Stephen's POV
Maddie had gone to the bathroom to take her shower a few minutes ago now, leaving me to pace the room, stealing glances out the window like a man possessed. I could not stop checking, could not stop scanning the shadows for movement, for any sign of those damned lyncotropes. The thought of them lurking and of her being in constant danger made my chest tighten. She had been through so much already. Too much. And yet, here we were, trapped in this frenzy that threatened to keep getting messier the more it progressed.
But it wasn’t just the werewolves. It wasn’t just the danger.
My thoughts kept circling back to that alley, to what had happened between us. To her. To me. To us.
It had been our first time.
Raw.
Unfiltered.
I swallowed hard, trying to push the m
