<b>Chapter </b><b>54 </b>


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    The sight of Alexander’s naked body in the moonlight made me freeze.


    His muscled frame gleamed with sweat and blood, highlighting every ridge and ne of his body. Broad shoulders. Powerful chest. Taut stomach. And lower… Goddess.


    He was huge even when he wasn’t aroused. The patch of red hair between his legs did little to conceal anything.


    The heat began instantly, spreading outward until my skin felt feverish from head to toe. I had never seen a naked man in person before, and the fact that it was Alexander, my mate, my husband, made it all the more intense.


    I swallowed hard and tried to look away, but my eyes kept dragging back to him.


    “E,” Alexander growled, moving forward.


    I finally managed to tear my gaze away, my face burning. “S–sorry,” I stammered. “I didn’t mean to—”


    “I can smell you,” he cut me off.


    My head snapped back up. “What?”


    Alexander’s nostrils red, green eyes darkening. “I can smell your arousal.”


    Mortification washed over me. Wolves could smell desire, but he shouldn’t be able to scent mine. Not without my wolf. Unless…?


    “Our contract doesn’t include <i>sex </i><i>or </i>love,” Alexander said coldly. “Don’t forget that.”


    His words felt like a bucket of cold water being dumped over my head. The heat in my belly instantly cooled, reced by shame and embarrassment. I folded my arms across my chest, wishing I could disappear.


    “I’m well aware of that,” I snapped. “I don’t want to have sex with you.”


    “Your scent says otherwise<i>.</i><i>” </i>


    I swallowed hard. I shouldn’t have had a scent. But that wasn’t the only strange thing about tonight, how the hell had I made it all the way here?


    The hospital was miles away. I had run barefoot through the forest, over rocks and sticks and rough terrain. My feet were bleeding, but I’d hardly noticed the pain. My body hadn’t reacted at all to the intense cardio and muscr strain.


    Not to mention the fact that I’d found Alexander without directions, without guidance, just… following instinct.


    Was my wolf returning?


    Desperately, I reached inward, searching for that familiar presence. “Hello? Are you there?”


    But there was nothing. No answer. My wolf was still dormant.


    Just then, the sound of crashing underbrush announced another arrival. Alexander tensed as if to fight another rogue, but it was Liam who burst into the clearing, pánting heavily.


    16:33 Fri, 22 Aug


    “E!” he eximed, rushing toward me. Then he stopped short as he noticed Alexander’s state of undress.


    Alexander scowled but made no move to cover himself. “Take her back to the hospital,” he ordered. “She shouldn’t be here.”


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    “I came because I thought you were hurt,” I said, anger recing my embarrassment now. “I was worried about you!”


    Alexander didn’t answer. Liam moved to my side and ced an arm around my waist. “Come on, E. Let’s get you back. You’re in no condition to be out here.”


    By now, my adrenaline had faded, leaving me shaky and sore. I didn’t fight it as Liam scooped me up into his arms, one under my knees while the other supported my back.


    As he carried me away, I couldn’t help but nce back over his shoulder. Alexander was still standing there, naked in the moonlight, watching us leave. The sight of him made my heart pound in my chest, and I quickly looked away before he could catch me staring again.


    By the time we reached the hospital, I was half asleep in Liam’s arms, the exhaustion finally catching up to me. The hospital was in an uproar, nurses rushing around, Dr. Evelyn barking orders.


    “Luna E!” she eximed when she spotted us. “Thank the Goddess you’re safe!”


    Liam carried me to my room and gently ced me on the bed. “I’ll leave you to it,” he said, nodding to the doctor before slipping


    out.


    Dr. Evelyn immediately began checking me over once we were alone. “What were you thinking, running off like that? You could have copsed again, or worse!”


    “Thad to find Alexander,” I said simply. “I heard he was in danger.”


    The doctor’s hands paused on my injured feet. “And did you find him?”


    I nodded, heat creeping into my cheeks at the memory of that perfect, naked body standing in front of me. “Yes.”


    “On instinct?”


    “… I think so.”


    “Interesting,” Dr Evelyn said, pulling over the monitors <b>as </b>she reconnected me to them. “Hm… Your vitals look better than before, which is surprising after all that. It’s almost as if…”


    She trailed off, looking at me intently.


    “As if what?” My heart pounded excitedly.


    “As if your wolf is trying to surface”


    <b>I </b>sat bolt upright. “Is that possible? Could my woll really being back on her own?”


    “I’m not sure,” Dr. Evelyn said, gently pushing me back down onto the bed. “But perhaps strong feelings made your wolf’s energy surge. Can you exin what happened when you ran off? Did any particr emotions or events trigger anything? A feeling, a scent, anything that might indicate your woll returning?”


    I furrowed my brow. “Well, I was afraid that my mate was in danger, and I didn’t feel pain…”


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    16:33 Fri, 22 Aug


    “Anything else?” She tilted her head.


    My cheeks flushed as I recalled the one other thing that may have indicated my wolf returning the scent of my arousal.


    “Nothing happened,” I blurted out quickly Too quickly.


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    Dr. Evelyn’s eyebrows shot up, wrinkling her forehead. “Are you sure? Because if we could identify the trigger, we might be able to recreate it. It could be the key to bringing your wolf back permanently.


    I thought about Alexander standing naked in the moonlight, his muscles gleaming, his impressive manhood on prominent disy. I thought about the heat that had surged through me, the way my heart had raced, the tingling sensation between my legs. During those moments, all I had wanted was to finish what we had started in the alley.


    But I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud. Not to Dr. Evelyn. Not to anyone. There was no way in hell I was recreating that moment. Alexander certainly wouldn’t allow it, and I had little intention as well.


    “Nothing specific happened.” I lied. “I was just worried about Alexander. That’s all.”


    Disappointment shadowed the doctor’s face. “I see. Well, we’ll continue monitoring your condition.” She sighed. “Get some rest. And no more running off!”


    “I won’t.” I muttered. My feet hurt too much anyway. And to think I had done all that just for Alexander to treat me like a nymphomaniac, curtly telling me that our contract didn’t involve sex, as if he hadn’t almost fucked me behind The Howling Moon a week ago.


    But that was all in the past, and now I knew for certain: that night was a mistake for both of us. There would be no finishing what


    we’d started.


    Despite everything, Alexander still couldn’t stand me. Whatever had happened between us was pure biology, including what had happened tonight. There were no true feelings behind any of it. It was just a cruel joke from fate.


    After the doctor left, I leaned back against the pillows, exhaustion taking over me. But even as tired as I was, my mind kept circling back to one image: Alexander’s naked body in the moonlight. The breadth of his shoulders. The narrowness of his waist. The strength in his thighs. The size of his cock.


    I squeezed my eyes shut, but that only made the image more vivid.


    I’d never wanted anyone the way I wanted Alexander at that moment. Never felt such a primal, visceral need. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how many times I told myself that there was nothing between us except for hatred and frustration, the images wouldn’t go away.


    As sleep finally pulled me under, I drifted into dreams filled with moonlight and bare skin, with green eyes and red hair, with strong hands and soft lips.


    Dre.


    AD


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