DEREK
I would deal with Cassandra.
But not yet.
Not before I took care of the woman in front of me..
Elena sat on the bench like her bones might give out at any moment. Her skin was pale, almost ashen, and her hands trembled faintly even though she tried to hold them still in her lap. The wind caught the edges of her hair, brushing it across her cheek, but she didn’t react.
She was miles away.
“Elena,” I said softly.
Her eyes blinked once. Then again, slower this time. Like she was coming back to herself from a place I couldn’t reach. “You need rest,” I murmured. “Come on.”
She opened her mouth like she was going to argue–like she might remind me that we still had ten thousand things to deal with. But then she sagged, just slightly, and nodded.
“Okay,” she whispered.
I called for the car, and when it pulled around, I helped her inside, keeping one hand on her back the whole time. She didn’t flinch at my touch, but she didn’t lean into it either.
That was fine.
She was here. That was enough.
The ride to the hotel was quiet. She stared out the window, unmoving, while I kept my wolf on a leash, my mind grinding through every thread of what we’d just learned.
Cassandra. Logan. Maggie.
I wanted blood for what they’d done.
But first–Elena.
When we got to her room, I unlocked the door and ushered her inside. It was mid–afternoon, but the curtains were drawn, soft light filtering in through the folds. The room smelled like her shampoo, her lotion. A sharp pang of familiarity hit me like a punch to the ribs.
Elena lowered herself onto the edge of the bed, her hands resting in her lap like she didn’t know what to do with them.
She didn’t say anything.
She just sat there, motionless.
I crouched in front of her and gently reached for her ankle. When she didn’t pull away, I took off her shoes one them neatly to the side. Then I stood, pulled the covers back on the bed, and reached for her hand.
“Come on,” I said quietly. “Lie down.”
ne, setting
She blinked up at me again, her eyes rimmed with exhaustion, and then slowly did as I asked. She slid beneath the sheets like she was made of glass. I pulled the blankets up and over her, tucking them around her shoulders.
“Rest,” I said. My hand lingered near her face. I let myself brush her cheek gently, then leaned down and kissed her forehead.
1/2
Chapter 226
+25 BONUS
She didn’t move.
Didn’t speak.
Just closed her eyes.
I turned toward the door, every part of me ready to shift focus.
I needed to make phone calls–to the Alpha Council, to my Silverclaw enforcers. Logan needed to be located, arrested, detained.
I wanted Maggie’s confession formally logged for Council review. wanted blood and order and answers and control.
I wanted Cassandra investigated, though I’d do that quietly–I owe her that much.
I reached for the door handle.
“Derek.”
I turned.
She had sat up slightly, the blankets still wrapped around her. Her voice was soft, uncertain.
“Will you stay?” she asked.
Her eyes met mine. Raw. Open.
“Will you stay with me?”
Her words hit me harder than any blow ever could have.
Stay.
She wanted me. Not as a shield. Not as a soldier.
Just as… me.
Something warm and fierce welled up inside my chest. A tightness that bordered on unbearable.
“Yes,” I said, voice rough. “I can do that.”
I moved back across the room without thinking, toeing off my boots quietly so I didn’t startle her. Elena slid back under the covers, her small form curling onto her side, facing the window.
I didn’t even hesitate.
I lay down on the bed, staying atop the covers, careful to keep a respectful distance.
But after a few heartbeats, I shifted closer. Close enough that I could curve my body around hers, spooning behind her without pressing into her space too much.
She didn’t pull away.
I rested my forehead lightly against the back of her head, breathing her in.
She smelled like lavender soap, faint adrenaline, and something uniquely, maddeningly Elena.
