Jace’s hand lingered briefly on the doorframe before he stepped back. “Rest. I’ll get you some water and ice. Maybe call the pack physician—just in case.”

“I said I don’t need a physician.” Julian’s growl was sharp, but Jace didn’t flinch. He only inclined his head once, obedient as always, before closing the door behind him.

Silence pressed in. Julian exhaled hard, dragging a hand through his hair. Heat crawled over his skin like wildfire, his pulse hammering. He yanked off his jacket, then tore at the buttons of his shirt until it hung open. His boots hit the carpet with a heavy thud, socks following.

But the heat didn’t ease. It thickened, crawling lower, curling hot and urgent between his thighs. His cock surged, hard and unyielding, pressing against the line of his slacks until he had to bite down a curse.

Julian froze. His eyes cut to the small paper bag sitting on the desk — the one holding the honey cake he’d bought without thinking.

The scent rolled across the room, sweet and spiced, clinging to him like it had the moment he stepped inside that bakery. He grabbed the bag, tearing it open, lifting the cake to his face. The aroma hit harder, sharp and intoxicating.

His cock twitched, straining painfully against his pants.

Julian swore under his breath, knuckles white around the bag. “What the hell are you doing?” He snarled at his wolf. “You want to fuck a pastry now?”

But his wolf didn’t answer with words. It surged forward, hungry and unrelenting, dragging him to his feet, every nerve alive with a single demand: find the source.

The cake wasn’t enough. It was only a thread — a trail. And his wolf would follow it.

The door clicked open a short while later, Jace stepping inside with a bucket of ice balanced in one hand and his phone in the other. “Alright, Julian, I’ve got—”

He stopped cold.

The suite was empty. Julian’s shirt and trousers lay in shreds across the carpet, boots kicked halfway beneath the desk. The paper bag sat torn open on the floor, honey cake smashed against the edge of the table.

Jace’s gaze snapped to the window. The curtains swayed, pulled by the evening breeze through a gaping hole. The glass was shattered, glittering across the carpet like spilled diamonds.

He crossed the room in two strides, leaning out to scan the street below. No wolf. No Alpha. Just the faintest shadow where the bushes had been crushed near the curb.

“Fuck,” Jace muttered, shoving a hand through his hair. His pulse kicked up, sharp and fast. “This is not good.”

Meanwhile, Kaelani shoved her key into the lock, her hands trembling, and pushed the door open. The moment she stepped inside, the warmth hit her like a wall. Not the cozy kind she’d built here over the years. This was suffocating, burning from the inside out.

She tore at her clothes as she stumbled down the hall — blouse, boots, jeans — leaving them in a trail behind her. Her nails dug into her own skin as though pressure alone might ease it, dragging across her arms, her stomach, her thighs. But the itch wasn’t on the surface. It was deeper, gnawing, primal.

By the time she hit the bathroom, she was naked, breath ragged, her body flushed pink with heat. She twisted the shower knob hard, water crashing down in a freezing spray. She stepped beneath it, gasping at the shock.

But it wasn’t enough.

The cold slid over her burning skin, raising goosebumps, but the fire inside her only roared hotter. It curled low in her belly, tightening, demanding, pulsing in places she had never felt so raw, so desperate. Her hands braced against the tile, forehead pressed forward as she choked back a sound that was half-whimper, half-growl.

No relief. No escape.

The water poured colder, sharper, and still it couldn’t put out the fire consuming her from the inside.

Kaelani shut off the water with a sharp twist, stumbling back against the cool tile. Droplets clung to her skin, trickling down her flushed body, but the fire inside only burned hotter. She dragged in a breath, pacing barefoot across the bathroom floor, leaving wet footprints in her wake.

It was cooler outside. She’d felt it when she left the bakery. Maybe if she could just get to the open air, the heat wouldn’t smother her so completely. But she couldn’t step out naked.

With clumsy fingers she yanked a thin tank top over her head, the fabric plastering to her damp skin. A pair of panties followed, flimsy, offering no protection from the ache tearing through her.

She shoved the back door open and staggered into her small garden. The evening breeze swept over her, cool and sharp, and for a moment she almost wept in relief. She dropped to her knees in the grass, palms sinking into the earth, forehead tipped back to the sky.

But the burn didn’t fade.

It raged on in her belly, in her skin, coiling tighter, demanding. Her thighs pressed together as if she could cage it, but the ache only worsened. A sound tore from her throat, desperate and broken.

Her hands moved without thought, sliding over her damp skin, slipping beneath the thin band of her panties. Fingers pressed against her aching core, but the relief was fleeting, hollow. The slick heat of her body only magnified how empty she felt, how sharp and relentless the need had become.

She gasped, hips rocking into her own touch, but the sensation was wrong — shallow, unsatisfying. The fire inside demanded more, clawed for something she couldn’t give herself.

A whimper caught in her throat as she pressed harder, faster, chasing even a shred of release. But no matter how she moved, it only stoked the blaze raging through her. Nothing eased it. Nothing would.

Then a low, guttural growl rippled through the night.

Kaelani’s head snapped up, her breath catching. From the darkest corner of her garden, two burning eyes gleamed, unblinking, predatory. The shape shifted forward, muscle and fur moving with lethal grace until the moonlight revealed him fully.

A massive black wolf.

Her heart lurched into her throat. She stumbled back onto her heels, scrambling, grass slick beneath her feet. “No,” she whispered, terror clawing through the haze of heat. She tried to push herself backward, palms digging into the earth, but the beast prowled closer, steps deliberate, certain.

It lowered its head, nostrils flaring, pulling in her scent. A deep, rumbling growl vibrated from its chest as it closed the distance, circling her, sniffing along her skin. When its muzzle pressed lower, toward the heat flooding between her thighs, a choked cry escaped her lips.

Finally. The source of the scent it had been hunting.

The wolf’s hunger was palpable, its intent undeniable. Kaelani’s entire body shook, torn between fear and the unbearable need writhing inside her. She wanted to scream, to run, but the fire in her veins left her weak and trembling.

Kaelani braced her palms against the ground, heart pounding, and forced her body to move. She shoved herself upright, desperate to reach the back door, to get inside where she could lock this nightmare out.

But the wolf was faster.

It lunged low, pressing its muzzle between her trembling thighs. A cry tore from her throat — mortified, furious, undone — yet the molten rush that answered the touch stole the strength from her legs. Her body betrayed her, trembling with need she didn’t want to feel.

“No—stop—” she gasped, but the word dissolved into a whimper as heat clawed through her again. She should have pushed it away. She should have fought. But she couldn’t move. Couldn’t think.

And then, before her wide eyes, fur dissolved into skin. Muscle shifted, bones snapping and reshaping, until it was no longer the massive wolf between her legs — it was him.

That Alpha from her bakery.

His mouth replaced the muzzle, his tongue tasting her with feral hunger. His hands gripped her thighs, holding her open, anchoring her as if she might vanish if he let go.

Kaelani’s entire body shook, horror and heat colliding until she no longer knew which was which. She wanted to scream. She wanted to surrender. She couldn’t do either.

Kaelani’s breath came in broken gasps, her body rigid as the Alpha’s mouth replaced the muzzle, his tongue parting her with feral hunger. Her hands shoved weakly at his shoulders, but he didn’t move — he couldn’t. The sound rumbling from his chest was half-growl, half-moan, vibrating against her most sensitive flesh.

“Stop—” she tried, the word a ragged plea. But her hips betrayed her, jerking forward as the fire inside twisted sharper. His tongue slid deeper, circling, devouring, until the denial in her throat dissolved into a desperate cry.

Julian’s grip on her thighs tightened, holding her open for him to taste every drop of her. Heat pulsed low in her belly, every nerve burning, every inch of her body begging for more even as her mind screamed against it.

She squeezed her eyes shut, nails clawing at the grass beneath her, trying to anchor herself. But the wave crested too fast, too hard. Pleasure tore through her like lightning, white-hot, wracking her body until her cry shattered into the night air.

Julian groaned against her, drinking down every sound, every shudder, his wolf triumphant. He had found the source. He had claimed it.

Kaelani collapsed back into the grass, trembling, wet strands of hair plastered to her flushed face. Shame warred with the raw, aching release still pulsing through her, leaving her breathless.

And Julian wasn’t done.

He rose above her, his chest heaving, his mouth slick with her release. The moonlight caught his face, but it wasn’t the polished Alpha from the bakery staring down at her — it was something far darker. His eyes glowed, wild, his expression twisted with pure, primal desire.

Her breath hitched as her gaze dropped. His cock jutted hard and heavy between them, the sight alone enough to make her pulse stutter. She knew exactly what he intended.

“No…” Her whisper barely carried, trembling as she tried to scuttle backward, the grass damp and slick between her fingers.

But Julian followed, crawling closer, his body radiating heat like a furnace. He loomed, closing the space between them, the thick length of him pressing against her thigh as if his body refused to wait for permission.

Panic flared. Kaelani twisted, forcing herself to her feet. Somehow, she found the strength to tear free, bolting for the door. Her bare feet slapped against the cool earth, heart hammering in her throat.

She almost made it.

Something clamped around her ankle, yanking her off balance. She hit the ground hard, a cry tearing from her lips as she was dragged backward through the grass. Her nails clawed at the earth, desperate, but his grip was impliable.

And then it came — sharp fangs sank deep into the tender curve of her neck, right where a wolf claimed his mate. Pain and fire exploded through her veins, stealing her breath, her will, her strength.

“Mine,” he growled against her skin, the word guttural, final.

The bite still burned hot on her neck when Julian shoved her onto her stomach, his weight pinning her down. She kicked, twisted, but his grip was iron. His chest pressed against her back, his growl vibrating through her bones.

Fabric tore, the sound sharp in the night. Her thin top split down the middle, her panties shredded away in his hands until there was nothing left between her and the brutal heat of his body. She gasped, vulnerable, exposed, her nails clawing uselessly at the earth.

Then she felt him — hard, thick, pressing insistently against her entrance.

“No,” she gasped, tears pricking her eyes. “Don’t—”

But her body betrayed her. The fire raging inside twisted sharper, clawing for the very thing she feared. Her hips arched without her permission, seeking what her mind rejected. Heat made her desperate, trembling, helpless.

Julian drove into her, hard and merciless. Her scream tore through the dark, high and broken, as fire ripped through her core. Agony flared red-hot like a burner on the stove, her body locking against the intrusion, trembling and slick but impossibly tight. His breath rasped hot against her neck, his jaw locking harder into her flesh as he dragged back—only to slam forward again, forcing her body to stretch around him like molten fire.

Her scream splintered into ragged gasps as he buried himself to the hilt, the fierce clutch of her body gripping him so tightly it stole his breath. For a heartbeat, he stilled—chest heaving, sweat beading his brow—feeling every tremor, every spasm as his cock nestled deep in the scorching heat of her tight pussy.

A growl rumbled low from his chest—part triumph, part hunger, part something darker. Then his hips snapped forward in punishing blows, the brutal rhythm wrenching another cry from her lips. Each thrust drove him deeper, stretching her raw and unrelenting, until her body had no choice but to yield beneath his will.

Kaelani sobbed, torn between agony and the desperate, unbearable relief flooding her body. The fire dulled where he filled her, every inch easing what nothing else could touch. Her walls clenched around him, traitorous, needing more, even as her heart screamed denial.

She hated him. She needed him. She couldn’t stop trembling as the word echoed in her skull, burning into her blood with every savage thrust:

Mine.

Julian’s hips continued to slam into her, her cries breaking against the night, muffled where her cheek pressed into the grass. Every stroke tore at her, stretching, burning — yet each time he filled her, the unbearable fire inside dimmed, replaced by a pulsing relief that made her shudder.

Her nails clawed at the ground, leaving streaks of dirt in her wake. “Please—” she begged, though she didn’t know if she meant for him to stop or not.

He didn’t. He couldn’t.

His grunts rumbled against her skin, savage, claiming, the sound vibrating through her as his fangs stayed buried in her neck. The bite anchored them, bound them. Every movement of his cock inside her synced with the deep pull of his wolf: take, claim, keep.

Tears streaked down her cheeks, but so did heat — sharp, coiling, insistent. The ache shifted from pain into something heavier, deeper, pleasure threading through it until her sobs dissolved into broken moans.

Her body arched back into him, perfidious, desperate. She hated herself for it — hated him for making her feel it. But she couldn’t stop. She couldn’t breathe without him inside her, couldn’t ease the fire unless he drove into her again and again.

Julian’s voice tore against her ear, husky and raw. “Mine.”

And in that brutal rhythm, with every savage thrust, he made sure she knew it.

Julian’s thrusts grew harder, faster, the rhythm wild and iron-willed. Each stroke drove her deeper into the grass, his weight crushing her into the earth as though nothing could separate them. The sound of their bodies colliding filled the night — wet, frantic, feral.

Kaelani bit her lip until she tasted blood, fighting the sounds rising in her throat. But when his cock buried deep and ground against the spot that made the fire explode inside her, a strangled moan broke free, intense and helpless.

Her body clenched around him, pulsing, betraying her again. The fire that had tormented her all night blazed higher, but now it had an outlet — now it was being fed. Every thrust tore her apart and put her back together, until she was nothing but heat and need and the man consuming her.

Julian’s thrusts faltered, hips grinding deeper, slower, desperate. She felt the thick swell of him at her entrance, stretching, locking — the wolf’s knot, sealing them together.

Kaelani gasped, clawing at the grass, her eyes wide with shock. The pressure, the fullness, was unbearable. “No—no, no, please—”

But her plea dissolved into a scream as her climax ripped through her, violent and unstoppable. Her body convulsed, squeezing him tight, milking him as wave after wave shattered her.

Julian roared against her skin, the sound shaking her to her core. His release surged hot and heavy inside her, his body locked to hers, claiming her in the most primal way a wolf could.

She collapsed beneath him, trembling, sobbing, shattered. Claimed.

And still, his teeth stayed in her neck, his wolf’s voice echoing inside his head:

“Mine.”

Julian didn’t release her, not even when the last of his climax pulsed through her and her body went limp beneath him. His knot kept them locked, his weight anchoring her into the grass. She sobbed softly, her face pressed into the earth, trembling with the aftershocks that left her both sated and hollow.

When the knot finally began to ease, he shifted, lifting her as though she weighed nothing. Her legs hung weak around his hips, her body still trembling, but his grip was firm — possessive. He carried her inside, the back door banging open against the wall.

Kaelani stirred, weakly pressing at his chest. “Stop… please…”

But his wolf was relentless. He set her down on the kitchen table, her damp hair fanning across the wood, and pressed back inside her before she could catch her breath. Her cry echoed off the walls, but so did his growl, low and hungry, as he thrust deep, hard, merciless.

The table shook beneath them. Plates clattered to the floor. She clung to him, nails digging into his shoulders, torn between fighting and holding on as the fire rose in her again.

He didn’t stop. He couldn’t.

When he knotted her a second time, her scream broke into a sob, then into a moan she couldn’t swallow. The knot stretched her impossibly full, locking her against him until there was no escape.

Hours blurred. Counter. Floor. Against the wall. Again and again he took her, rut-blind, her body pliant and trembling, her voice breaking into cries she couldn’t swallow. Pleas, sobs, gasps — none of them formed his name. She didn’t know him. Not really. All she knew was the burn, the overwhelming need, and the way his body drowned it out every time he forced himself inside her.

Every time his knot swelled, locking her to him, his wolf growled that same word against her skin:

Mine.

At some point, the frenzy blurred into exhaustion. Julian carried her into the bedroom, his body heavy over hers, his cock still buried deep. She whimpered as he settled them onto the mattress, the knot anchoring them together even as her eyelids fluttered shut. The fire dulled only because he stayed inside her, stretching her full, keeping the ache at bay.

Sleep came in fragments. Her body jerked with aftershocks, her thighs quivering around him. His body was sprawled over hers—heavy, protective, possessive. His lips brushed the mark he’d bitten into her skin like he owned it. Like he owned her.

Suddenly, Kaelani woke to emptiness.

Her eyes shot open, panic clawing at her chest as the burn returned sharper, vicious in his absence. Her body convulsed, desperate for what had kept the fire at bay. “No,” she gasped, clutching at the sheets.

The door creaked.

Julian stepped back into the room, chest slick with sweat, a bottle of water in his hand. He tilted it back, draining it in seconds, then crushed another before striding toward her.

Her lips parted, a plea forming, but he pressed a bottle to her lips. “Drink,” he commanded, voice hoarse.

She obeyed without thought, tilting her head back. The water slid cool down her throat, and only then did she realize how parched she was. By the time he lowered the empty bottle, her skin was already burning again, her hips shifting restlessly against the sheets.

Julian’s eyes darkened. His cock swelled, already hard and ready, pressing against her thigh as he crawled onto the bed.

Before she could catch her breath, he thrust into her again, a broken cry tearing from her lips as the fire was consumed once more. His rhythm was brutal, demanding, but when he flipped her and pulled her astride him, the shift shocked her.

Kaelani trembled, thighs straddling his hips, his cock buried to the hilt inside her. He gripped her waist, forcing her to ride him, each thrust driving him deeper. The pleasure was unbearable, coiling tight, snapping sharp as she came around him, collapsing forward onto his chest.

Julian grunted beneath her, his hips jerking, his knot swelling impossibly thick until she was locked on him, helpless, exactly where he wanted her.

Pinned to him. Stuck.

His.

Kaelani stirred awake to the weight of him still inside her. Her body ached everywhere, her thighs trembling even in stillness, but the thick swell of his knot sat locked deep, anchoring her to him through the night. She tried to shift, but the movement only drew a sharp growl from the chest pressed against her back.

Then he moved.

The knot had softened just enough for him to slip free, slick heat spilling from her, leaving her hollow. Relief barely touched her before his hands tightened on her hips and he thrust back inside, burying himself in a single, punishing stroke.

Kaelani cried out, her palms fisting the sheets. “Please, I can’t—”

His answer was another savage thrust, rocking her forward against the mattress. His groans vibrated through her spine, rough and desperate, more beast than man. He didn’t ask. He didn’t slow. He simply took.

Her body betrayed her again, clenching around him despite the soreness, desperate for the fullness that dulled the fire. Every stroke ground the ache deeper, feeding that hunger she hated, until her protest dissolved into a broken scream of intense pleasure.

Julian’s breath rasped against her ear, his rhythm brutal, primal. His cock swelled again, locking her in place, sealing her against him until there was no escape. She sobbed into the pillow, trembling as ecstasy and pain tangled until she no longer knew the difference.

“Mine,” he growled against her neck, the bite still throbbing where his fangs had claimed her.

Hours blurred into darkness and back again, the world narrowed to the heat of his body pounding into hers, the weight of him holding her down, the knot stretching her until she couldn’t breathe without him. Kaelani lost track of how many times he took her — how many times her body shattered, only to be pulled into need again before she could recover.

At some point, he pulled away, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his temples. He stumbled to the nightstand, grabbed a bottle of water, and pressed it to her lips.

“Drink,” he rasped, voice thick with gravel.

Her lips parted on instinct, the cool liquid sliding down her throat. She drank greedily, not realizing how dry her mouth had been, how parched her body felt until the bottle was gone.

Before she could lower it, Julian crawled back over her, his cock already swollen and angry against her thigh. The demand in his eyes was clear, undeniable. He shoved the empty bottle aside and entered her again, hard and deep, forcing a cry from her chest.

Kaelani’s nails dug into his shoulders, her body clenching around him. The fire raged inside her, but for the first time, an urge burned sharper than the need for release. Her gaze locked on the thick cord of his neck, the place where a mate’s mark should be. Without thinking, she leaned forward, biting down hard.

Her teeth sank into his skin, but nothing happened. No spark. No bond. Just the taste of sweat and salt.

Frustration knifed through her. She wanted it — needed it — but she couldn’t leave a mark. She couldn’t claim him back.

Julian snarled, rut-drunk, grinding deeper into her as if punishing her for her failed attempt. His fangs sank into her neck again, reopening the wound, the taste of blood sharp on the air.

“Mine,” he growled, brutal and final.

The last knot swelled inside her, thicker, deeper, stretching her so full she screamed. Her body convulsed, pleasure and pain detonating at once, dragging her under until she was nothing but trembling limbs and shattered breath.

Julian groaned, his hips bucking, flooding her one final time. His weight crashed over her, his cock locked inside her, knot sealing them together so tightly she couldn’t move if she tried.

They collapsed tangled in sweat and blood and heat, her body wrecked, his wolf finally satisfied.

And for the first time in three days, silence followed.