In a primal world that favors the strong and punishes the weak, Aria knew that her family's pack would not survive long when her father's health began to fail. Her fears come to life when the Intonat Nocte Pack attacks, demanding that they surrender...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
| ARIA |
After Malik stormed out of the room, I wasn't able to go back to sleep. Instead, I decided to shower in an effort to find clarity amidst the turmoil wreaking havoc in my head. I turned the water to hot and waited until steam rose to the ceiling before slipping inside.
Almost immediately, I sank onto my backside and hugged my knees, allowing the scalding liquid to rain down on my head and shoulders. I welcomed the burn. It distracted me from the strange tightness in my chest.
I must've read Malik's note a hundred times after he left, memorizing its contents and the way he'd scrawled the letters across the paper. The note... confused me.
It hinted at affection, with his use of the endearment 'Little Dove' and the words 'our home.' Something in my stomach fluttered at the way he'd signed the note, 'Yours, Malik.'
Yours. Did he mean that?
Moon Goddess, I wasn't sure. Because his actions starkly contrasted the note's warmth. He'd snatched his hand away from me, as if he couldn't stand the thought of touching me. Then, without another word, he stalked out of the room like I'd angered him.
Had I angered him? I cradled my head in my hands, letting my wet hair fall in front of my face. I groaned in frustration, even while I blinked back tears that stung my eyes.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
After sitting on the floor of the shower for several minutes longer, I forced myself to rise and step into the drafty bathroom to dry off. Rather than snoop through the drawers and cabinets for a fresh towel, I grabbed Malik's towel off the nearest hook.
With water still dripping in rivers down my naked body, I brought the towel to my nose and inhaled a shaky breath. There, mingled with the smell of soap and dampness, was his scent. Tobacco leaf and mint and something else... Something that made my blood warm and seep directly to the spot between my legs.
Oh hells. I closed my eyes and recalled the feeling of his length pressing into my lower back, nestled between the globes of my backside.
As soon as he woke up, he'd jerked away from me and retreated to the bathroom to shower, but my heightened senses could still scent the evidence of his arousal– his need– on this towel, even after he'd gone.
He desired me, that much was clear. Satisfaction curled in my stomach at the knowledge.
I dried off, hoping that hints of my mate's scent would linger on my body throughout the rest of the day. With newfound hope in my steps, I left the bathroom in search of fresh clothes to wear. Unfortunately, I could only find spare t-shirts in the closet. The accompanying men's jeans would've fallen off of my body, so I opted to wear my same pants as yesterday in combination with one of Malik's shirts.
