Lila’s POV
"Jasper," I said, grabbing his wrist to stop him from talking. "Don’t shut out."
He looked down at , his golden eyes holding their usual protectiveness, along with a hint of surprise.
"I know you can uncover the truth," I said, my voice steady, though my knuckles were white from clenching my fists. "But I don’t want to just sit at ho and wait for you to spoon-feed the facts. That’s the life Arthur gave —coddled, controlled, and kept in the dark. Fifteen years of it was enough."
I looked him straight in the eye. "What happened to my parents is my business. You can help , but you can’t handle everything for . At the very least, let see the files so I know what to ask when I talk to Lilith. I don’t need you to shield from every storm. I just need you to stand by my side."
He was silent for a few seconds, then let out a low chuckle. It wasn’t a dismissive sound, but a genuine laugh, as if he were truly moved. His thumb brushed across my lower lip, his voice as deep as the night. "Alright. You’re right, my little she-wolf. Starting tomorrow, all clues will be shared with you. You absolutely have the right to be involved in every step."
The mont the words left his lips, an explosive pain erupted in my head.
It felt like soone was driving an ice pick through my temples, then pouring in molten lead. My vision went black. I curled into a ball as a cold sweat instantly drenched my back. But the next second, a chill seeped out from the marrow of my bones. My teeth chattered, and my limbs went stiff as iron. A mont later, my skin was burning hot, as if lava were surging through my veins. A needle-like agony pierced the seams of my bones. My ears rang, and even the rustling of leaves outside the window felt like a knife scraping against my nerves.
"Lila!" he yelled, scooping into his arms and striding toward the bedroom.
He laid on the bed and imdiately brought an ice pack for my forehead. But the mont the cold touched my skin, it was swallowed by the scorching heat radiating from within . He then pulled the thickest down comforter over , pressing his own body close and using his chest to still my trembling back. But my body temperature was like a broken switch, flipping between freezing cold and searing heat, impossible to stabilize. The pain made bite my lip until I tasted blood, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face.
"It’s not working... My whole body feels like it’s being torn apart..." I stamred, my voice trembling.
His expression darkened. He suddenly leaned down and crushed his lips to mine.
The kiss was forceful, undeniable, prying my teeth apart and plunging inside. His tongue swept across the roof of my mouth, as if soothing a frightened young animal. At the sa ti, his hand slipped under my shirt, his scorching palm pressing against my ice-cold back.
Miraculously, the tearing pain subsided for a mont.
He didn’t stop. His kisses trailed from the corner of my mouth to my jaw, then to the side of my neck. His lips were scalding, each suckle feeling as if it were drawing the icy poison from my body. His hand traveled downward, tracing the small of my back before coming to rest on my lower abdon, which was spasming from the fluctuating temperatures.
"It’s the backlash from your interrupted awakening, Lila," he whispered in my ear, his breath hot. "Relax. Let my power in."
He undid my buttons, and the fabric slid away. In the morning light, my skin had an unnatural pallor and was covered in fine goosebumps. He gazed at , his eyes as deep as the sea, then bent down, using his lips instead of his hands to warm my cold skin, inch by inch.
His lips landed in the hollow of my collarbone, nibbling gently and leaving a faint red mark. His tongue traced a line between my ribs, sending a shiver through . When his warm lips pressed against my lower abdon, a current of warmth seeped in, flowing through my entire body like a thawing spring stream. I trembled, not from the cold, but because that warmth was coursing through my veins, soothing every agitated nerve.
He looked up at , his eyes questioning. I nodded, tangling my fingers in his hair.
He no longer hesitated, covering with his body, enveloping completely. His body heat was like a dam, holding back all the chaotic energy. I could feel the rise and fall of his chest, his heartbeat steady and strong, thudding against my own heart. Even more miraculously, it felt as though an invisible channel had ford between us. His steadiness, his power, his imnse life force—it all poured into , filling the void created by my nascent bloodline’s awakening.
He moved slowly, as if gauging my every reaction. Each press of his body brought a deeper sense of peace. The turmoil inside gradually subsided. The panicked young wolf within, startled by its first awakening, finally lay down, enveloped in his scent, and let out a contented whimper.
His palm slid down my back, the pads of his fingers tracing each vertebra before settling in the small of my back. He nudged his leg between my knees, pressing my body closer to his. There was no urgent possessiveness, only a long, profound rging. Every one of his breaths carried a soothing rhythm that gradually synchronized with my heartbeat. I could feel that violent energy, which had caused such agony, now being gently guided and tad by him. It transford into a strange sense of fullness that suffused my entire being.
Even more incredibly, my skin began to emit a faint silvery glow, like shimring moonlight. Where his fingertips traced, they left a faint trail of light. Our body temperatures synchronized completely, our heartbeats resonated, as if two separate souls were briefly rging into one. I could vaguely perceive fragnts of his mories—the Stone Prison in the Forbidden Forest, silvery moonlight, the gentle hand of a woman—but the images flashed by, quickly subrged by a deeper wave of sensation.
When the climax ca, it wasn’t an explosion, but a lting. All the pain, all the cold, all the fear dissolved into a warm nothingness in his arms. I heard myself let out a soft moan, like the whimper of a young wolf returning to its den.
After a long while, everything fell quiet. He didn’t pull away imdiately. Instead, he propped himself up and gently wiped the sweat from my temples with the pad of his thumb. His gaze was impossibly tender as he asked in a low voice, "Does it still hurt?"
I shook my head, exhausted but at peace.
He pulled into his arms, wrapped the blanket tightly around , and rested his chin on the top of my head. "Sleep now, little she-wolf. I’m here."
...
The morning sun filtered through the sheer curtains, casting dappled patterns of light on the floor.
I opened my eyes to the lingering warmth beside . Jasper was lying on his side, facing , his breathing even. The morning light outlined his sharp jawline, his eyelashes casting a small shadow beneath his eyes. Stripped of the Wolf King’s ferocity, he looked almost vulnerable in that mont.
I couldn’t resist reaching out. My fingertips gently traced the line of his brow, the bridge of his nose, and finally ca to rest on his cool lips.
The worry in his eyes last night, the care in his touch, and his words, ’my little she-wolf,’ echoed over and over in my mind.
My heart felt like it had been nudged by sothing soft. I leaned in and pressed a kiss as light as a feather onto his lips.
Then, I whispered, barely a breath of sound, "Jasper... I think... I’m starting to like you."
The mont the words were out, my face flushed, and I wanted to shrink back under the covers and pretend to be asleep.
But just then—
His eyes snapped open!
There was no grogginess in those golden irises, only shock and... an incredulous, wild joy. He stared straight at , as if he could see right through .
"Lila..." he began, his voice raspy. "I was just... having a dream."
My heart skipped a beat. I quickly sat up, pretending to fix my hair. "Oh? A nightmare?"
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