Page 204 of Halfblood Deceived

“You knew?” he asked, raking his fingers through his messy raven hair.

Aella nodded. “I knew.” She wrinkled her nose. “Alright, I was 99% sure. You have no idea how much that 1% haunted me.”

Zeydan let out an incredulous breath. “How did you know?”

A rush of blood rose to Aella’s cheeks. “Your scent. You smell slightly different in your wolf form, but still mostly the same. And the way my body reacts to your presence.”

Zeydan’s eyebrows shot up, a corner of his gorgeous mouth tilting up. “And how does your body react to my presence, Aella?”

How had she lost the upper hand? She couldn’t focus when he used that low, sultry tone with her. “Warm. A line of energy travels down my spine and curls around my stomach.”

Zeydan smiled, looking like the cat that got the cream. “That’s almost exactly how I feel in your presence.” He tilted his head, brow flickering. “You are not angry at me for not telling you.” It wasn’t a question.

Aella shook her head. “How can I be mad at you if you’ve kept me safe, even from myself?” She gulped, remembering the horrible night when she’d almost jumped off that cliff. The same haunting pain squeezing Aella’s chest flashed in Zeydan’s eyes.

She took a deep, cleansing breath. “Besides, let’s face it, it was a badly kept secret.”

Zeydan laughed, squeezing the back of his neck. His eyes glinted with wonder. “Wait. For how long have you known?”

“Weeks.” At his inquiring look, she elaborated. “Since that day when you came to Hecate on business and we apologized to each other for our past wrongdoings. I knew it the moment you got close to me and I could smell you and feel you.” She bit her lip, feeling her cheeks flooding with blood.

Zeydan huffed. “So that’s why you looked so damn amused when you told me about your friend, the giant wolf.”

Aella laughed. She couldn’t help it. “Just because I decided not to be angry at you for trying to be sneaky doesn’t mean I couldn’t have fun with it.”

“Trying to be sneaky.” He shook his head, smiling. “I knew you had a wicked side hidden somewhere under all that cuteness.”

Aella bit her lip. He had to stop saying things like that before she melted, like ice cream on a hot brownie. “So I do.”

There was something important she needed to say. She opened her mouth and then closed it, barely swallowing back a sound of frustration. Why is it so hard to just say it?

Zeydan flicked a glance at her, but didn’t grow impatient.

It gave her the courage to speak. “I, um, I haven’t properly thanked you for saving my life,” Aella said. Her stomach tightened with a mix of embarrassment and gratitude. Her eyes prickled. “Thank you for stopping me. And for letting me wet your fur with my tears and snot,” she tried to joke, but her voice shook.

Zeydan reached out and squeezed her hand, bumping her shoulder with his. “You are more than welcome. I can’t tell you how glad I am that I got to you in time.”

“I’m glad too,” Aella said, surprised at how much she meant it.

Zeydan stood, offering his other hand. “Come on, it is getting late. Or early.”

Aella gripped his hands, basking in the familiar flash of heat that the contact sent all over her, and allowed him to pull her up.

He let her go to pack the damp blanket they’d been sitting on in Aella’s backpack. “We’ll get back faster if I shift and I take you.”

Aella shook her head. “I’m not in a hurry unless you are. I have a million nosy questions to ask, and you can’t speak in your wolf form. Can you?”

“I can’t,” he confirmed, slinging the backpack over one shoulder and sliding his palm against Aella’s in a silent request. He smiled when she tangled their fingers together. “I can bark, but I don’t think you can interpret that with full accuracy.”

She huffed. “True.”

They started the walk back to Aella’s home, keeping their pace unhurried.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Zeydan arched a brow at her. “I thought you had a million questions.”

Aella nodded. “I don’t want to be too nosy.”

“But I want you to be,” he said with that distracting smile of his and Aella’s self-control broke.

---