Chapter 77

Alexander

Liam needs to leave. Now.

I stand there, hands in my pockets, glaring at him like he’s overstayed his welcome—because he has.

“Liam. Go.”

Liam looked between me and Lauren, eyes flicking to her like he’s debating whether to stay. But Lauren doesn’t stop him. She’s standing stiff, tense, refusing to meet my gaze.

I didn’t need to explain why finding them like that was a problem.

Liam exhales, lifting his hands. “Alright, alright. But if you start breaking things, let me know so I can place bets.” With that, he disappears into the park, leaving me with my Luna who looked like she got caught. And she had.

The second he’s gone, I step toward Lauren. She flinches, backing up a step, but she’s not escaping this. Not again.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself before speaking to her. ”Are you going to tell me what’s going on now?” I demand, voice low.

She lifts her chin, arms crossed tight. “Nothing is going on, Alexander.”

I laugh—sharp and humorless. “Really? Because from where I’m standing, something is very wrong. I thought we said no more secrets. I thought we were turning a new leaf.”

She turns on her heel, ready to bolt. But I’m faster. I grab her wrist, yanking her back, frustration burning through me. “Tell me.”

And then she gasps.

I feel it before she does—the way her body reacts like I just set fire to her veins. Her pulse jumps beneath my fingers, her breath hitching as a full-body shudder rolls through her. She stumbles slightly, and suddenly, she’s gripping me for balance, her fingers curling into my jacket.

I go still.

What… what was that?

I know Lauren. I know her better than she wants me to. And Lauren doesn’t shudder at my touch. She doesn’t cling to me, looking up through her lashes like she’s fighting something feral.

"Lauren…?" My voice comes out rougher than I intend.

She jerks away like I’ve burned her. Her face is flushed, her pupils blown wide. “Don’t touch me.” Her voice is breathless—panicked. And then she bolts.

I let her go. For now. I pull my hand infront of me, flexing my fingers, still feeling a fire through me. What the hell…

Lauren

This is bad. This is so, so bad.

I barely make it to my room before collapsing onto my bed, my body on fire. The sheets feel suffocating, my own skin too tight, everything heightened to a breaking point.

I know exactly what this is.

The pill. The damn pill.

I groan, tossing, desperate for relief. But nothing helps. My body is hypersensitive, the room too hot, the air too thick. Hours go by and I felt no relief, like I was in a constant fever, yet, unsatisfied. I groaned into my pillow, biting it.

I’m gonna kill Liam. Kill him.

And then—A knock.

My breath catches. I know who it is before he even speaks.

“Lauren.”

I squeeze my eyes shut. Maybe if I ignore him, he’ll leave.

Another knock. More insistent.

“Lauren, open the door.”

I yank the sheets over my head. “Go away.”

He doesn’t.

Of course he doesn’t.

No, I can’t see him. Not like this. Not feeling like this.

The door creaks open, and I peek out to see Alexander stepping inside. He looks annoyed, but beneath it—concern.

“You’re burning up,” he mutters, crossing the room in two strides. Before I can stop him, his hand presses against my forehead, leaning over the bed.

It ruins me.

His touch is like gasoline to a fire, and I swear I almost melt. I jerk back so fast I nearly fall off the bed. My breath is ragged, heart pounding, body betraying me in every possible way.

Alexander’s eyes narrow. He reaches out again, fingers brushing my jaw, tilting my face up.

“Relax. It’s just me,” he murmurs. “Tell me what you need.”

A very dangerous question.

I snap my head to the side, breaking contact. “Nothing.”

He doesn’t buy it.

“Lauren, why are you pushing me away so much recently? What’s happening? I’m trying to respect you’re space, but I grow tired of asking. Finding you with another wolf—”

I scramble up in the bed, trying to create space, but he follows, slapping a hand on the hand board, pinning me. His bore into mine, he wasn’t going to let this go.

“Away from you,” I snap, but the words don’t land the way I want them to—because when I look at him, really look at him, all I feel is need. His scent wraps around me like a vice, too much, overwhelming and intoxicating, and suddenly I can’t think straight. It wasn’t like Liam. It wa worse, so much worse.

Alexander takes one breath, nostrils flaring—his entire body stiffens.

“Lauren…” His voice is rough now, husky. “Are you—”

I don’t let him finish.

My arms go around his neck before I can stop myself, locking him in, pressing my forehead against his shoulder as I breathe him in, body shuddering. I know I need to let go. I know this is a bad idea.

I don’t let go.

“You need to go,” I whisper against his neck, but my grip tightens instead.

I can feel his smirk.

“Why?” His voice is all low, teasing sin. “Afraid of what might happen if I stay?”

Damn him.

Alexander

I should leave.

Lauren is gripping me like she wants to devour me and shove me away all at once. She’s breathing hard, her entire body trembling against mine, her fingers curled into my shirt.

I should definitely leave.

But I don’t.

Instead, I lower my mouth to her ear, voice a slow, deliberate murmur. “You’re reacting to me.”

She lets out a sharp breath—half gasp, half curse. “Shut up.”

I grin. “You feel it, don’t you?”

Her fingers tighten in my shirt, her breath hitching. She hates that I know. That I can smell it on her.

“Alexander…” It’s half warning, half plea.

I don’t know which part of me is more cruel—the one that enjoys watching her struggle, or the one that desperately wants to close the space between us.

I tighten my grip to her waist, my lips just barely grazing the shell of her ear. “You’re shaking,” I say softly. “Do you need me to help you?”

A full-body shudder wracks through her. She almost leans into me. Almost.

She’s trembling.

I can feel it in the way her breath hitches, the way her fingers twitch like she doesn’t know whether to shove me away or pull me closer.

She’s always been stubborn. Always been infuriating. Always fought me at every turn.

But she isn’t fighting now.

Lauren is pressed against me, body taut, her hands gripping my shirt like she’s the only thing keeping herself upright. Her scent is thick in the air, wrapping around me, flooding my senses. I can hear her heart hammering, feel the heat radiating from her skin.

I dip my head, brushing my lips against the soft shell of her ear. She stiffens, a sharp inhale escaping her lips.

My mouth curves against her skin.

She’s so responsive.

I kiss just below her ear, slow and deliberate. Then lower, along the line of her jaw, the spot where her pulse flutters wildly beneath my lips.

She squirms.

Not away. Closer.

My hand tightens at her waist, pulling her against me as I lower my mouth to the curve of her neck.

The second my lips press against the sensitive skin there, she whimpers.

It’s quiet, barely a sound at all, but I hear it.

She hears it too.

Her entire body tenses, and before I can stop her, her hand flies to her mouth, covering it like she can take it back. Like she can pretend it didn’t happen.

I let out a low chuckle. "Oh, Lauren…"

She glares at me over her fingers, her entire face flushed, but she doesn’t move away.

I drag my mouth back up, brushing against the edge of her knuckles where she’s still covering her lips.

“Let me hear you.” My voice is rougher than I intend, my own control slipping.

She shakes her head, eyes dark, burning, but she doesn’t resist when I reach up, gently pulling her hand away from her mouth.

I don’t give her a chance to think.

I close the distance, my lips pressing against hers in a slow, searing kiss.

Lauren melts.

She exhales sharply against my mouth, her hands fisting in my shirt as I deepen the kiss, one hand threading into her hair, the other gripping her waist.

She tastes like fire and something forbidden.

She kisses me back like she’s starving. Like she’s been wanting this as badly as I have.

And when she moans softly against my lips—

I lose everything.

Lauren

I’m in so much trouble.