Aria

Too close

Ryan didn’t stop until my back hit the wall.

The impact knocked the breath from my lungs.

My heart was already racing but now it slammed wildly against my ribs as he stepped closer… and closer… until there was nowhere left for me to go.

Too close.

Way too close.

“Something’s different about you,” Ryan said quietly.

His voice was lower now.

Rougher.

The cold dismissal from earlier was gone.

In its place was something far more dangerous.

Focus.

My pulse stumbled.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I whispered.

But my wolf stirred restlessly, pressing forward beneath my skin like she wanted to meet him head-on.

Ryan’s eyes darkened.

“You expect me to believe that?” he murmured.

Before I could react, his hand shot out and wrapped around my wrist.

The moment his skin touched mine

The bond snapped.

Hard.

A sharp gasp tore from my throat.

Heat flooded my body so fast it made my knees weak.

Ryan froze.

His grip tightened instinctively.

“What… was that?” he breathed.

I couldn’t answer.

Because my wolf was no longer just awake.

She was reaching.

Straining toward him in a way that made my entire body tremble.

Ryan’s jaw flexed, his eyes locked onto mine like he was seeing me for the first time.

And the way he was looking at me now…

It wasn’t rejection.

It wasn’t indifference.

It was hunger.

Raw.

Confused.

Dangerous.

My breath hitched.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

He rejected me.

So why did the bond still feel like it was burning between us?

Ryan leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a rough whisper.

“Aria…”

My name on his lips sent a shiver down my spine.

And for the first time since the rejection

I wasn’t the only one struggling to breathe.