”
Silence stretches between us, not uncomfortable but ...full.Like he’s waiting for me to choose the pace.Like he’s offering space instead of taking it.
It’s new.And unsettling.But also, kind.
“I need...”I swallow.My voice shakes.“I need to wash.”
His eyes sharpen with concern, but he stays seated.“Peyton prepared the adjoining bathroom.Clothes are in the drawer.No one else will come in.”
No one else.Just him.Oddly, that doesn’t scare me, and I don’t know what to do with that realization.I clutch the blanket tighter around me and slide off the bed with unsteady legs.Silas starts to stand, but I freeze.
“Don’t,” I whisper.
He sinks instantly back into the chair, hands raising slightly in surrender.“I won’t move.”
The obedience, immediate and instinctive, shocks me.Wolves don’t listen to other shifter breeds.And I can feel the Alpha energy rolling off him.He shouldn’t listen when I command, and yet he does.
I turn toward the bathroom door and walk slowly, each step a reminder that I’m out in the open.No bars.No metal floor.No buzzing lights.My skin prickles with every sound, every shift of air.
When I reach the bathroom and close the door behind me, a faint tremor runs through me.I press my back against the wood and inhale deeply.
I’m alone.Really alone.
The mirror shows a stranger.Hollowed cheeks.Dirty, tangled hair.Eyes too big for my face and bruises in varying stages of healing.Fine cuts along my arms.A scar at my shoulder that still burns when I breathe too deep.
The Hunters took everything—my strength, my pride, my leopard.My throat closes as sadness crashes down on me.
I turn on the shower, letting the steam fog the mirror.The heat seeps into my stiff muscles.I strip slowly, each movement a fight between fear and necessity.
The water hits my skin and I almost cry at the sensation.Warmth.Cleanliness.Things most people take for granted.Things I have craved for so long it feels like it’s all I’ve ever wanted.
I stand under the spray for too long, letting it wash the filth and memories away, but nothing cleans the inside of my chest or cleanses the stains from my soul.
When I finish, I wrap myself in a towel and dig through the drawer Peyton stocked.Soft clothes.Loose and comfortable.They fit and that alone feels wrong.When I re-enter the room, Silas stands immediately, then stops himself halfway, freezing like a statue.
His eyes travel the length of me, not in hunger, not in dominance, not in any way that triggers old panic.Just ...checking if I’m okay.
His voice is molten gravel.“You look better.”
I swallow.“I showered.”
His lips twitch.Almost a smile.“I noticed.”
Heat flares along my cheeks.Embarrassing and unexpected.I move back to the bed, and he sits once I’m settled.This time closer but still not close enough to touch.I wrap my arms around my knees.My leopard curls deeper into my chest, scared but curious.She still doesn’t trust him.She doesn’t trust wolves.She doesn’t trust anything.
But she watches him.
And she doesn’t hide as deeply as she did yesterday.
The bond flickers again, bright pain, then warmth, then nothing.I flinch and so does he.
“You felt that?”he asks quietly.
I nod.
“It’s unpredictable,” he murmurs, rubbing the back of his neck.“Like something’s trying to connect but can’t.”
