Chapter Seventeen: The Wolf Within
1154 Words
Rose’s POV
The hospital room reeked of antiseptic, a sterile sting that clung to the back of my throat like fog hanging in a damp forest. Beneath it lingered the faint scent of Emily, sweet, wildflower-soft, threaded with something raw, almost lupine, that I couldn’t quite place. My body still ached from the wounds of the a*******n, but it wasn’t just pain; it was a deep, primal thrum, as if my veins pulsed with a suppressed energy, a sleeping beast I’d spent my life ignoring.
Emily dropped a Gucci bag on the bed, the crinkle of expensive paper whispering like dry leaves under paws. Inside, I found a lace black lingerie set, a beige long-sleeved blouse, and a strappy dress with a square neckline. The fabrics slid like silk against my fingertips, carrying her scent, feminine musk, grounding and warm, like the presence of a packmate I never knew I needed.
“I think they’re your size,” she said softly, her voice no more than a breeze. Yet her brown eyes gleamed with something older, something instinctive, like she could sense the vulnerability threading through me.
“Close the door,” I whispered, clutching the rough edge of the hospital gown. The fabric scratched against my skin like thorns. I peeled it upward, exposing my body to the cool air. My breasts tightened in the chill, a tremor chasing across my chest. Turning toward the bed, I reached for the bra, the delicate lace a stark contrast against the raw scrapes marking my hands, scratches that looked more like claw marks than wounds.
The creak of the door tore my attention upward. A pair of diamond-sharp eyes locked on mine, brimming with hunger. Ethan’s hand gripped the doorknob hard enough to whiten his knuckles. Emily shoved at him, palms flying to cover his face, but it was too late.
I froze, caught in the pull of his presence. Emily’s squeak snapped me out of it, and shame clawed through me. I folded my arms across my chest, shrinking into myself, heart hammering so hard it felt like it might burst.
I should have hated that he saw me. Should have screamed at him, cursed until my throat was raw. Instead, every instinct inside me wanted to stay caught in that magnetic pull, to let his gaze strip me bare, to allow every wicked thought behind his eyes to become real.
“Don’t you know how to knock?!” Emily’s voice sliced through the tension, sharp as fangs. The slam of the door rattled the walls.
“You can stand up now, Rose. He’s gone,” she said as she returned, her scent now laced with protective fury.
“My father’s going to kill me,” I choked out, trembling. “He saw me naked!”
Emily rushed forward, her hands wrapping around my arms, her palms warm against my chilled skin. She cupped my cheeks like she was tending a wound. The heat of her touch soothed something wild inside me, calming my inner beast. Still, worry burned in her eyes, protective instinct blazing through.
“At worst, you’ll just have to marry Ethan,” she joked lightly, though her nervousness bled into the air, sharp and damp as crushed leaves.
“That’s not an option. My father would never allow it.” My voice was low, edged with a growl I barely contained. The secret in my blood, the suppressed wolf lineage that threatened everything, made marriage a death sentence, not a union. Ethan’s scent, thick with dominant Alpha energy, only stirred a dangerous hunger inside me.
“One day you’ll marry someone. If it’s Ethan, that makes us sisters. You don’t like the idea?” Her voice was gentle, tinged with a hope that felt almost lupine, like she was already weaving pack bonds in her mind.
Emily was sunlight wrapped in blonde hair and sweetness, radiating warmth like kinship. She had a way of making me feel less alone, like a packmate I could hunt beside, howl with under the moon, share secrets in the dark. I liked her, maybe more than I should. But she didn’t know the truth, marriage for me was a cage, a leash forged by my father to contain the beast in my blood. No man’s eyes, not even Ethan’s, could break those chains.
And yet… I should rip his eyes out, I thought, heat burning beneath my skin. Punish him for daring to look at me like that. Anything to kill the desire coiling inside me. But the truth gnawed at me: away from his pull, I could think clearly. Near him, I forgot how to breathe.
“You don’t understand,” I said, voice trembling like leaves in a storm. “Did you lock the door?”
“I tried. I was about to turn the key, but Ethan’s stronger than me. He just pushed through.” Guilt colored her face, her scent now tinged with regret.
“It’s fine. We’ll just talk to him, make sure he doesn’t say anything,” I muttered, clutching the lace bra like a forbidden promise.
“He won’t tell,” she reassured with a soft smile.
I returned it faintly, pulling the clothes onto my body, each piece sliding across my skin like fur settling after a shift. I brushed out my hair, the bristles tugging like gentle claws. Slipping into sandals, I tested my foot, healed, no swelling, the faint whisper of suppressed wolf blood knitting me back together faster than I should have been able to. My heart thundered like a primal drum as Emily opened the door.
And there he was. Ethan, in a perfectly cut suit that hugged the strength of his frame. His scent hit me instantly, dominant, spiced with raw desire, and my inner wolf snarled, teeth itching. His gaze locked on my chest, sharp as talons, and I felt the urge to shield myself, though I was already dressed.
No one had ever devoured me with their eyes before. Now I understood every heroine in every story who’d ever flushed under such a gaze, humiliated and aroused at once, clothed but utterly bare. His expression said everything: carnal hunger, the promise of bites, of wild claiming. My body betrayed me, heat coiling low, instincts torn between submission and defiance.
“I didn’t know you were changing,” he said evenly, not a hint of apology in his voice. It was a soft growl, the closest thing to an apology I’d ever get.
“You don’t enter a woman’s room without knocking,” I snapped, arms rigid at my sides, chin lifted. My wolf bared her teeth in challenge. “My father could kill you for that.”
Ethan chuckled low, eyes glittering with secrets. A shiver ran down my spine, cold as moonlight.
He knew something. Something I didn’t. And my instincts screamed, danger and desire, tangled as one.
- Writer
