His dark voice trails down her spine, lighting a path of desire that renders her breathless. "If only I were in a position of no consequence."
Alia's breath wavers when the pad of his thumb slowly glides across her bottom lip.
"Then I could give in...
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"The devil was a monster, but I would become his nightmare." - Kerri Maniscalco
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The next morning, Valen lies in his bed with Alia curled up against his side. Her head rests on his chest with an arm thrown over his waist. Gentle exhales warm his skin, eyes closed as she dreams about things Valen wishes he could see. His unyielding arm is wrapped around her back, holding her close whilst his other hand fiddles with a dagger. Hard eyes stare at the dark ceiling, sunlight obscured by thick curtains.
He hasn't slept.
The darkness of the room repelled him to the point where he almost left Alia to sleep on the couch with the light on. But the need to hold her and feel her warmth whilst she slept overpowered his desire for sleep, so he stayed with her. Awake.
When morning came, the sound of waking wolves was all he could think to listen to. He followed their voices, lightly visualising them as they trained or socialised at the tavern, opting to even listen to them whilst they conversed in their homes.
His focus on each wolf didn't last long, attention normally moving on after listening for a few seconds. He continued to sift through them, listening for any repugnant male who would say his mate's name, who would dare to desire her — who would dare to try and take the warmth of his soul away from him.
With every breath she makes, he remembers each and every time he had her against a surface in his home, taking her in a way he knows she craved, and it makes the need to swipe his dagger across a throat that much more potent.
If it meant keeping Alia by his side, he'd slaughter this entire Pack to ruins without so much as a second thought. He'd shed his Gamma's blood, watch as the Untitled scream for mercy, and slice apart all of his loyal Warriors before they can even think to pick up a blade.
If she is ever taken from him, Valen would become a cruel man. An unforgiving man. And he'd burn down this entire Kingdom if it meant he could have her again.
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Sitting cross-legged on Valen's couch, Alia types away on his laptop after finding Gamma's crumpled lists of book titles in his entryway. She remembers her iron grip on the papers, grasping them with all her might whilst Valen carried her to his home. But the moment he had her against the wall, they were out of her fingers and falling to the floor, landing near the table where his helmet lies. Only when she awoke did she remember them, and for the past two hours they're all she's been working on.
