Page 12 of Alpha Affinity
I hardly have time to process what’s happening before blinding pleasure laces through me, and I let out another moan.Shivers run down my spine.My pussy clenches as it floods with relief.I fall limp.Roen’s hands tighten around me, his teeth still pressed to my flesh.
For a moment, I think he isn’t going to let me go.Then the fever breaks and the world slowly comes back into focus.I stiffen, all too aware of my compromised state.
Roen’s saliva chills on my skin as he lifts his mouth.He doesn’t go far, skimming his nose along my shoulder—sniffing me.
A deep, throaty growl resonates by my ear, and adrenaline snaps me out of the haze.That’s the same sound from the woods last night.
The wolf.
His bite.
It’s impossible.It can’t be real, it justcan’t.“It was you,” I whisper.“You’re the wolf.”
Roen drops his forehead to my shoulder.“You shouldn’t have found out like this.I shouldn’t have gone looking for you, orwanted—” He cuts himself off as my mind reels.
He’s really…a werewolf?WHAT?!
I think I’m going to faint.Still subconscious, I slip my hand down to grab my hoodie, but I brush his thigh instead.His bare thigh.Thick hair dusts my fingertips, and something hot and hard rises against my palm.Oh.Oh.That’s not his thigh.
Roen growls through clenched teeth and grabs my hand.“I told you not to move.”
“Sorry.I didn’t mean to—” I gasp as he lifts my hand and sucks my fingers into his mouth.
Then the ground swoops as he lifts me in his arms.“I’m taking you inside.”
“Woah, I can walk,” I squeak, though my legs feel like noodles.His chest is too firm, his arms too strong.It’d be easy to let him take over, but I can’t.I shouldn’t.“You don’t have to carry me all the way back.”I try to twist away, but he clutches me closer to his chest with unnatural strength.
“Squirm all you want, I’m not letting go.”
A new kind of heat envelopes my body, both from the blush rising up my face and the soothing warmth that radiates from where our bodies touch—which is practically everywhere.
He glances down, bright blue eyes lingering on mine before flicking over my chest.“Trust me, Nova, you have nothing to be ashamed of.”
I follow his gaze, catching on my stomach and the way my thighs bunch around his fingers.He’s just being considerate to make me cooperate.
Exhausted, I let my head fall into his chest.The least I can do is get some answers.“What really happened last night?”
He sighs, heading straight into the forest.To his credit, walking naked in the woods doesn’t seem to faze him in the least.“I was on my way back after a trip out of town—had to be home to welcome the new arrival.Some of the younger members of the pack got excited and confused your car for mine.You all panicked.”
I draw a quick breath.“There are others?Did I hurt them?”
He shakes his head.“All of us here are wolves, and like I said, they’re smart and fast enough to avoid a swerving car.The one you saw was Tiff, and maybe his sister, Cleo, or their cousin, Shane.”
Ah.Now her hesitation at lunch makes sense.
“Does this kind of thing happen to all humans that come here?”I joke.
Roen doesn’t laugh.“No.Humans don’t go into heat because they can’t form a mate bond.It was reckless of me to accept it.”He steps over a thick root and jostles me tighter in his arms.“At the least, it will help your fever go down.We normally don’t let humans near the pack, but—” He cuts himself short.“I made a mistake.”
Wait.Heat?A mate bond?I swallow, but it does nothing to help the lump in my throat.
“You should leave as soon as possible,” he adds.“We’ll manage.”
A void splits apart my chest.Before this heat took over my body, I enjoyed my walk on the beach.The fresh air, the wildflowers, the sound of the ocean waves.My lunch with Olivia and Cleo.I want to call this place my home, too.I want to do what I love and get to know everyone in their town—their pack.
Then there’s Roen.He’s the first person I’ve ever felt truly comfortable around.The first person who might understand my desires instead of hating me for it.I lift my hand to brush over the still-throbbing bite mark.“Do I have to?”
He stops abruptly to look at me.“You’d choose to stay?”
