bChapter /bb57 /b

bSkye’s /bPOV

Sleep eluded me as Iy in my tent, staring at the canvas ceiling illuminated by moonlight. The cool desert night air seeped through the tant fadds ration goosebumps on my exposed arms.

Just as I was finally drifting toward sleep, a barely perceptible sound snapped me back to alertness–the whisper of a zipper being carefully drawn open at

the entrance to my tent.

bMy /bbody tensed instinctively, hand reaching for Tink, the silver dagger I kept beneath my pillow. Then a familiar ocean scent reached me, and I rxed fractionally.

Adrian’s silhouette appeared in the tent opening, his broad shoulders momentarily blocking the moonlight before he slipped inside with surprising grace for someone his size. He sealed the entrance behind him with the same careful silence with which he’d opened it.

“What are you doing?” I hissed, sitting up abruptly and clutching my nket to my chest despite being fully clothed, “Are you crazy? What if someone bser /byou?”

In the dim light, his amber eyes gleamed with an intensity that sent a flutter through my stomach. He moved closer, kneeling beside my sleeping bag with

careful deliberation.

“I couldn’t stay away,” he admitted, “I kept thinking about you, about bus/b.”

I nced nervously at the thin fabric walls of my tent, painfully aware of how Adrian. If anyone discovers you here-”

bund /bmight bcarry /bto the other tents clustered nearby. b“/bThis is reckless,

“Did you talk to Ryder?” he interrupted, seemingly unconcerned with my protests about proprietyb. /b“Did you exin things to himb?/bb” /b

“I tried. He didn’t want to hear it. He’s convinced what he feels is real andsting.” I shook my head. “bMaybe /bit’s youth, or stubborn pride, but he won’t ept that I only see him as a friend.”

b“/bAnd Nadia?”

My gaze dropped to my hands. “I haven’t spoken to her. Not yet. The look on her bface /bwhen bwe /breturned bto /bbcamp/b… bI /bbjust /bcouldn’t bfind /bthe right words.”

Adrian was silent for a moment, his expression thoughtful as he studied bmy /bbface/b. “And what about us, bSkye/bb? /bWhat bare /bbwe /bbto /beach other?”

I chose my words carefully, knowing they could affect not just us but the entire pack dynamic.

‘Adrian, I care about you. What happened between us tonight… it wasn’t nothing.” bI /bswallowed hard, forcing bmyself /bbto /bmeet his gazeb. /bb“/bbBut /bI don’t think bnow /bis the right time for us to pursue whatever this bis/bb./bb” /b

His brow furrowed slightly. “Why not?”

“The pack needs stability. There’s tension with Gravestone Pack, and Kane’s interest in our territory bis /bclearly growing.‘ I bgestured /bvaguely toward the camp beyond my tent. “If we create internal division–with Nadia, with Ryder–how can we present a united front against external threatsb?/bb” /b

Adrian considered this, his Alpha mind weighing the strategic implications against his personal desires. Finally, he nodded slowly. “I understand. And bI /bbcan /bwait. His hand found mine in the darkness, his calloused palm warm against my skin. “I’ll wait until you feel bthe /bbtime /bis right.”

I smiled gratefully, though something twisted painfully in my chest bas /ban unspoken thought crossed my mind: Unless your true mate appears in bthe /bmeantime.

He seemed to sense my unspoken reservation. “Just promise me one thing,” he said, his thumb tracing gentle bcircles /bbon /bbthe /bback bof /bbmy /bbhand/b. “bDon’t /bavoid me anymore. Don’t pull away from me like you have been.”

The tension in his voice, bthe /bsubtle vulnerability beneath his Alpha confidence, touched something deep within bme/bb. /bbI /bbsqueezed /bhis hand reassuringly. “I promise.”fn6b82 Chapters first released on FindN()vel/fn6b82

Suddenly, footsteps crunched on bthe /bbgravel /boutside, passing close by my tent. bWe /bboth froze, barely breathingb, /buntil the bsounds /bfaded into the bdistance- /b

bChapter /bb57 /b

blikely /bba /bwarrior making ba /bte–night trip to the designated bathroom area.

bOnce /bsilence had returned, I reluctantly pulled my hand away from his. “You need to gob,/bb” /bI whispered. If someone sees the Alpha emerging from my bot bdawn/bb, /bwe’ll never hear the end of it.”

Instead of moving toward the exit, Adrian stretched out beside me on the sleeping bag, hisrger frame barely fitting in the confined spare. Let me may i little longerb, /bhe murmured, his arm slipping around my waist. “Just until you fall asleep. I go back to my tent before anyone wakes?

I should have protested. It was risky, inappropriate given our positions within the pack, andpletely contrary to the boundaries we’d just agreed in maintain. Yet I found myself rxing against him, my head finding afortable ce against his chest.

*Just until I fall asleep,” I conceded quietly.

His arms encircled me, strong and secure, creating a cocoon of warmth against the desert chill. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my eat bwas /bhypnotic, soothing in a way I hadn’t experienced in over three years.

Since fleeing Frostshadow Pack, I’d grown ustomed to solitude–to falling asleep alone in motel rooms, in my car, or in rented apartments where ezery creak and distant noise kept me vignt even in sleep.

My body melted against his, tension draining away as his fingers traced gentle patterns on my back.This wasn’t like our passionate moment on the cliff. This bwas /bsimplefort, something I hadn’t allowed myself to bexperience /bin years.

As sleep began to im me, I had a final coherent thought: whateverplications the morning might bring, for now, this moment of peace was worth the risk.

The return journey to Oasisborn Pack the following day bwas /bmarkedly subduedpared to our outbound trip. The exuberant chatter band /bmusic that had filled the caravan of vehicles was reced by contemtive silenceb, /beach of us lost in private thoughts.

In the back seat of Adrian’s SUV, bI /bgazed out the window at the passing desertndscape, deliberately avoiding bboth /bhis basional /bnces in the rearview mirror and Ryder’s attempts to catch my eye from the seat beside meb. /b

Nadia maintained a professional demeanor in the passenger seat, focusing exclusively on pack business and security protocolsb–/bbspeaking /bbonly /bwhen necessary and always with formal address.

The tension in the vehicle was thick enough that I nearly sighed with brelief /bwhen the familiar outline bof /bbOasisborn’s /bbuildings finally appeared on bthe /b

horizon.

As our caravan approached the mainpound, I noticed a familiar figure standing at the entrance to our territory, her vibrant auburn hair unmistakable even at a distanceb. /b

Lydia rarely left herboratory, and certainly never stationed herself at the border to await returning pack membersb, /bunless something urgent brequired /battention.

Adrian clearly noticed it too, his posture immediately stiffening bas /bhe belerated /bslightly. When we pulled up alongside her, the bgrim /bset of her mouth was visible even behind her customary half–mask.

“Alpha Adrian, Beta Nadia,” she greeted them formally, her eyes briefly acknowledging me as bwell/b. “You all need toe with me immediately. bThere’s /ba situation that requires your attention.”