Page 23 of The Alpha's Grave Secrets

“Kato, I can’t sleep.” Elara’s voice calls down the hallway.

“I have an idea…”

“What’s that?”

“Do you want to go on a run?”

“A run?”

“In the forest?” My house isn’t on the edge of a forested area for nothing.

The moon hangs low, its silver glow cast across the forest. Elara’s wolf is smaller than mine but solid, her light gray coat gleaming in the moonlight. Goddess, even now, I can’t take my eyes off her.

It’s been this way since we met, even before the bond snapped into place. Almost like I always knew she was mine.

My paws hit the soft earth with force. Each stride is hardly enough to burn off the frustration building inside of me. It’s been weeks. We’ve been tracking this killer for weeks, yet we still have nothing to help us find this guy.

It doesn’t help that something claws at my chest every time I am near Elara. That clawing, though not as strong, is still there even when I’m not near her. Why couldn’t she have officially rejected me? Why did she just walk away knowing I would still feel her every day?

That would have been easier. Rejected mates. A broken bond. A joke, right? It’s a cosmic screw-up. But I still feel it—every damn second. That bond. That pull. She’s right there, always just out of reach, and I’m supposed to act like it doesn’t drive me insane.

Breaking through the trees into a clearing, I can’t stop myself from letting out a howl. Frustration, desire, and fear mingle in my chest. Elara slows, shifting back into her human form, her long Auburn hair tumbling over her shoulder as she steadies herself, breathless, near a mound of boulders.

She doesn’t look at me, not right away, at least, but I can see the tension in her shoulders and the tightness in her jaw. It’s always there, just under the surface.

I shift back, rolling my neck and easing the tightness that never disappears. “Still uneasy,” she says, her voice soft, but a bitterness lurks beneath the surface. She’s talking about more than just the run, isn’t she?

I grind my teeth together, anger simmering beneath my skin. My blood at a low simmer like a pot of pasta sauce waiting for the seasoning to come together, “We’ll find him,” I say though it comes out as more of a growl.

She turns to face me, and for a moment, the world narrows. It’s just her. Her glowing eyes in the moonlight meet mine with that familiar mix of frustration and something else—something I feel, too.

Her gaze heats my flesh like she’s doused me in gasoline and then sparked a match. Those lips... I can’t take my eyes off her.

Elara’s breath hitches in her throat as she catches me drinking her in. She squeezes her naked thighs together, and the corners of her mouth lift as she fiddles with her hair.

She knows that she can’t hide her arousal from me. It was enough to cause me to want to rush forward and pounce on her right here and now, but after everything she’s been through, I don’t want to put her in an awkward position.

Despite this, I still feel in the throes of the war with my instincts. I step closer, and I can feel the heat between us, that constant push and pull that never lets up.

She flinches but doesn’t back away, pink blossoming across her cheeks and chest as she holds my gaze. We stand there, the silence crackling between us like lightning waiting to strike.

“I feel it too,” I finally say, my voice low but steady. “Every second I’m around you, Elara. It’s still there. You know it is. It’s damn near unbearable to keep myself away from you.”

I see it in her eyes for a split second—the same thing I feel. It’s the same thing I’ve been drowning in since the day we were bound and torn apart.

She opens her mouth, ready to refute my claim, but after a moment, her jaw snaps shut again. Her gaze falls to the forest floor, unable to maintain eye contact, unable to let me peer into the depths of her spirit.

The tightness in my chest is oppressive. Goddess, I can’t go on like this.

I risk another step forward. She does not step away again. One more step, and she’s so close to me that we are nearly one.

Reaching out, I press my hand against the smooth skin on the side of her face. With a jagged, unsure motion, Elara raises her eyes to meet mine again. The heat of her breath tantalizes my lips as she looks up at me.

Her heart races wildly in her chest, beating as though the entire percussion selection of a marching band has taken up residence there.

That’s when I see that spark of fire in her eyes. She wants me just as much as I want her. I can’t hold myself back anymore.

I lean forward, hand still gently against the side of her gorgeous head, as my lips press into her perfect mouth. She gasps against my lips.

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