Adina’s POV

I walked aimlessly into the night, gravel crunching beneath my shoes. Each step carried me farther from the house I could no longer call home, but the weight inside my chest came with me. My body ached, yet the pain there was nothing compared to the hollow that clawed at my ribs.

The road stretched ahead in silence. Every shadow whispered of what I had left behind—the bed that no longer felt mine, the vows that now tasted of ash, the man whose lips had once promised forever and now tasted of betrayal.

Tears had wrung me dry. What remained was rage, buzzing under my skin like a second heartbeat. It frightened me how steady it kept my legs when grief would have left me crumpled in the dirt.

Jackson had once been my savior. I still remembered the girl I was when he found me—alone, with nothing but my own shadow for company—and how he had offered me a steady hand. I had believed him then, believed in the warmth of his smile and the weight of his promises.

But tonight I had watched him tear me open with the cruelest words, then bury himself in another woman.

“Useless orphan”. The insult rang louder than the sound of their bodies colliding. It had dug up wounds I had buried deep and forced me to look at them all over again.

I stumbled on a rock, caught myself, and pressed a fist against my mouth. If I cried now, I might never stop.

Up ahead, the glow of lanterns shimmered. Laughter and music spilled into the night air—the local pub. I had never stepped foot inside. I had always feared losing control, always clung to restraint as if it were my last defense. But control was gone already, shattered in the guest house along with my heart.

The pub was crowded, heat and noise washing over me as soon as I pushed open the door. Men shouted, women laughed, the air thick with ale and sweat. A few whistles followed me as I passed, but I didn’t slow.

“Beer,” I muttered to the barmaid. She slid a glass toward me, foam spilling over the rim.

I swallowed half in one gulp. The bitterness stung, a fire racing down my throat, but I welcomed the burn.

“Another.”

By the third, the edges of the room blurred. By the fifth, the ache in my chest dulled just enough for me to breathe.

I don’t know how long I sat there, chasing numbness glass after glass. Until…

“Does Jackson know his mate is drowning herself in cheap ale?”

The voice cut through my drunken haze…deep, smooth, and sharp enough to sober me in an instant.”

I turned, and my stomach lurched, not from the alcohol but from the man standing before me.

Nathan.

I had seen him at pack gatherings, always from a distance. Always aware of the way others hushed when he entered, the way his gray eyes seemed to weigh everyone they landed on. Up close, he was devastating—tall, broad, his jaw shadowed with stubble, his scent a smoky heat that curled around me before he even moved closer.

For a moment, I forgot to breathe.

“Jackson can go to hell,” I slurred, lifting my glass. “It’s my life. My night.”

His brow lifted, amusement tugging at his lips. “Trouble in paradise?”

I laughed, the sound dry, and reached to press a hand to his chest. “Why do you care?”

He caught my hand before it lingered. “Because you don’t look like a woman who knows what she’s doing right now.”

A piece of me broke at that…anger, shame, desperation all tangled together. “ Maybe I don’t care anymore.”

I tried to stand, but the room tilted. My knees buckled, and I fell against him. His arms closed around me before I hit the ground.

Gods, he smelled good. Not like Jackson’s scent that was familiar and suffocating—but a scent darker, warmer, laced with danger. My wolf prowled beneath my skin, restless, scratching like it wanted to break free and press itself against him.

“Kiss me,” I whispered before I could stop myself.

His body went rigid. “What?”

“Kiss me.” My fingers traced his jaw, the rough stubble rasping against my skin, a thrill shooting down my spine.

His eyes darkened, a storm flickering there. He leaned in, close enough that his breath brushed my lips, but he didn’t close the distance. “Adina,” he murmured, voice low and jagged, “you don’t know what you’re asking for.”

“I know exactly what I’m asking.” My voice cracked, but I forced it steady. “I want you to make me forget him.”

His jaw tightened, restraint battling raw hunger in his expression. “You’re drunk. Tomorrow you’ll regret this. Go back to Jackson”

I let out a broken laugh. “Tomorrow? I can’t even survive tonight.” My throat closed. “Stop saying his name. I don’t want him in my body anymore. I want…” I dragged in a breath, my chest trembling. “I want you.”

His jaw clenched, muscles ticking as he stood over me, caught between restraint and hunger. He didn’t move.

I let out a broken laugh, tilting my head. “So that’s it? You’re afraid you can’t handle me.”

His expression darkened instantly, pride snapping like a whip. A low growl rolled from his chest.

With a muttered curse, he hauled me into his arms, all hesitation gone. “You’ll regret testing me, Adina,” he rasped, voice rough against my ear. “Because once I start, I don’t stop.”

******

The upstairs room was dark, the bass of music thudding faint beneath the floorboards. He set me down on the bed but didn’t touch me right away. Instead, he stood there, chest heaving, staring at me like I was the last line he shouldn’t cross.

“But this is wrong,” he muttered, almost to himself.

“Then don’t kiss me,” I whispered, though my body arched toward him anyway, betraying me.

His hands balled into fists at his sides. For a breathless beat, I thought he would leave. But then he bent, bracing one hand on the mattress, his lips hovering over mine.

The first brush was tentative, testing. My pulse roared. When I pressed closer, he groaned deep in his chest and crushed his mouth to mine, hot and consuming.

The kiss scorched through me, dragging out every shred of need I had tried to bury. His tongue tangled with mine, claiming, teasing, retreating only to return harder, hungrier. I gasped against him, my fingers already clawing at his shirt.

He tore it off, muscles flexing under the dim light, his body all hard planes and shadows. For a second, he stopped again, staring down at me, breath ragged. “Tell me to stop, Adina.”

I shook my head, dizzy. “I can’t.”

His teeth grazed my collarbone, slow, deliberate, as if branding me. My skin erupted in shivers. “Then you’re mine tonight.”

His hands gripped my thighs, spreading me wide beneath him. His mouth left a trail of fire down my neck, over my breasts, pausing to pull a peaked nipple between his lips. I gasped, arching, clutching his hair, shame and desire tangling in my chest.

My panties slid down my thighs in one rough pull. His fingers stroked me slowly, lazily, circling until my hips bucked helplessly against his hand.

“Damn, you’re drenched,” he muttered, his voice thick with lust. “Your body wants me even if your head doesn’t.”

I whimpered, trembling, my thighs quaking as he teased me with deliberate cruelty. “Nathan… please.”

His mouth curved in a wicked smirk. “Beg properly.”

“Please,” I gasped, my voice breaking. “Please, I need you.”

“Good girl.” He stripped the last barrier between us and knelt back, his cock heavy and glistening in the low light. The sight alone made me ache so sharply it hurt.

He pressed the thick head against me, sliding it over my slick folds, taunting. My breath shattered. My wolf howled inside, clawing to be claimed.

“Nathan!” I cried, thrashing under him.

With a dark groan, he drove into me in one deep, brutal stroke. My body stretched, split, filled, the sensation so sharp I screamed.

“Fuck,” he hissed, forehead pressed to mine, his voice ragged. “You feel… unreal.”

He pulled out almost to the tip and slammed back in, harder, deeper. My nails raked down his back, clinging like I might disappear if I let go.

Every thrust pounded the past out of me—the betrayal, the insult, the ache. Every kiss seared something new into me, wild and forbidden.

“You’re mine tonight,” he rasped, his hips snapping into me with ruthless rhythm.

“Yes,” I gasped, dizzy, consumed. “Yours.”

Pleasure built fast, a storm tearing through me. My thighs quivered around him, my cries muffled against his mouth as he kissed me harder, devouring me whole.

“Say my name,” he growled, angling deeper, hitting a spot that made stars burst behind my eyes.

“Nathan!” I screamed, writhing under him.

His thrusts grew savage, each one dragging me closer to the edge until my body shattered around him, climax tearing through me in a white-hot wave. My cries echoed in the small room, but he didn’t stop. He drove through my release, relentless, until his own broke free, his groan low and sinful as he spilled deep inside me.

We collapsed together, trembling, slick with sweat, breath coming ragged in unison.

For one dizzy moment, wrapped in his arms, I felt both ruined and whole.