Chapter 7 - Awakening
1170 Words
*Elara – pov*
Rain hammered softly against the windows while I sat cross-legged on the kitchen counter surrounded by renovation plans, half-drunk coffee, and Raiden’s impossible presence.
He was leaning back in one of the old wooden chairs near the island, long legs stretched out comfortably, watching me with that same steady focus that always made me feel like he saw too much.
“You’re staring again,” I muttered without looking up from the plans.
“I know.”
My eyes lifted immediately. Raiden never denied staring, when most people would have.
“It’s unsettling.”
A slow grin touched the corner of his mouth.
“So you’ve mentioned.”
I rolled my eyes softly and reached for my pencil again, trying very hard to ignore the way my body reacted to the warmth of his voice, the comforting smell of cedarwood and rain that seem to cling to him and the fact that every room somehow felt smaller when he entered it.
This was dangerous territory. I didn’t feel emotionally or mentally ready for a fling!
Physically was a different story. My body seemed to have a mind of its own lately. I knew better than to fall into something simply because it felt good in the moment. Especially after Ethan.
Riaden seemed to sense the shift in my mood immediately. His expression softened slightly.
“You’re thinking too hard again.”
“My brain never stops thinking.”
“That must be exhausting.”
“You have no idea.”
Silence settled comfortably between us for a moment. Not awkward, just easy silence.
Easy was more dangerous because easy was exactly how people slipped past your defenses.
I stared down at the plans without really seeing them anymore.
“Can I ask you something?” I said quietly.
Raiden nodded once.
“Why are you so nice to me?”
The question surprised him.
I could tell by the slight lift of his brows.
“I bring you food and coffee,” he corrected. “I wouldn’t call that heroic.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
His gaze held mine now.
Steady.
Patiently waiting for my next answer.
I swallowed lightly before continuing.
“You barely know me. But you keep taking care of me anyway.”
Something unreadable flickered across his face.
Then—
“Maybe I want to.”
It felt like a simple and honest answer. I didn’t detect manipulation hidden underneath it.
No expectation, just truth and somehow that affected me more than grand speeches ever could.
The room suddenly felt too quiet.
He felt too close and I too warm.
Raiden stood slowly from the chair and walked to where I was sitting. He stood in front of me.
I should have got off and put distance between us. Instead I stayed exactly where I was.
His eyes dropped briefly to my mouth before lifting again and something inside me reacted violently to that tiny movement.
Heat spread quickly through my chest to my lower abdomen. The strange feeling beneath my skin had been growing for days now.
Pulling. Pacing. Wanting.
I didn’t understand why every instinct in my body seemed drawn toward him despite every logical reason not to be.
My marriage had barely ended. I should have been grieving. Recovering. Thinking clearly.
Instead, my heart was pounding because this man was standing too close.
“Raiden…” I started softly.
His name felt dangerous on my lips. His jaw tightened slightly as if hearing me say it affected him too.
Then he stepped closer, just enough that I could feel his warmth.
And suddenly that restless thing inside me snapped. Before my brain could interfere I moved.
I slid off the counter and stepped directly between his legs where he stood.
Raiden went completely still.
My hands lifted instinctively to his face. Warm skin. Rough stubble beneath my palms.
His amber eyes widening slightly in genuine surprise.
I had no idea what I was doing. It felt like instinct. Like something older than thought itself had taken over.
And then I kissed him.
The second our lips met, the world exploded.
A violent rush of heat tore through my body so suddenly I gasped against his mouth.
Images flashed behind my eyes.
Forests.
Moonlight.
Silver magic curling through pale fingers.
A massive white wolf with ice-blue eyes.
Pain.
Power.
Home.
Something deep inside me shattered. A pulse of energy surged through my chest hard enough to steal my breath.
Something deep inside me, felt alive and opened its eyes. Awakened.
Raiden made a rough sound low in his throat, his hands on my hips as he pulled me closer and kissed me back. His lips soft and full. His tongue dancing with mine. I wanted more. Needed more. My hands thread through his dark hair.
The air around us felt electrified. Almost wild.
The lights in the kitchen flickered. Wind slammed suddenly against the windows despite the storm outside having calmed moments earlier.
My heart pounded harder and harder and harder until suddenly I jerked backward in shock.
Breathing hard through swollen lips.
My hands flew to my sides immediately.
Oh my God.
What had I just done?
“I…”
Mortification crashed over me instantly.
“I am so sorry. I…”
Raiden stared at me like I’d just handed him the moon itself.
He wan’t angry or shocked. Instead he looked overjoyed. Actually excited. I could feel him wanting me where his body still pressed against mine.
His entire face had changed. His expression softer somehow. He looked alive in a way I hadn’t seen before.
And his eyes—
God his eyes looked almost gold now.
“Elara,” he said quietly.
But I was already panicking.
“No, no, I don’t know why I did that—”
“Yes you do.”
“I absolutely do not!”
I pressed my hands against his chest and shoved him back a little to put distance between us. My heart is racing a mile a minute, completely out of control now.
It felt as though something was happening to me not just physically but emotionally too.
“I just kissed a man I barely know in a half-renovated kitchen. I’ve completely lost my mind.”
A startled laugh escaped Raiden then. The sound was deep, warm and real!
Somehow that only made me feel more flustered because until now he had always seemed so controlled, so contained.
Now he looked happy. Truly happy. Like something heavy had finally lifted from his shoulders.
“You didn’t lose your mind,” he said softly.
I stared at him.
“Then please explain whatever the hell that was.”
Raiden’s expression shifted slightly then. More serious now. More certain.
“You feel it too.”
It wasn’t a question. It was a terrifying statement.
Because deep inside me, it felt like my newly awakened hunger stretched slowly beneath my skin, waiting to be fed.
On the menu: Raiden.
- Writer
