Zane
We don’t move right away.
Elariana is still sitting on top of me, her hands on my wrists, her knees at my hips, close enough that I can smell her hair—that clean, faintly lavender scent that somehow stayed with her ever since the first time they properly washed her. Her heartbeat is fast. Mine pretends to be calm, but it doesn’t quite succeed. The moment is too quiet. Too long.
“So… did you really give up?” she asks softly, as if she’s afraid that if she speaks louder, something will break.
“I did,” I answer. “But only because you won unfairly.”
“Me?” the corner of her mouth lifts. “You’re the Alpha. You’re the one with the advantage.”
“Even an Alpha loses if he doesn’t want to win,” I say—and I can feel it myself now, that this isn’t entirely a joke anymore.
She laughs, but on
