The silence that followed stretched between us, full of words neither of us knew how to say.His thumb kept tracing circles on my wrist, a steady rhythm that matched my heartbeat.
“You do matter,” he said finally.“More than you should.More than I ever intended.”He looked away, toward the dying fire.“I don’t know how to do this, Lena.I don’t know how to want someone without destroying them.Everyone I’ve ever cared about has paid the price for it.”
“Maybe I’m tougher than you think.”
“Maybe.”He lifted our joined hands, pressed his lips to my knuckles in a gesture so tender it squeezed my heart.“Or maybe I’m the one who’s not tough enough.Maybe I’m the one who won’t survive this.”
We sat there as the fire died and the night deepened, fingers interlaced, two broken people who had found unexpected recognition in each other.I didn’t have a name for what was happening.Didn’t know if I should call it forgiveness or surrender or a beginning that terrified me.
But I knew I was falling.
Into him, into this, into whatever we were becoming.The defenses I had built to protect myself were crumbling, and I couldn’t seem to find the will to rebuild them.
It should have felt like losing.Like giving up everything I had fought to preserve.
Instead, it felt like being seen.Being known.Being recognized by someone who understood exactly what it cost to survive.
Maybe that was the most terrifying thing of all.
18
RAPHAEL
The wolf had been pacing for three days.
Ever since that night on the couch, her hand in mine, her voice saying words I had never expected to hear from anyone.Maybe we’re both monsters.Maybe monsters can recognize each other.
She had seen something in me that night.Not the wolf, not yet, but the darkness underneath the control.And she hadn’t run.
Now my wolf wouldn’t shut up about it.
I stood at the study window, watching the last light fade from the sky.The beast prowled beneath my skin.Restless.Demanding.Closer to losing control than I had been in years.
The investigation files sat untouched on my desk.Another dead end.
I was looking in the wrong places.I knew it.But I couldn’t see where else to look.
The front door opened downstairs.Her scent reached me before I heard her footsteps.That inviting aroma that made my wolf purr every time she walked into a room.She had been coming every night now.No longer because the contract demanded it.She came because she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
Neither could I.
I met her in the foyer.She wore jeans and a soft sweater, her hair loose around her shoulders.Beautiful in the way that had nothing to do with designer dresses or carefully applied makeup.Just her.Just Lena.
“You look like you’re crawling out of your skin,” she said, studying my face with those sharp eyes that missed nothing.
“Long day.”I shoved my hands in my pockets to keep from reaching for her.“The investigation is going nowhere.Every lead turns into nothing.”
“And?”
“And nothing.”I looked away, toward the windows where the last purple light was fading.“I just need to get out of here.Clear my head.”
She tilted her head, considering.“Where?”
“I have a property outside town.Woods, mostly.A cabin I rarely use.”The words came before I could think better of them.“It’s quiet there.Private.”
“Take me.”
Two words.Simple.Direct.
