Chapter 59

Saturday night, Maximus and I met again.

I could hear the roar of a party at Kairos’s house on the other side of campus. It immediately made me anxious. It’d only been two weeks since my incident and the prospect that it could happen again set me on edge.

Maximus clearly noticed it as we sparred that evening. After one particularly brutal swipe of his elbow landed on the high of my cheekbone, I staggered back and pressed my hand to my cheek.

“What’s going on?” he asked, softer than usual. “You blocked that just fine the other day.”

I let my hand drop from my face. The place he’d hit still stung with the force of his bone jamming into mine. I motioned vaguely to the noises in the distance.

“I just—” I let me hand drop and smack against my side. I couldn’t seem to voice how uncomfortable I was in the moment.

Luckily for me, Max seemed to understand. He looked off towards then party then turned back to me. There was a softness in his features that was new.

“He’s not going to hurt you again, Zora,” he said. “I made sure of it.”

“I know I just think—” I huffed and slammed my eyes closed. “Sorry, this is stupid.”

Maximus took a step towards me and grabbed my hand. Electricity surged between us that caused my eyes to snap open. His thumb stroked over the back of my wrist.

“It‘s not stupid,” he reassured. His tone was gentle and warm. “I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like. But it won’t happen again. That I can assure you.”

I nodded then kept my eyes locked with Maximus’s. The gentle caring from him was a new thing to me. It was making my heart bloom in ways I couldn’t verbalize and wouldn’t verbalize. I was already feeling weak.

Max dropped my hand and the electricity vanished. “Come on,” he said. “We’re done. Let’s go home.”

“You sure?” I said but inside I was craving the warmth of my bed.

“I’m not going to try and push you right now,” Max said.

I nodded in agreement then went and collected my things before the two of us walked back to our dorm. The walk was silent but inside, my thoughts were screaming.

I’d spent nearly every day of the last week with Maximus. He’d been completely different from what I thought he was. Instead of harsh and bitter, he was soft and intuitive. He was gentle when he needed to be but pushed when he was supposed to. He was taking so much time out of his day to spend training me and I couldn’t help but wonder what he was getting out of it all.

He could tell there was something on my mind as we reached the door to our building. He glanced at me like he was begging me to ask what was on my mind but I kept silent up until we arrived in front of our doors.

I turned and opened my mouth just as he was doing the same.

“Max, I—”

“I know—”

We both stopped. Max motioned for me to continue. I fidgeted my feet on the floor, eyes cast down. There was a long pause as I tried to gather my thoughts.

“I don’t get why you’re helping me,” I finally said. “Or care about me. I’m not anyone important. I was wolfless when I got here. I know your stance on wolfless and I’m just surprised you’d spend so much time with me.”

“You’re not wolfless anymore, are you?” Max said. I lifted my head to meet him gaze. He sighed heavily. “Plus, my stance has changed. You proved that wolfless aren’t as weak as I thought they were. That was all you.”

I blinked at him and furrowed my brows. Max licked the front of his teeth then continued.

“Zora, I don’t believe you know how wonderful you are,” his voice had dropped low as he stared into me. “You’re kind, thoughtful and Hells below are you strong. To see you go through all that you’ve been through and still not give up.” He shook his head. “It’s inspiring.”

He huffed and leaned back a bit, as if he’d realized how close he was. “I know you were fated to Thorne,” he said, slowly. “But the night of Mateball, I felt this pull. Deep in my chest.” He tapped the spot where his heart was and I felt my own flutter in response. eHe s

“It drew me to you,” He finished. “I’ve felt some way about you for a long time. Despite all the things I said just now, I feel indebted to you. You could hate me for my whole life and I’d still feel like you owned me. You may not be mine, Zora, but I am fully and entirely yours.”

I stared at him, heart leaping out of my chest and fingers aching with the need to touch. I’d never felt a want like that before. Every bone in my body was screaming.

Do it, my wolf urged. Show him how he is yours…

I surged forward and closed the gap between us, slamming my lips into his. Immediately, there was lightning exploding in my chest. Max staggered back, shocked but then his arms came down to wrap around my waist and pull me flush to him. More electricity hit every single nerve ending in my body and I felt like I was on fire.

Max finally opened his mouth and I followed suit, stroking him into me with a heat and desire that was so burning that my body was aching. The kiss was rough and hard and had months of yearning and fight behind it. I nipped and sucked and pushed my way into him boldly. He let me, hands gripping my waist as if he was worried I’d slip away.

I felt him moving and pulling us backwards, but I just held on as he lifted me. My legs wrapped around his waist and I pushed myself higher up his body. My face angled down into his, causing a new way for me to press our lips together. My hands cupped his face, burning as they went.

I heard a dorm slam behind us, then my back was pressed against a wall. My ankles were still locked behind Maximus and his hips pressed into me, lighting up every sense inside of me. I whimpered into his mouth and that seemed to make him pause. He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine.

“Tell me to stop,” He groaned before claiming my mouth again. Then he let me go and trailed his mouth down the side of my neck. The sensation had me keening up against him, another wanton whimper escaping my throat.

“Tell me to stop,” he repeated.

The thought of losing the sensations blooming inside me made my nails dig into his shoulders. I couldn’t let go. I needed to let the high I’d been riding finally hit an apex. He couldn’t leave me. I wouldn’t let him.

“Don’t,” I begged. “Don’t stop, please.”

That was all it took for him to release whatever restrain he’d been holding back.