CHAPTER SIX
1137 Words
CHAPTER SIX
ELOWYNNE
We both lay panting in the middle of the clearing, but neither of us had moved an inch. He seemed just as stunned as I was, but there was something darkly amused in the corner of his mouth that made me want to punch him again.
“You’re learning quickly,” he said, and his next movement happened in the blink of an eye so that by the time I knew what was happening, he was above me, pinning me by my wrists. He leaned down slightly until our noses touched and breathed, “Maybe I underestimated you…”
With barely enough air in my lungs, I managed to whisper, “Maybe you did.”
His lips were mere inches away from mine now, his body pressed against mine in all the right places. Pleasure traveled down my spine at the contact of our bodies, and the mate bond between us started to thrum beneath my skin. I could feel his arousal growing. We were close enough now that if I wanted to, I could move forward and kiss him. My mind reeled at the thought of actually doing so. He was still practically a stranger! But something about the way he made me feel seen, the way he treated me as an equal and not some lowly woman meant to serve him, and the way I didn’t have to pretend to be someone else around him all made me want to be closer to him.
‘You lied about your name,’ a voice in my head reminded me.
That was because I didn’t know him…or feel him the way I do now. With my recent knowledge and the way my wolf seemed relaxed and safe in his presence, I knew that if he learned who I truly was, he would understand why I was hiding to train in the first place.
He would understand me.
The heat in his green eyes intensified, and he tightened his grip on my wrist.
“We shouldn’t,” he murmured, staring at my lips.
"Yes," I agreed, but neither of us moved.
Instead, his hand slid from my wrist to cup the side of my face, his thumb tracing my cheekbone in a feather-light touch that made me shiver. His eyes searched mine, and I could see the war raging behind them, the same war I was fighting.
"This is a bad idea," he said, but his head was lowering toward mine even as he spoke.
"Terrible," I agreed breathlessly, my eyes already fluttering closed, my face tilting up toward his own.
"We don't even know each other," he continued, but his lips were now hovering just above mine, so close I could feel the warmth of them and could almost taste him.
"Complete strangers," I whispered against his mouth.
The last thread of resistance snapped.
I didn't know who closed the final distance. Maybe we both did. But suddenly his lips were on mine, and everything around me melted into a haze.
Everything except him.
I gripped the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer as his tongue traced my bottom lip. A small moan slipped past my lips when his hand slid down my arm to wrap around my waist. His second hand moved from my hip to the small of my back as his fingers threaded through my hair.
The heat from his body burned through my clothes, igniting my skin like wildfire and causing me to moan his name.
“Shawn…”
He pulled away then, an unreadable look crossing his eyes momentarily. I was about to kiss him again when I heard footsteps coming from the bushes behind us.
This time, I felt it in my gut that someone else had found us.
Shawn immediately sprang to his feet and pulled me up.
“Who the hell are you?” He growled, stepping protectively in front of me.
“Well, well, well,” the painfully familiar voice said. “What do we have here?”
I shifted from behind Shawn, and my heart dropped to my stomach when I saw Conrad.
“What are you…how did you—“
“I knew you were acting fishy when we spoke earlier today, but I couldn’t quite place my finger on it,” he said, circling us. “I thought you were just nervous, so I let it slide.”
Anger burned through my veins. “What are you doing here? Did you follow me? Are you stalking me?”
“If you’d come down for dinner, you would have known your father asked me to stay the night.”
My chest tightened. Why would Father do that?
“He thought you would warm up to me by tomorrow, but here you are heating up for someone else.”
“Who is he?” I heard Shawn ask beside me.
“I am Conrad Blackborne, son of Alpha Caden Blackborne and heir to the Blackridge pack.” He chuckled wickedly. “Elowynne’s betrothed. And I have just witnessed an atrocity with my bare eyes.”
I shut my eyes tightly as Shawn turned to look at me. “Elowynne?”
Ignoring him, I faced Conrad, anger burning in my veins. “Yes, you caught me kissing a man that’s not my husband. Should I be burned at a stake?” I scoffed bitterly. “You know, the reason I was acting ‘fishy’ is because I can’t stand your guts. You are a barbaric man with a barbaric mindset. The last thing I’d ever do is marry you.”
I saw anger flash in Conrad’s eyes, and it filled me with satisfaction. But the feeling didn’t last long.
“I’m sure fraternizing with a member of Frostvale pack is a bigger offense than kissing a man who’s not your husband.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Frostvale pack? No, it can’t be. Conrad is just lying because he’s pissed.
I turned sharply to Shawn. “Who exactly are you? Where are you from?”
“I should be asking you the same question,” he shot back. “You lied about your name and you are betrothed to someone—”
“Wait…” Conrad stared between both of us, all traces of humor gone from his face. “You both don’t know?”
“Know what?” Shawn growled.
Conrad smirked, that look of satisfaction returning to his features. “She is Elowynne Vaelor, daughter of Seth Vaelor of Moonveil Pack.”
I saw Shawn’s expression break through different emotions, from disbelief to pain, then to anger.
Conrad then turned to me, and his next words caused something to die inside me.
“And the man you were just kissing is Xyron Fang, son of Laurence Fang of Frostvale pack.”
- Writer
