Aria's POV,,
I've lost count of how many times I've rolled around under these thin sheets.
No matter how tightly I shut my eyes or how still I lie, nothing works.. not without him here beside me, curled up in this small servant's bed like he's always belonged.
Like he's always belonged with me.
Without him, the silence feels too heavy. It presses cold against my back and fills the empty space where his warmth should be.
And I hate myself for telling him not to keep sneaking in here. I told him to stop, to be careful, that it was too risky.
But I miss him so much it hurts to breathe.
Even so, I try to ignore the ache in my chest because I know how risky it is. If anyone finds out about us, it won't just break my heart. It'll destroy everything. My whole future.
Alpha Renon and his Luna would never let someone like me, a servant, ruin the perfect future they've planned for their only son. They wouldn't just separate us. They'd erase me completely.
Girls like me aren't supposed to love boys like him. We're raised to serve them. To stay in the background.
But none of that matters to me right now. All I want is for him to be close enough to touch. Close enough for his scent to wrap around me. For his body to warm me enough that I can finally fall asleep.
It's already past the time he usually comes, and I can tell that he won't come tonight, not after what I said. And I have no one to blame for this lonely night but myself.
I turn onto my side and squeeze my eyes shut again. But then something shifts outside the window. A soft movement. A change in the air. And before I can even react, I smell him.
His scent hits me like a spark... familiar, sharp, and overwhelming. My wolf leaps inside me, wild with joy.
I stay still, barely holding in my excitement, as I hear his quiet footsteps land inside.
I stay still and pretend to sleep. But when he slides in beside me and his hand slowly wraps around my waist, pulling me close, my breath catches.
"I know you're not asleep," he murmurs, his warm breath grazing the back of my neck, sending electric shivers down my spine. "I could feel it from my room."
"You never listen, do you?" I murmur, trying to sound like I'm scolding him. But all I want is to turn around and kiss him until I forget what my name is.
"Honestly?" His voice is soft, low. "I couldn't sleep. Don't even try to scold me today. I can't stay up all night when I could be here, sleeping peacefully with you."
His words don't just reach my ears, they land in my chest, heavy and sure, making it harder to breathe.
Maybe we're really mates. Maybe that's why this pull between us is so strong.
He hasn't felt the mate bond with anyone else. Neither have I, even though we're both of age. So what if we really are meant to be?
My wolf wouldn't crave him this much if we weren't.
He pulls me closer, and I can feel the blood rushing through his body like a current barely held in check.
It's how he always is around me. He's never hidden how much he wants me, how badly he craves to claim and mark me. He even said it.
For the past three years, he's held himself back every single day. Not once has he pushed past what I'm willing to give.
And he never argued. He just stayed close and restrained himself.
But maybe tonight is different.
Maybe tonight is the night I finally let go and give myself to him completely. The night I choose him, not just as a lover, but as the one I'll give everything to.
I know he loves me. I know he wants me just as much as I want him. I'm sure of it. I'm sure we're meant for each other. So why am I still denying both of us the one thing we need most?
I turn without thinking, and his eyes are already on me, drinking me in like he can't get enough.
I lean forward, brushing my lips against his, and just as I begin to pull away, he cups the back of my head, crashing his mouth into mine like he's been starving for it.
I can't help but smile into the kiss.
My hand finds its way beneath his shirt without thought.. an instinct, a pull I can't fight, and I can feel it... the strain under his skin, the pain he's holding back like a dam about to break.
His muscles twitch beneath my fingers, tight with restraint.
He tears his mouth away from mine just slightly, voice low and raw.
"Don't do that," he says with a pained chuckle, breath hot between us. "I can't… Trust me, I can't hold back when you keep touching me like that."
The words tumble out of me before I can stop them. "Maybe I don't want you to hold back anymore."
His eyes lock onto mine, wild and burning. "Are you playing games with me right now?" he asks, his breath ragged, voice hoarse. "Don't do that again. Seriously. It's not funny…"
But my hand moves again, and I feel the shudder rip through him. His breath catches sharply, and he bites his lower lip, hard enough to leave a mark.
"I'm serious." I say, "As long as we're always together after this... as long as you're sure, really sure that we will be."
He goes quiet, and in that pause, panic flashes through me. Is he hesitating? Is he going to stop this? Is he doubting if we'll always be together?!
But then he speaks, voice steady. "You know how much I love you. I don't want to be with anyone else. Just you."
And after those words...
He leans into me with a certainty that steals my breath. His kiss is no longer hesitant. His hands are everywhere, touching, exploring, claiming me with a need that feels like it's been caged for far too long.
His tongue moves against mine, desperate. I can't breathe through the sheer intensity of it all.
My wolf rises up, impatient and done waiting for me. surging forward inside me with a growl that never makes it to my throat but I feel it, boiling under my skin.
And suddenly I'm matching his urgency, move for move, touch for touch. and the next thing I know, we're naked. Skin to skin.
He's above me, hovering with a hunger in his eyes that shakes me to my core.
"I know this is your first time," he whispers, his voice like velvet over fire. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you."
And he does.
...And when I finally feel him, all of him inside me, the world blurs and bends around that one perfect, aching moment.
A groan escapes him, low and satisfied, and it sends a shiver through my entire body. My breath stutters.
In that moment, something in me shifts. It's like my whole life rearranges itself around him. Around this.
All I can think about is him.
This feeling.
This heat.
All I feel is that.. I'll never need anything else in my life but him. I don't care what anyone says. I don't care what it costs me.
And if anyone ever dares to say we don't belong together… I swear to the Moon, I could kill them without regret.
<~>
I don't remember when we finally stopped, but the next thing I know, a sharp knock shakes my door.
"Wake up, you sleepyhead! If Alpha Hillary wakes up and you haven't prepared his breakfast, laid out his outfit, or cleaned his room, you're dead meat! This is not your mother's house! Get your lazy head up!"
That's servants' manager's voice..
We both shoot upright. My body aches all over, but I can't even think about that right now.
We overslept. Moon Goddess, no.
The soft light filtering through the window makes the panic hit even harder.
"What are we going to do?" I ask, panic laced in my voice.
But Hillary doesn't seem like he is thinking about that. His eyes are narrowed, his expression furious. "Did he just call you 'sleepyhead' and 'lazy head'? Is that how he talks to you?"
Is he kidding me right now?!
"Is that necessary right now?" I whisper, nearly frantic. "You need to get out of here. Everyone's awake, how are you going to leave without being seen?"
I wrap a towel around myself, drag my aching body out of the bed and dive into the pile of folded clothes, and pull out a long, baggy servant's dress and matching scarf. I throw them over his head.
"What the..." he starts, but I cut him off.
"Shhh! Come on. No one will recognize you."
He doesn't argue. Without another word, he climbs back out the window the same way he came in.
I force my sore body to move. There's no time to bathe, so I throw on my uniform. But even as I move fast, I can't stop the smile tugging at my lips, still caught in the memory of last night... the way he held me like I was the air in his lungs, something he couldn't survive without.
My hand lifts to my neck, fingertips brushing skin as the realization hits: he marked me! He really marked me! Now nothing can tear us apart.
I'm his, and he's mine.
I snap out of my thoughts and rush to the kitchen.
"There she is!" the servant manager yells. "You're doing extra duties today! Do you even realize the kind of special guests we have?!"
Before I answer anything, one of the girls speaks, "I'm sorry, but... I can't keep this in anymore, are you people telling the truth and you are sure that Victoria from Greenpack is Alpha Hillary's mate? It's breaking my heart. He finally found his mate, and she's gorgeous... she's so perfect for him."
"The bond was confirmed yesterday," the manager says firmly. "So stop dreaming about him and move faster. The guests are already waiting."
My mind goes completely blank. My body refuses to move. And the only thought echoing inside me is...
What the hell are they talking about?! He just marked me! He cannot belong to someone else, just like I cannot!