Chapter 135

I woke with my face tucked into his neck and my whole body trembling.

It wasn’t the same as before. It wasn’t just the heat. It was sharper. My senses were heightened to the point of discomfort: sound, scent, touch. Everything.

Richard stirred beneath me, but I barely noticed. There were voices outside the suite, low ones, guards.

I tilted my head slightly, closing my eyes, breathing in slow.

"Left foot, dragging slightly," I whispered before I could stop myself.

Richard blinked. “What?”

“One of the guards. He’s limping.”

He sat up slowly, tension rising. “How do you know that?”

“I can hear it.”

He looked toward the door, then back at me. “That’s good. You’re still sharpening. The heat’s not done with us yet.”

“I know,” I murmured. “I can feel her, still awake. Pacing.”

We stood together, slow and stiff. My legs didn’t want to hold me. Every movement made me ache, but I wanted him again anyway.

Instead, we went to the small adjoined bathroom.

The shower was already steaming by the time he pulled me under it. The water hit my skin like silk, heat coaxing out tension. I closed my eyes and tilted my face toward the spray. Richard stood behind me, one arm braced on the wall beside my head, the other dragging slowly down my stomach.

“You okay?”

“I feel like I could hear a heartbeat through the ceiling.”

His low chuckle rumbled against my back. “You probably can.”

He kissed the back of my neck, then my shoulder. I turned to face him, eyes half-lidded. When I reached up to kiss him, I felt him flinch.

“What is it?” I whispered.

He touched his shoulder, where a faint scratch remained from the day before.

“It still hasn’t closed.”

I leaned in, brushing my lips over it without thinking. The moment my tongue tasted blood, something inside me cracked open.

It was like lightning.

My knees nearly buckled, my breath hitched, and heat flooded my core with violent urgency. I whimpered, grinding against him.

He caught me with both arms, pinning me to the wall. “Amelia?”

“It’s the blood,” I panted. “It’s doing something to me.”

He looked down at me, jaw tight, eyes darkening. “It’s the bond. You felt it yesterday, but now your heat’s peaking. It’s amplifying everything.”

“It’s worse now. Stronger. I need you. Now.”

“You have me,” he said, voice raw. “Take what you need.”

I surged forward, kissing him hard, desperate. The steam made everything slick. He spun me, pressing me against the shower wall. I wrapped my legs around him without thinking, gasping as he slid inside me.

“Fuck,” I moaned, head dropping back. “Yes, yes, right there.”

His mouth was on my neck, biting, licking, whispering things I couldn’t even process.

“God, you feel...” he groaned, voice low and trembling. “So tight. You’re gripping me like you’ll never let go.”

“I don’t want to,” I cried. “Don’t stop. Please, please, don’t stop.”

He moved hard and fast, hips slamming into mine. The rhythm was pure instinct. My nails dug into his back. I was whimpering, babbling, no words, just need.

“You like it when I take you like this,” he growled.

“Yes, more. Fuck, Richard. Harder.”

I shattered against him, crying out as I came, body convulsing in his arms. He didn’t stop. He kissed me through it, hand sliding between us to rub my clit again.

“Can’t. Too much,” I gasped, twitching, but my hips bucked helplessly, chasing more.

“Give it to me,” he rasped. “Come again. Let me feel that sweet little pussy milk me dry.”

I screamed as it hit me again, even stronger. My legs shook violently around him.

He turned me, one hand braced behind my back, and bent me slightly over his arm, sliding back in with a groan.

“Goddamn, you’re soaked,” he hissed. “Can’t believe how tight you still are.”

My hands clawed at the tile. “I love it. Don’t stop. I need it. Need you.”

He pounded into me with hard, deep thrusts, grunting with each one.

“You gonna come again for me?”

“Yes. Yes, Richard, I’m gonna.”

He reached around, fingers on my clit, and when I came this time, I nearly blacked out. The sound I made didn’t even feel human.

He fucked me through it until he was shaking too. With a final groan, he emptied inside me, collapsing forward until we were both pressed to the wall, soaked and panting.

We stayed like that, hearts racing, his arms wrapped around my waist.

When he finally pulled out, I whimpered at the loss. He kissed my shoulder, breath warm against my skin.

He wrapped me in a towel and carried me to the bed.

We collapsed, limp and spent. I curled into him as he held me close. The fire in my blood hadn’t faded, but it dulled for now.

We stretched together, muscles sore and tight. I rolled my neck until it popped, then drank deeply from a water bottle.

“Don’t think I can go again,” I muttered.

“Give it an hour.”

“I’ll give it ten minutes.”

He laughed, but then his expression shifted. My nose wrinkled at the same time.

“What is that?” I said.

He looked around. “What?”

“There’s something in the air. Something bitter.”

I stood, trying to follow the scent. It was faint, but wrong. Like scorched mint. It sat under everything else, the sweat, the sex, the scent of the nest. It was foreign.

“Wolfsbane,” I whispered.

Richard’s face went hard. He moved to the vent, yanked off the cover, and sniffed once. Then again.

“I don’t know how it got in here,” he said. “This entire wing was supposed to be locked down.”

A sound carried from downstairs, faint but unmistakable. Crying. Several voices. Distorted by distance but urgent.

I went still, instincts screaming.

He reached for me immediately. “It’s alright. Whatever’s happening, we’ll handle it. Nathan’s outside the wing. The guards are trained. You’re safe.”

“But someone isn’t.”

He pressed his forehead to mine. “Let me look into it. I need you to stay here. You’re still burning hot, and your instincts will only get worse if you’re pulled toward a fight.”

I grabbed his arm before he could move away. "You can't go out there alone. It's not safe."

His expression softened, but his voice was firm. "I'll be fine. My rut's starting to wane."

I blinked, thrown off balance. "It is?"

He nodded. "It's tapering. The worst of it has passed."

But it hadn’t for me. I could still feel the heat pulsing through me, stronger than before. I could still feel her pacing beneath my skin, snarling, wild. "Mine isn’t," I whispered.

He cupped my cheek. "That’s why I need you to stay here. You’re not done yet. You can feel it too."

I hated that he was right. I hated that he had to go. But I let him.

He kissed me once more, slow and grounding. “Rest. I’ll be back soon.”

I laid back on the bedding, still feeling the burn in my skin, but it dulled slightly under the weight of his voice.

He left quietly. The door sealed again behind him.

Outside, Nathan was already moving.

He found the filters stacked in a back maintenance corridor, clearly tampered with. The edges were discolored. The scent of wolfsbane was embedded in the frame. Stamped along the metal: a supplier mark that hadn’t been used in nearly five years.

He didn’t say a word. He just tightened his jaw and pulled out his phone.

This was sabotage.

And I could hear it all.