Scarred by Moonlight

Chapter 17: Raging Fires

River stared at Olrun, her heart pounding like a war drum, her throat tight with a mix of anger and longing. The cool night air kissed her skin, but the way he looked at her- raw and unrelenting- set her blood ablaze. His gaze was sharp, searing through her as if he could see everything that she felt but refused to say aloud.

“What do you mean, ‘fix us’? I thought you didn’t want us,” she said, her voice breaking slightly despite the fire in her tone. She needed him to stop looking at her like that, like he knew how weak she was for him. She wasn’t ready to admit it, that he affected her to her very core.

Olrun growled softly, the sound low and possessive, vibrating between them. “I never said I didn’t want you—didn’t want us. You didn’t even give me a chance to say anything before you ran from me, River.”

He stepped closer, slow and deliberate, like a predator trying not to spook its prey. His movements were careful, but his presence was overwhelming, his energy crackling like a storm about to break. “You and I both know what I feel for you,” he said, his voice low and rough, filled with unspoken promises. Goddess, the sight of her standing there, that look in her eyes. It made his heart clench. He couldn’t f**k this up.

Atlas growled in the recess of this mind. “You’d better not f**k it up.”

Her hands curled into fists at her sides, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She shook her head, her eyes brimming with frustration. “How am I supposed to know that, Olrun? You’ve never said it. Not once.”

He stopped just inches away from her now, so close she could feel the heat radiating off his body. Their breaths mingled in the crisp night air, the tension between them thick and electric, like a living thing. But Olrun wasn’t backing down. He couldn’t.

“You want me to say it, River?” His voice dropped even lower, gravelly with raw emotion, weighted with everything that he had been hiding behind a wall of stoicism. “Fine.”

Reaching up, he gently tucked a stray curl from her forehead, his touch lingering for just a second longer than it needed to. His emerald eyes locked onto hers, unyielding and unflinching. “River,” he murmured, his tone soft but weighted, “River, I love you. And I’m tired of pretending I don’t.”

For a moment, the world seemed to still, as if Mother Nature, herself, was holding her breath. The soft rustle of leaves in the wind was the only sound, but even that faded beneath the hammering of River’s heart, The vulnerability in his voice, his words, they struck her like a tidal wave. Olrun, the unshakable Alpha stood before her now, offering his heart with a rawness that she would never have expected the fire day she met him. He wasn’t the man that disregarded her on the stares, that ran from her in the hallway. She didn’t know who this version of Olrun was.

Her lips parted, but no words came out. She was caught between the desire to run and the aching pull to stay. She wanted to believe in him- that he loved her, truly. Even, Nyx was at a loss, “He… he loves us. Did you hear him say it?”

But River couldn’t respond. She could only stare at him, waiting to see if he would say more.

Olrun leaned in closer, his voice trembling with a mix of frustration and longing. “I’m so damn tired of pretending you don’t haunt my every waking thought- of spending my nights dreaming of you. My entire world revolves around whether I’ll catch a glimpse of you walking in the halls, River. It’s maddening.”

His hands moved to her shoulders, gripping them with a desperation that made her chest ache. Olrun, the unshakable Alpha, was unraveling before her. “You’re in my head,” he growled, his voice breaking, “And I hate it. But, Goddess, I don’t want you out. I don’t want to stop thinking about you.”

His eyes burned into hers, pleading and intense. “So, tell me, River—tell me how to fix us. Tell me what you want. Tell me what you need. I’ll get it. I’ll do it. I’ll—”

She didn’t let him finish.

River surged forward, her lips crashing against his in a kiss that stole the breath from both of them. It was fierce, unrestrained, and filled with all the emotions she’d tried to bury—the anger, the longing, the love she was too scared to admit.

For a moment, Olrun froze, stunned. His mind couldn’t fathom that she was kissing him, that she wanted him. But he recovered quickly, kissing her back as his hands slid from her shoulders to her waist. His hunger matched her own, wanting to down in her taste. The world around them faded, and for once, there were no words left between them—just the undeniable truth of what they both felt.

They had kissed before—stolen moments snatched in the shadows—but they had always smothered those embers, too afraid to confront what burned between them. Not anymore. This was different. Olrun felt it deep in his chest, a pull he could no longer ignore. River felt it too, her defiance melting into something raw and undeniable. Whatever fragile flame had once flickered between them had erupted into an uncontrollable inferno, threatening to consume them both and leave the world around them in ruins.

His voice broke though into her mind, unguarded and raw. “Goddess, please let this be real. If this is a dream, don’t wake me.”

The though struck River like a lightning bolt, making her whimper against his lips. His feelings were genuine, she could feel it, and it only served to melt her.

His heart thundered in his chest as he scooped her into his arms, her body fitting against his as if it had always belonged there. A gasp slipped from her lips, soft and surprised, but it was quickly swallowed as his mouth crashed onto hers. Her long legs wrapped around him instinctively, her fingers tangling in his hair as their kiss turned into something frantic, feverish, unstoppable.

The world around them ceased to exist. Olrun strode through the main foyer, his every step purposeful, his grip on her firm and possessive. Did the pack members stop to stare? Of course. Their Alpha, usually so composed and untouchable, was carrying a she-wolf with reckless abandon, their heated kisses echoing off the walls. The scent of their desire hung heavy in the air, impossible to miss.

Olrun didn’t care. Let them talk and gossip. This moment was his, and no one, not even the Goddess herself, would steak it from him. He’d told his mate he loved her, and she wanted him- she was kissing him.

The elevator doors slid open, and Olrun didn’t hesitate. He stepped inside with River wrapped around him. His hands slamming the control panel without so much as a glace. River was his whole world in that moment. The doors closed behind them, sealing them in a world where only they existed.

River’s breath hitched as Olrun pressed her back against the cool steel wall of the elevator, his strong hands supporting her frame as his lips devoured hers. When his lips did leave hers, they travel a path along her jawline and down her neck. Her head tilted back to allow him better access and a soft moan escaped her as his teeth grazed her sensitive skin.

That sound-her moan- was like a symphony meant only for him. It fed the roaring flame in his chest, and Olrun felt Atlas stir in response, clawing at the edges of his control.

“Claim her! Mark her! She is ours! “Atlas growled inside his head. “She has always been ours!”

“Olrun, she whispered, his name trembling on her lips. It was soft and reverent- a prayer, no, a warning. She was reaching an edge that she wasn’t sure she would be able to come back from.

His response was a low growl, primal and unrestrained. “You’re mine, River,” he said through gritted teeth, his voice rough and barely human. “No more running from our destiny. No more denying who we are meant to be.”

River’s hands fisted in his hair, pulling at the nape of his neck so that he was forced to look up into the whiskey-colored eyes that had been haunting his dreams. “I never ran, Olrun. I’ve been waiting for you to catch me.”

The elevator jolted to a stop, the doors opening to Olrun’s private quarters, and he sprang into action, carrying River inside without hesitation. He carried her to his bedroom, the room dark, only illuminated by a sliver of moonlight streaking across the floor.

He set her down gently, but before her feet had even touched the floor, he had her body pressed along the wall again, His hands roamed her body, memorizing her curves, every delicious detail of her form. Her nails raked down his back, through his shirt, pulling a feral snarl from his lips before they were crashing against her again.

For once there would be no rules, no pack expectations, no voices of reason. It was just them- two forces colliding, finally ready to let the fires of fate consume them.