Elena’s POV
The scent of him still lingered on my skin, like smoke and pine and something darker—an addiction I hadn’t known I was capable of having. Even now, as I lay in the grand bed with sheets tangled around my legs, my lips were still swollen from his kiss. Erratic. Desperate. Like a storm finally allowed to wreak havoc.
Lucien hadn’t stayed.
He’d left after one last searing kiss and a possessive look that made my chest tighten in confusion and longing. I didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Maybe both. My body still trembled, not from fear—but from the burning ache his absence left behind.
The mating bond had awakened something in me.
And I wasn’t sure I could ever put it back to sleep.
I sat up slowly, brushing my fingers along the collarbone he’d kissed. Moonl
