Adrian’s POV

I shouldn’t have come back.

I knew it the moment my car rolled onto Sienna’s street. But the pull—the craving, the need—was stronger than the rational voice in my head. My wolf growled a warning I’d been ignoring for days. Restraint had limits.

Tonight, I could feel mine cracking.

She opened the door before my knuckles even touched the wood. Casual. Unbothered. Completely unaware of how dangerous she was to me.

“You again,” she said, smiling softly—as if she hadn’t just turned my whole world upside down by existing.

“I… needed to check on you,” I said. A lie. A half-truth. I needed her, not peace of mind.

She studied me, eyes searching. “You’ve been avoiding me all day,” she murmured. “I can feel it.”

My pulse tightened. Every instinct told me to step back—to protect her from me, to protect myself from what I wanted—but I didn’t move.

“I’ve been busy,” I forced out, sculpting control into every syllable.

Her head tilted, sharp and perceptive. “Busy… or trying not to think about me?”

The words hit harder than they should have. My wolf uncoiled at the sound of her voice—restless, hungry, claiming.

“I’m focused,” I said. Technically true. I was focused on not losing control, not crossing the line, not dragging her into something she didn’t understand.

Her lips curved. “Some things aren’t meant to be controlled.”

That was the spark. The push my wolf had been waiting for. Ethan wasn’t home, and without him there, every boundary felt weaker. Thinner. Easier to step over.

She stepped closer—soft, innocent, unaware of the chaos she stirred in me.

“Adrian…” Her voice dipped lower, intimate. “You don’t have to hide from me.”

I froze.

Not because I wanted to.

But because I wasn’t sure I could stop myself if I moved.

“I’m not hiding,” I managed, though my body betrayed every word. “I’m trying not to lose control.”

Her eyes softened, catching the truth beneath my restraint. “Maybe control isn’t what you need.”

The air thickened—slow, electric, dangerous. One wrong breath and I’d lose every bit of restraint I’d spent years building.

She walked toward the kitchen, humming softly, completely unaware of the storm she carried in her wake. Every movement—the flick of her hair, the curve of her shoulder—was a spark my wolf devoured.

“You were avoiding me,” she said again, quieter this time. “I can feel it. Don’t lie to me.”

Her voice wasn’t scolding.

It was a challenge.

A gentle dare.

“I haven’t,” I murmured, though both of us knew the truth. I hadn’t been avoiding her—I had been trying to outrun what I felt, and failing miserably.

She turned, gaze sharp, piercing through every layer of control. “You’re lying.”

My wolf surged, pushing hard against my restraint. It infuriated me how easily she could unravel me—how a simple accusation from her could heat my blood and weaken every barrier I’d built.

“You always see too much,” I said, irritation hiding the truth. Or trying to.

She moved closer, leaning back against the counter, her presence filling every inch of the space I was desperately trying to keep between us.

“Maybe I care,” she whispered—soft, honest, dangerous.

Everything in me stilled.

Not because of fear.

But because the truth in her voice was a weapon I wasn’t prepared for.

The Alpha in me wanted to pull her into my arms.

The man in me wanted to feel her warmth.

The wolf wanted to claim.

But I forced my jaw tight, my fists clenched at my sides.

“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” I said, voice low, frayed at the edges.

Her lips curved, slow and knowing. “Maybe I do.”

No.

She didn’t.

Not fully.

And yet she already had more of me than anyone ever could.

Every instinct told me to leave before I made a mistake I couldn’t take back.

So I did.

I stepped out into the night, letting the door close between us with a soft click—too soft for the way my chest burned.

But the moment her scent faded from the air, my wolf let out a low, tortured howl inside me.

Control was slipping.

And for the first time in my life…

I wasn’t sure I wanted it back.I made it to the bottom of her street before I stopped walking.

My hands were still shaking.

Not from fear.

From the memory of how close I had come to losing myself in her.

The night air did nothing to cool the heat crawling through my skin. My wolf paced violently, furious that I had walked away… and terrified that next time, I wouldn’t.

I exhaled slowly.

You should stay away, I told myself.

You won’t, my wolf answered.

And then—

A faint sound cut through the quiet.

A soft gasp.

A sharp crash.

From her apartment.

Sienna.

My heart slammed once, hard, before instinct took over. I didn’t think. I didn’t breathe. I just ran, the Alpha command rising in my chest before I could stop it.

If someone was in there—

If she was hurt—

If I’d left her in danger—

I reached her door, every nerve on fire.

Then I heard it.

Her voice.

Shaking. Whispered.

“Adrian…?”

But not from inside the apartment.

From behind me.

I turned—

And saw who she was staring at.

And everything in me went still.