I can’t feel my legs.
I groan, blinking slowly at the sunlight spilling through the curtains, warming my bare skin and all it does is remind me how sore I am. It’s like I’ve been run over by a freight train.
A freight train named Jack.
Every inch of me aches deliciously. My thighs, my back, my neck.oddess, even my toes.
I shift slightly and immediately regret it.
“Shit,” I hiss under my breath, flopping back onto the pillows. My body protests with every movement. I’m covered in bite marks–some deep, some playful. Love bites scatter across my breasts, my stomach, my hips… all of them tender and warm like
reminders of the storm we survived.
He took me. Over and over again.
Until I practically collapsed beneath him, trembling, breathless, wrecked–and still he had worshipped me like I was made of gold and sin at the same time.
I glance to my right… and there he is.
Jack.
Flat on his back, sheets barely covering his lower half, one arm thrown over his head like a predator resting after a feast. His chest rises and falls evenly, lips slightly parted, his hair a tousled mess. His brow is relaxed, completely at peace.
If I wasn’t so fucking sore, I’d crawl on top of him and demand round six. Instead, I just lie there like a broken doll, glaring at his annoyingly perfect profile. The smug bastard had ruined me. And the worst part?
I loved every second of it.
A small smile pulls at my lips as I watch him. I hate how obsessed I am with the shape of his mouth… his lashes… that damn scar along his jaw that makes him look even more dangerous than he is
I love everything about him-
A deep voice rumbles beside me, thick with sleep and amusement.
“So… you love me, huh?”
My heart jumps out of my chest. “Wha-?! I–I didn’t say that out loud!”
He cracks an eye open lazily, smirking like the devil himself. “Didn’t have to, sweetheart. You forget-” he taps his temple, you dropped your guard. I’m in here now.”
“Cheater!” I groan, grabbing a pillow and smacking him weakly with it.
He laughs, the sound low and sinfully warm. “You do love me,” he teases, catching the pillow before it hits his face. “You love me, Kali. You’re obsessed. Can’t live without me.”
“I’m sore because of you,” I grumble, trying to hide my embarrassment. “That doesn’t mean I love you.”
“Oh really?” he drawls, sitting up in one smooth movement. “So you’re saying you scream ‘Jack, don’t stop,‘ for just anyone who breaks your spine?”
I gasp, hurling the pillow at his chest. “You’re impossible.”
He laughs again and grabs my wrist before I can crawl away, pulling me straight into his lap, I yelp, landing right against the hard lines of his chest.
“Easy, easy,” he murmurs, rubbing soothing circles into my hips, I know your legs don’t work yet.”
1 glower at him. “They will.”
“Mmhmm,” he hums, nuzzling into the crook of my neck, “Once ou stop walking like a baby deer, maybe we can go for round seven.”
“Jack!”
“Just kidding. Mostly.”
I smack his shoulder, and he retaliates by tickling my sides. I shriek, squirming in his lap, laughing breathlessly as he traps me against him.
“You’re evil!” I cry out through my laughter, trying to push him away, but he’s not budging.
“No, I’m in love,” he whispers, the humor in his voice dipping into something softer, deeper. “And I’ve waited a long damn time to say that to you.”
My breath catches.
He just… says it. Like it’s the easiest thing in the world.
I open my mouth–but nothing comes out. Because how do you reply to someone baring their heart when yours is still trembling from everything?
He notices. Of course he does.
Jack leans in slowly, brushing his lips across mine in the softest kiss I’ve ever felt. Then he pulls me closer, my head tucked beneath his chin, his arms wrapped tightly around me.
“No pressure,” Jack whispers into my hair. “We’ve got time. I’ll wait.”
I close my eyes, smiling against his chest, the steady thrum of his heartbeat grounding me in the moment.
Because even though I don’t say it back yet… I know.
I love him too–maybe even more.
There’s a long pause between us, comfortable and warm, until his voice breaks through the silence again–soft but pointed.
“Your wolf,” he says carefully. “Is she…?”
I pull back just enough to meet his eyes, already grinning. “She’s alive, Jack. I can feel her, somewhere deep inside. If that’s what you were worried about.”
He exhales in visible relief, the tension in his shoulders melting away. I giggle, brushing his hair back from his face. “She’s strong,” I add. “Stronger than either of us thought. She’s not going down that easily.”
His jaw clenches, his expression hardening instantly. “If you had lost her… I don’t know how I’d live with myself. It’s all my fault,” he says “I should’ve protected you. I should’ve come sooner. Hell–I should never have left you alone in the Red Night Pack just to deal with the damn Alpha King.”
“Jack-
“No, let me finish.” His hand tightens slightly around my waist. “ll make Khoas pay. That bastard didn’t just abuse my sister for years and forcefully mark her… he dared to inject my mate with one of the most dangerous poisons ever created.”
His voice shakes now–not with fear, but with rage.
“Jack…” I whisper, reaching for his cheek, grounding him. “It’s not your fault. I let my guard down while I was with him. And… I wasn’t bearing your mark yet, not because of you, but because of my own doubts. That’s why you couldn’t find me…”
His eyes soften for a moment, but only just. I draw in a shaky breath. “And Khoas… he’s just a puppet. A violent, disgusting one, yes but the real masterminds?” My gaze hardens. “Your uncle and Lady Celestia. This was their plan from the beginning. All of it… it was meant to kill me,
Jack goes still. I feel it first–the heat rolling off him. Then his muscles coll like he’s seconds away from shifting.
“I’m not surprised,” he says through clenched teeth. “Those two always knew they were snakes. But the fact they were working together…” He meets my eyes, and there’s a fire there I’ve only seen once before–back at the Red Night Pack, when he snapped Grace’s neck without an ounce of hesitation.
“I regret a lot of things,” he growls. “But not killing my uncle when I had the chance? That’s one I’ll never forgive myself for. I should’ve done more than break his leg. I should’ve ended him. And Celestia…” His voice drops, thick with fury. “I don’t care who her father is–I’ll rip her spine out through her throat. I’ll burn down everything she holds dear. I might not be Alpha of Bloodfang anymore, and I may not have a pack army at my beck and call, but I swear on our bond, Kali—I will not let them get away with what they’ve done.”
I blink, startled. “Wait–what do you mean you’re not Alpha anymore?”
Jack smirks, like he’s been waiting for the question. “So… now that I’m not Alpha, does that mean I’m no longer your ideal man?”
