Aftermath
752 Words
Later, MaLeeka lay tangled in the moss with Seth’s body draped protectively over hers. The bond was forming. She could feel it pulsing between them—unbreakable, ancient, magnetic.
But her heart was still guarded. Her secrets buried deep.
She turned her head, studying his face. Strong jaw, stubble-darkened, a scar near his brow from an old fight. A leader. A killer. A wolf who could destroy her—or protect her from everything else.
“You’re going to regret this,” she whispered.
Seth’s eyes opened, golden and fierce.
“No,” he said, voice like thunder. “But you might.”
She could still feel him inside her.
Not just the memory of his body—but the bond.
It wasn’t like anything she’d ever known. The connection throbbed like a second heartbeat beneath her skin. She could feel his presence—his mood, his hunger, even the lazy satisfaction humming through his veins.
It terrified her.
“I’m thinking.”
Seth rolled onto his side, propping himself up on one elbow to study her face. His golden eyes glowed faintly, even in the shadows. “About what?”
MaLeeka didn’t look at him. “About what comes next.”
He frowned slightly. “You’re mine now.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one that matters.”
She sat up, dragging his leather coat around her shoulders as she stood. Her clothes were scattered around the forest floor, torn and tangled in leaves. “You think claiming me solves something. It doesn’t. Your pack will never accept me.”
Seth rose slowly, his naked body bathed in moonlight. There was power in every line of him—raw and unhidden. “You’re wrong. My pack follows me. They’ll accept who I choose.”
“No,” she said coldly. “They’ll fear who you choose.”
Seth moved closer. “Is that what you think this is? A choice?”
Her lips parted, heart racing. The bond pulled her toward him again, but she fought it.
He stopped inches from her, his voice a rumble. “I didn’t choose you, MaLeeka. The moon did. My wolf did. Every breath I take without you burns like silver in my lungs. So don’t talk to me about choice.”
She turned her back to him, trying to steady her pulse. “You don’t know me.”
“I know enough. I know you’ve been hiding who you are. That you’re running from something.”
MaLeeka’s breath caught.
He was getting too close.
Seth’s voice softened. “I don’t care what happened before. But you’re not just some rogue anymore. You’re my Luna now.”
She spun to face him, eyes flashing. “You don’t get to claim that title for me. Not without a real bond ceremony. Not without my consent.”
“We bonded, MaLeeka. I felt it. So did you.”
“I didn’t reject the bond,” she whispered. “But I didn’t accept it either.”
The silence between them crackled with tension.
After a moment, Seth stepped back, nodding once. “Then come back to the packhouse. Stay a few nights. Let your wolf settle.”
“And if I say no?”
His gaze darkened. “Then I’ll drag you back.”
She didn’t flinch. “You’d force me?”
“I’d never force your body,” he growled. “But your wolf already chose me. You’re mine whether you admit it now or not.”
The bond between them pulsed—hot, magnetic, undeniable.
Finally, she sighed, pulling the coat tighter around her shoulders.
“One night.”
Seth’s brow lifted. “One?”
“I stay one night. I sleep in a guest room. And if I walk away tomorrow, you let me go.”
His jaw ticked. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“We’ll see,” she said, brushing past him and starting toward the edge of the woods.
Behind her, Seth shifted—his body trembling as he barely held back the beast inside.
The moon might’ve tied them together.
But her past would try to tear them apart.
⸻
In the Distance…
From a dark hilltop beyond the forest, another figure watched them disappear into the night—his cloak blending with the trees, his eyes glowing red.
He grinned.
“So she found the Alpha. Perfect.”
He turned, vanishing into the shadows.
“Let’s see how long the bond survives the truth.”
- Writer
