“There’s no rush,” Alaric says mildly, but there’s a calculating gleam in his expression. “Violet has only just returned—”
The sound of someone in the hallway cuts him off.
I straighten in my chair, turning toward the door. My pulse quickens.
The door opens, and Darius walks in.
He’s…different. Taller than I remember, broader in the shoulders. He must be close to six-three now, his frame filling out the dark suit he wears like it was made for him. Probably was. His hair is darker than his father’s, almost black, styled back from his face. Sharp jawline, high cheekbones, the kind of devastating good looks that shifters are known for, yet somehow more refined. More dangerous.
He looks at his father first, nodding in greeting. Then, his gaze sweeps the table—and lands on me. Dark brown orbs,almost black in the chandelier light. And intense. So intense, it feels like they’re pinning me in place.
Everything stops.
The air leaves my lungs in a rush. My heart slams against my ribs so hard, I’m sure everyone can hear it. Every nerve in my body suddenly ignites, white-hot and overwhelming. It’s like being struck by lightning and set on fire at the same time.
His scent hits me: rich and dark, like cedar and smoke and winter nights and something wild I can’t put my finger on. It wraps around me, sinking into my skin, my lungs, my bones. I want to drown in it. I want to breathe nothing else for the rest of my life.
Heat floods through me, pooling low in my stomach, between my thighs. My skin feels too tight, too hot, like I might combust if he doesn’t touch me. My dress is too restrictive all of a sudden. Everything is too much and not enough at the same time.
I can’t stop staring at him. At the strong column of his throat where I can see his pulse pounding. At the sharp line of his jaw. At his hands, elegant and powerful, and I imagine them on my skin. At his lips, and I wonder what they’d feel like against mine.
My fingers are white knuckled where they grip the edge of the table. The room fades away. My mother, Alpha Alaric, the chandelier, the paintings—everything disappears until there’s only him. Only us. Only this impossible, inexplicable pull that’s threatening to tear me apart.
What is this? What is happening to me?
Darius goes completely rigid.
His eyes—dark brown a second ago—flash bright gold, his wolf rising to the surface. I watch his pupils blow wide, his shoulders tense like a bowstring pulled taut. His hands curl into fists at his sides as his chest rises and falls rapidly, like he can’t get enough air.
A low sound rumbles from deep in his chest, so quiet I almost miss it. But I feel it. God, I feel it everywhere.
He’s staring at me like I’m the sun and he’s been living in darkness. Like I’m water and he’s been dying of thirst. Like I’m everything he’s ever wanted and the most terrifying thing he’s ever seen, all at once.
His scent intensifies, wrapping around me tighter, and I have to bite my lip to keep from making a sound.
“Darius?” Alaric’s voice sounds like it’s coming from underwater. Far away and muffled. “Son?”
But Darius doesn’t respond. Doesn’t even seem to hear his father. He is locked on me, that gold still blazing in his eyes, his entire body trembling with the effort of staying still.
For one breathless moment, I think he’s going to come to me. I can see the war raging behind his eyes, the way his body leans forward infinitesimally, drawn by the same invisible force that’s pulling at me.
Then, his expression shutters. From terror, maybe. Or realization.
He turns and walks out. No, he flees.
The door slams shut behind him, and the sound echoes through the dining room like a gunshot. Then, silence.
“Well,” my mother says after a long moment, her voice tense. “That was rude.”
But I barely hear her. My chest is heaving like I just ran a marathon. My hands are shaking where they still grip the table.
His scent still clings to me, gripping my throat like a collar. I feel the ghost of that impact in my chest, like something fundamental just shifted in my world. Like a door I didn’t know existed just opened, and I can never close it again.
The room spins slightly. My skin is too hot, my body still humming with that impossible need.
“Violet?” Alaric’s voice cuts through the chaos in my head, sharp with concern. “I apologize for Darius. That must have startled you. Are you alright?”
I force myself to nod, even though nothing about this is alright. “I’m fine.”
