Page 19 of The Wolf Prince's Mate

“You don’t know Hunter very well.”

“It’s hard to get to know someone who won’t talk to you.”

“I know. In his defense, he’s been trying to find a way to end his wolf’s obsession with you.”

“I don’t think it’s working.”

“It’s not.”

I made a noise of frustration. “Talking about this makes me mad. It’s the middle of the night. Can we just figure this shit out in the morning, when we have to go back and face the music?”

“Sure, Gorgeous.”

I finally peeled my face off his chest and rolled to my side, dropping an extra pillow behind me to separate us. “I don’t want to walk to your spare room. A pillow wall gives us enough space.”

“My spare bedroom is an office. Doesn’t have a bed in it. I don’t know why we need a pillow wall, though. We just spent hours screwing. A night of snuggling isn’t going to change that.”

“Heat is instinctual. Snuggling is intimate. I’m not mixing the two, even if tomorrow is the day Hunter kills me.”

Clay growled. “Even if he tried, I wouldn’t let him kill you.”

“You’d do anything for your brothers.”

“I can still recognize when they’re at fault.”

I made a noncommittal sound.

Clay rolled toward me, and his hand landed on my shoulder. The pillow was still there, but he’d smashed it between us. His breath brushed my neck, and I stiffened.

I was way too attracted to him. Especially after everything we’d done. That was the best sex of my life, by a long way. And not just because it had been so long since anyone touched me.

Clay had been focused onme.

Even when the rut should’ve had complete control of his mind, he’d fought it long enough to make sure I ate something.

Silas was the only guy I’d ever spent heat with, and he definitely wouldn’t have cared if I ate.

Maybe it was a big deal that Clay did.

Or maybe my expectations were just really low and messed up.

I had no idea.

“I won’t let Hunter hurt you, Nova. That’s a promise, alright?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “Okay.”

“Did he know how bad the pain was?” Clay’s voice was lower. More hesitant.

He didn’t think Hunter would’ve let me suffer alone over and over again, but he wasn’t positive. Not with Hunter and his wolf at odds over whether to claim me as their mate.

“No. I didn’t tell him, and he shuts off the cameras in his basement during heat. If he knew, he would’ve intervened, and I didn’t want to spend it with him.”

“Aspen would know how bad it is. Why didn’t she say anything?”

“I told her it was getting less painful every month because my body was adjusting. None of you were there to sniff out the lie. She only suffered through it alone once, so she believed me.”

“Is it getting worse?”

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