Her voice glides smoothly but carries an edge that cuts through me, coaxing and commanding all at once. The beast inside me rouses with a growl of hunger, clawing to break free. I lock my grip on the back of the couch, knuckles straining, theonly barrier keeping my hands from closing that last inch of distance to her.
“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” I rasp.
“I think I do.”
Her face tilts up, close enough that I can feel the pull of her presence like a current trying to drag me under. The air between us is tight with hunger and warning, sparking across my skin. I lean down despite every rule screaming at me to stop, close enough to feel the heat of her breath. Her lips part in silent invitation. My wolf claws, demanding I take, but I lock my body still.
“Say it,” I rasp. “Tell me you want this.”
Her eyes flare, wide and defiant. “I do.”
For a heartbeat I hover there, the decision tearing through me like shrapnel. Then I wrench myself back, the restraint nearly breaking me in half. Desire rakes through me, but I force the words out, rough and raw. “Not like this. Not when you’re cornered.”
I stop, the restraint nearly tearing me apart. My hands curl and flex, aching to seize her, to drag her flush against me until there is no space left. She leans in with a subtle sway, lips parted, her eyes daring me to break my own rules. The heat between us coils tighter, every breath charged with the promise of what would happen if I gave in.
“Say it,” she whispers. “Say you don’t want me.”
I can’t. I don’t. Desire rakes through me, heat flooding every vein, but I rip myself back a step, chest heaving as if I’ve just pulled away from fire. My gaze lingers on her parted lips a moment too long before I force the words out, rough and raw. “Go to bed, Sadie.”
Her eyes flash triumph and fury all at once. “Coward.”
“Still breathing,” I retort, the words rough as gravel.
She follows me with her eyes, voice sharp. “That’s your problem, Remington. You think living is the same as feeling. It’s not.”
I pause at the door, fighting the urge to turn back. “And you think feeling won’t get you killed.”
Her lips curve, slow and taunting. “Maybe I like the risk.”
Outside in the hall, I brace a hand against the wall, sucking in air like I’ve run a mile. My wolf hammers against my control, furious at restraint. My fist curls tight, then opens again, slow and deliberate. The crack in my armor is small, but I feel it widening. Every nerve screams to go back inside, to finish what we started. My body aches with it, a low thrum I can’t shake. But I don’t. I can’t. If I give in, there’s no pulling back.
CHAPTER 7
SADIE
Later, after I manage to get some sleep, Cassidy appears, takes my arm and insists we step outside. She says I need to face this on my terms, not in panic, not under threat. I can still feel the echo of Gage’s nearness in the hall, his voice hard with command as he barked orders to secure the property. My body is humming from it, unsettled, craving, confused. By the time Cassidy steers me into the open air, my nerves are stretched taut, my heart tripping in my chest.
Cassidy guides me toward the open stretch of pasture just beyond the ranch house. I drag my feet, nerves raw, until she glances back at me. She pauses, her hand brushing mine.
“You need to know,” she says quietly, “clothes don’t survive the change. The mist destroys them. That’s why we always have places to tuck them away.” She nods toward a small bench by the fence where a folded blanket rests.
“Every ranch house, safehouse, and patrol route has caches,” Cassidy adds. “Jeans, boots, sweats—things we can grab after a shift. Rule number one: never assume you’ll come back in the same clothes you left in.”
My eyes widen. “So… we just strip in the open?”
Her mouth quirks with faint amusement. “It’s easier than shredding half your wardrobe. Besides, it’s just us. No judgment.”
Heat rises in my cheeks, but I tug at my shirt anyway. “This feels ridiculous.”
Cassidy’s laugh is low and kind. “You’ll get used to it.”
Together we shed our clothes, tucking them neatly aside before stepping into the pasture, bare and vulnerable. The air is cool against my skin.
“Don't you think I was frightened when Rush wanted to turn me? To make me like him?” she asks gently. “No. But I chose it, and I was ready. You didn’t get that choice, Sadie, and I’m sorry for that.”
My throat tightens. “You sank your teeth into me without asking. How am I supposed to trust that I won’t lose everything I am?”
She stops, her expression steady. “Because you didn’t die. I saved you. And now you have the chance to live with more strength than you can imagine. You just have to call forth your she-wolf and let it happen.”
