Chapter 97
Kane’s POV
The sheets were cold.
That was the first thing I noticed.
The second thing I noticed?
She wasn’t beside me.
My eyes snapped open, my breath catching in my throat as my hand reached out instinctively across the bed, searching for warmth… for
her.
But all I felt was empty linen and the soft indent of where her body used to be.
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I sat up fast, too fast- pain exploded through my ribs and down my spine like a damn sledgehammer. My head swam with disorientation,
a dizzy mix of panic and confusion making the room tilt slightly.
My wolf began to stir violently beneath my skin, already agitated the moment her scent felt like it was fading from the room.
My heart kicked harder.
Where the fuck was she?
My feet hit the floor before I’d even formed a coherent thought, muscles screaming in protest as I forced my battered body into motion. I stumbled toward the en–suite bathroom first, almost tearing the door off its hinges as I shoved it open-
Empty.
No steam, no scent, no sound.
“Tessa?” I called, already knowing what the answer would be…
Silence.
Every nerve in me fired off at once- adrenaline spiked through me like I was back in that Russian hellhole, breaching rooms with blood
on my hands and desperation in my chest.
My fists clenched, my vision tunneled. My wolf roared, feral and prepared to kill anyone who would have dared to take her from me for
the second time…
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Chapter 97
I couldn’t lose her again.
I wouldn’t.
:
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I stormed toward the bedroom door, jaw locked and pulse jackhammering, intent on tracking her scent through the halls if I had to-
But just as I reached for the doorknob, the door swung open from the other side, causing me to step back from it quickly.
Tessa stood before me, startled, as though I had grown two damn heads!
My eyes darted over her, finding a tray balanced between her hands, with two mugs of coffee and a couple plates of toast topped with bacon and eggs.
She blinked up at me,
her mouth parting in confusion. “Kane? What’s going on?”
I barely processed the tray. My focus solely on her the living, breathing, safe image of her in front of me.
“You can’t do that again,” I snapped, my voice sharp, nerves still fully shattered.
Her brows lifted, blinking as she stepped past me into the room to set the tray down as I closed the door at her back. “I went downstairs
with Erin in case you slept through breakfast,” she said calmly, gently. “One of your guards came with us too. I didn’t think you’d be up
yet…”
“I don’t care,” I ground out, following her. “You can’t leave my side without telling me first.” I forwarded again.
Her sigh came slow and long, her shoulders slumping just slightly as she turned to face me. “You told me I had to eat,” she reminded,
eyes searching mine. “You said that yourself, remember? How was I supposed to eat if we missed the breakfast spread?”
She moved closer, voice softening. “And besides, I was here on my own for hours when you were off fighting, it’s the same thing. I was
still with Erin and that guard from your own pack. I knew I’d be safe, Kane.”
I knew her points were valid, but right now, I didn’t care.
She didn’t get it.
She didn’t understand that every second she wasn’t next to me, my mind raced to the worst–case scenarios.
My wolf went straight into red–alert, tearing through memories of cell blocks and shackles and that compound where I’d nearly lost her for good…
I stared down at her, jaw tight, arms folding across my chest as I tried to rein in my frustration.
“It’s just too soon,” I muttered, low and gruff. “I only got you back, after everything was settled. I’m just not there yet. My wolf’s not
there either. He still thinks you’ll disappear the second we stop watching you and he’s got me on constant high alert right now!” I explain
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Chapter 97
quickly.
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She stepped into my space slowly, careful not to spook the beast still pacing around inside me despite knowing neither of us would ever
hurt her.
“I know,” she whispered, resting her hands against my chest. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think about it like that.”
I didn’t even hesitate this time.
My arms came around her in a rush, pulling her into me, anchoring us both in the place we felt safest with each other. Her warmth bled
through my naked torso as I buried my face in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply.
Still here. Still real. Still mine.
“I just got you back,” I murmured into her skin. “Forgive me for not wanting to let you out of my sight yet.”
“You’re forgiven,” she whispered, a small giggle following, the sound making my tension ease.
“Let’s eat, since you warned me to!” Tessa reminds me after a second, before I smirked and released her, enjoying her little attempt at
normalcy today.
We both sat and ate together in a comfortable silence.
She sat cross–legged on the bed with her plate, sipping coffee between cautious bites of toast, while I ate and watched her every
movement like it was the first time I’d seen her eat in months.
Which, in a way, it was.
She didn’t finish everything.
But she ate.
It was a start.
“I’ll try harder,” she said after a while, as if reading my mind. “This place has just sickened me, you know?” She whispers, as I nod once.
I understood that.
“I’ll try to eat. To rest. To stop worrying you. I just want another chance back home… to live a normal life back at your pack… if you’ll
still have me?” Tessa tests, as I shake my head in disbelief.
Did she even need to ask me that?
My throat tightened. I didn’t respond with words- just reached over and dragged her tray away so I could pull her into me again, curling
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her body against my chest as I laid us both back onto the pillows.
I needed her this close. Just for a little while longer.
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“I dreamed of this,” she whispered, voice laced with sleep. “Of being warm. Of waking up with you again. I almost lost hope that I’d ever see you again.”
I stroked my hand gently down her back, the rhythm soothing us both.
“It’s not a dream anymore, you’ll be my human until the day that I die, angel.” I murmured, causing for her to bury her face in my chest.
But even dreams didn’t come without shadows.
Because today… I’d have to sit down with Kion and the rest of the alphas. We’d have to talk about the survivors. About rebuilding. About
justice. About the shit storm I had left back home.
But none of that worried me, because I had Tessa safe in my arms again.
With her by my side, I feared nothing else.
No–one.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
