?Chapter 845:


    My pupils contracted as my mind went nk, the world freezing around me. Thankfully, Jett’s instincts proved sharper than mine. He seized my wrist and yanked me into the shadows of a nearby corner. In that heartbeat, scorching heat spread like wildfire from my wrist up my arm, setting my pulse racing with raw panic.


    Anxiety wed at my throat. The dangerous aphrodisiac still coursed through our veins, a ticking time bomb. If it took full effect now, we’d be lost to its influence—utterly doomed.


    Jett pressed his calloused hand firmly against my trembling shoulder, his lips brushing my ear as he whispered with fierce urgency, “Don’t move!”


    Beads of sweat carved glistening paths down his furrowed brow, betraying the strain of his self-control.


    The soldiers’ footsteps drew nearer, each heavy boot striking the ground like a hammer blow to my racing heart. The rhythmic sound of impending discovery echoed through the narrow passageway.


    My fingers instinctively found the familiar hilt of the dagger at my waist, the cool metal offering smallfort as I prepared to fight our way out if discovered.


    But just then, salvation arrived in the form of a familiar voice cutting through the tension.


    “There’s something unusual over there. Come with me to check it out!”


    Makenna’s POV:


    That voice sliced through the silence, causing my eyes to widen with recognition.


    Could it be Alden, the young man I’d encountered earlier today?


    I turned my head slightly, and there he was—d in midnight ck, moving with the fluid grace of a shadow dancing through moonlight. He expertly guided the patrolling soldiers in another direction, their heavy footsteps gradually dissolving into the night’s embrace.


    Just as relief began to wash over me, that unbearable heat surged through my veins with renewed intensity, threatening to consume everyst shred of my self-control.


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    Jett lowered his gaze to meet mine, his typically serene eyes now dark pools of barely restrained desire. His cheeks flushed crimson, his usualposed demeanor reced by something wild and primal. I jerked away from his touch as though scorched by mes, unable to meet the intensity burning in his eyes.


    “I’m… I’m sorry…” Jett’s voice emerged as a ragged whisper, each word seemingly torn from his throat. He battled visibly against his impulses, hands clenched into white-knuckled fists, veins mapping rivers of restraint across his skin.


    Forcing steadiness into my voice, I redirected our focus. “Jett, we need to scout the area first. Time isn’t a luxury we can afford to waste.” He remained silent, offering only a curt nod and onest smoldering nce before striding ahead, leading the way.


    A sigh of relief escaped my lips, but the desire still raged within me like wildfire, leaving my legs trembling beneath me.


    By biting down hard on my lower lip, I managed to use the sharp sting of pain to anchor myself to reality.


    The night wind howled its mournful song, cold enough to strip warmth from one’s very soul, yet we dared not lower our guard. We spent the entire night slipping through shadows, meticulously observing every detail of the mayor’s residence.


    Finally, we pieced together the patrol patterns and routes, creating a mental map of our obstacles.


    Huddling my shoulders against the biting cold, I exhaled a cloud of crystallized breath and whispered, “This ce is a fortress. Sneaking in borders on the impossible.”


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