Aurora's POV
The moment lingered too long, and that was the problem. The world should have snapped back into place after I realized who he was and what he was to me, but instead, everything tilted, sliding into something dangerous and intoxicating.
Alaric stood too close.
His coat hung around my shoulders, heavy with a warmth I hadn't felt since I was a child. His scent wrapped around my senses like a slow-burning fire until I was dizzy. My fingers clutched the lapels of his coat, trying to steady myself, but I couldn't.
My knees gave way, and before I could stop myself, I leaned into him, seeking the only warmth I had ever known in the cold mansion of the Alpha King.
Alaric stiffened. His breath hitched, a subtle break in his icy composure. Slowly, carefully, as though af
