His energy radiated outward, overwhelming her senses in

is voice still smooth but c

r cheeks felt like a betrayal of her composure. She didn't want him to

plied, though her voice

owing in the dimming light, locked onto hers with an

," he murmured. "And I don't blame

vited him into the most vulnerable parts of her soul. Yet here he was, standing too close,

nded. She swallowed, trying to regain control over her emotions, but the word

had found amusement. No, this was something different. It was the smile of some

voice lowered, becoming even softer, more intima

her, but she fought it d

thing else something that made Selene's heart twist uncomfortably. His eyes s

"I'm not like you. But that does

stand her struggle. But something in his gaze the way his presence felt like an anchor in the storm of her thoughts made her pause. The d

ion softened, his lips parting as if to speak but the

d, his voice steady yet gentle. "I've been watchi

m her lungs, and she stared at him, frozen in place. "What are you tal

ent about you the moment I laid eyes on you," he said. "There's something special in you, Selene. Something that the pack ha

n her chest. She should pull away. She should tell him to leave. But there was something in the

bove a whisper. "Why are you offering t

ng raw and untamed in his eyes a fire that matched her own desperation. "I don't w

someone who knew that beneath her walls, there was something much more than a lost wolf. His

ment had come, Lucian stepped back,

Her heart still raced in her chest, her

added, his voice soft but firm, like a pr

hadowed woods. She stood there, rooted to the spot, unable to move. Her heart beat wil

now whether to be angry or to give in to the

e that remained was thick with something unspoken.

ing to steady herself. But the uncertainty ling

m to manipulate her? Or

ughter, their joy, felt distant now. Unreachable. For a moment, it seemed as though they

yed. She al