She held his gaze in a silence that seemed to pulse through his veins.
— Because the Moon Goddess is just, my dear. She would not be cruel enough to ambush our paths… You are the Alpha the Moon chose to give me.
She turned her face toward the window, her eyes serene.
— As for her and your friend, Theo… I feel no jealousy. Jealousy belongs to those who do not trust their own wolf.
She shifted, sliding one bare arm free, lifting her hand to cradle his chin.
— You think about such things… how unbecoming, Theo. I am completely disheveled. I must look dreadful.
She teased, brushing her fingers along his lower lip before slipping from the bed and moving toward the window. Her back was bare, the robe fallen to the middle of her spine, bronze skin glowing warmly beneath the morning light.
— Well… you said she threw herself… but she merely stumbled…
She turned slightly, the sun bathing her figure as she stood between sheets and bare skin.
— Hmm… it is all right. She meant no harm. Perhaps she simply feels cornered, knowing you already have a promised she-wolf.
She adjusted her hair over one shoulder, gazing out the window.
— Will you train? Today?
She asked, concealing a deeper blush beneath her composure. The tone was precise, the rhythm deliberate, crafted to fracture his restraint.
Theodor released a heavy breath, the sound of a man losing both air and reason. Elizabeth's unshakable confidence — her absence of jealousy, which she attributed to the "justice of the Moon Goddess" — lashed against his Alpha pride. He felt small for allowing such an ordinary incident to disturb the serenity of a creature he now saw as nearly divine.
When she slid from the bed, bronze skin shimmering beneath the sun and silk falling languidly, his throat ran dry. The sight of her, poised between nakedness and satin, was a torment he would willingly endure for the rest of his life.
— You could never be dreadful, Elizabeth. Not even if you tried, — he murmured, his voice faltering slightly. — Your light is… more than any of us deserve.
At her suggestion that Dandara might simply feel "cornered," irritation flared within him — not toward Elizabeth, but toward Dandara herself. How careless must his friend be to place his Luna in a position where she felt compelled to excuse another's mistake?
He stepped behind her but did not touch her, honoring the distance she imposed by moving to the window. The heat radiating from him was almost tangible against her bare back.
— Train? — he repeated, attempting to steady his thoughts away from the curve of her body under the sun. — I should. My warriors await me in the courtyard. Yet for the first time in my life, I have no desire to lift a sword or wrestle wolves.
He leaned closer, his whisper grazing her ear, the scent of sandalwood and warm skin intoxicating him.
— I will train to expend this energy… before I lose control and dishonor your chambers prematurely. But before I go…
His hand lifted, brushing the curve of her neck where her pulse beat calm and steady, a stark contrast to his heart hammering against his ribs.
— Tell me you will watch me from the training grounds. Sit in the place of honor. I want them all to see for whom the Alpha of the Morning Sun dedicates each victory. Especially those who believe a stumble could ever divert my gaze from you.
Elizabeth turned, allowing the blanket to fall between them, yet embracing him before he could glimpse the fall of the short white nightdress at her knees or the robe cinched at her waist, marking sacred ground.
— I believe I truly am disheveled…
She murmured against his neck. Their heights were nearly equal, allowing her to meet his eyes perfectly — neither too tall nor too small, an effortless fit.
— Hmm… so you are full of energy? Then you had better spend it before entertaining… impure thoughts…
She whispered, feeling the strength of his chest beneath her palms. The contact was good — deliciously comforting — and now he smelled of jasmine, mint, and snow.
— I always watch you train… It is quite interesting to see the other she-wolves drool over my energetic little wolf.