Chapter 14
Gia
Morning came slowly.
Soft mountain light filtered through the cabin windows in pale golden streaks while the forest outside whispered with birdsong and wind through pine branches.
For one perfect, sleepy second, I smiled.
Warmth still lingered low in my body.
The scent of smoke and cedar clung faintly to the blankets.
Wreck.
My cheeks heated, instantly remembering the night before.
The way he touched me.
The way he looked at me like I was something precious and dangerous all at once.
The way his deep voice roughened every time he said my name.
Then my hand slid across the mattress beside me.
Cold.
Empty.
I blinked.
The smile faded slowly.
“Wreck?” I called softly.
Nothing answered except the creak of branches outside.
Confusion tugged through me immediately.
Not panic exactly.
Something stranger.
Because even though he wasn’t physically here, I could still feel him.
The sensation pulsed low beneath my skin like roots threading through earth.
Warm.
Constant.
Protective somehow.
My magic had never reacted to another person like this before.
Usually when I connected to something, it came through nature.
Trees.
Soil.
Living things.
But now?
It felt like some invisible tether stretched between me and a huge, grumpy Bear Shifter somewhere outside this cabin.
My chest tightened unexpectedly.
I sat up slowly, clutching the blanket against myself while my thoughts spiraled.
What the hell happened last night?
I mean, obviously, I knew what had happened.
My entire body reminded me every time I moved.
But emotionally?
Magically?
Something felt different.
Changed.
Deeper.
And maybe that should’ve scared me more than it did.
Instead, I just felt unsettled by the empty space beside me.
Which was ridiculous.
We’d known each other for what? Two days?
I shouldn’t already miss him like this.
Except, apparently, my body and magic disagreed.
I swallowed hard and glanced around the quiet cabin.
No note.
No message.
Nothing.
A tiny sting of hurt bloomed low in my chest despite my efforts to ignore it.
Maybe he regretted it.
Maybe all that intensity from last night had just been heat and adrenaline and attraction.
The thought made my stomach twist unpleasantly.
But then that strange bond-like sensation pulsed again.
Warm.
Steady.
Possessive.
And somehow I knew.
Wherever Wreck was?
He was thinking about me too.
That realization honestly only made things more confusing.
I groaned softly and flopped backward against the pillows.
“Okay,” I muttered to myself. “I officially need adult supervision.”
Which unfortunately meant texting Valerie.
I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and squinted at the screen.
Three missed texts from my sister.
Val
DID YOU SURVIVE YOUR DATE
Gia Anatoly if you got murdered by a sexy mountain man I will never forgive you
Also Jeremy asked where you were this morning
I snorted softly.
Then immediately typed back.
Me
Hypothetically what does knotting mean?
The typing bubble appeared instantly.
Disappeared.
Reappeared.
Then it was back.
Val
Excuse me WHAT????
I bit my lip.
Me
Just answer the question.
The dots appeared again almost immediately.
Val
Gia.
Why are you asking me that at 8 AM??
Heat flooded my face.
Oh Goddess.
Me
Valerie.
Another pause.
Then…
Val
Okay.
Shifter knotting is basically a biological mating response.
Rare.
Mostly Alpha-related.
Why???
I stared at the screen.
Biological mating response.
Well.
That sounded alarmingly serious.
Me
Keep talking.
The response came slower this time.
Val
From what I know?
It happens mostly in fated mate pairings.
Some Alpha/Omega dynamics too.
The knot forms during sex and… um… keeps the pair locked together temporarily in some sort of quasi-orgasmic bliss for however long.
Oh roughly six to eight hours, I thought, but thankfully, I kept my big mouth shut.
My eyes widened slightly.
Okay.
So, that definitely tracked with last night.
Wait.
Me
So, temporarily, as in during sex or after sex? Like they stay together or not?
The dots popped up instantly.
Val
During. From what I’ve read and heard, knotting is for breeding purposes, mostly.
I froze.
The words seemed to burn themselves directly into my brain.
Breeding purposes.
My stomach dropped clean to the floor.
Me
I’m sorry WHAT?
Val
It increases conception chances, apparently.
Why are you asking me this???
Gia what happened??
I stared at the phone screen in horror.
Then down at myself.
Then back at the phone.
“Oh my God.”
Breeding.
As in babies.
As in not casual, weird, magical mountain sex.
As in biologically intended reproduction.
My face burned so hot I thought I might actually combust.
I mean, I wanted babies. Always had.
But, well… oh my shit.
Wreck knew this.
Didn’t he?
Surely he knew this.
Which meant—no.
Nope.
Absolutely not thinking about that right now.
Except my stupid, traitorous body immediately remembered the sheer intensity of him last night.
The possessiveness.
The way he held me afterward like he physically couldn’t let go.
The deep, satisfied sound he made every time I touched him.
My magic stirred warmly beneath my skin at the memory. And I swore my ovaries were doing the cha-cha.
Which honestly felt wildly unhelpful.
Val
GIA. Talk to me!
I swallowed hard and typed carefully.
Me
Okay. Don’t freak out. I may have slept with the Alpha giant Bear firefighter who knotted inside me for most of the night but left before I woke up.
The typing bubble appeared so fast it almost scared me.
Val
YOU WHAT?
THE ONE YOU WENT ON YOUR FIRST DATE WITH YESTERDAY???
THE ONE WHO YOU SAID LOOKED AT YOU LIKE HE WANTED TO EAT YOU???
I buried my face in my hands.
“Okay, wow,” I muttered aloud. “When you phrase it like that—”
My phone buzzed again.
Val
Are you sure he knotted you??
I stared at the message for a long second.
Then slowly typed my response.
Me
Um…yes? It’s not like I could’ve mistook THAT, Val! But no biggie, right? Please say right.
Valerie immediately called me.
I answered on the second ring.
“Gia Anatoly,” my sister hissed dramatically, “what the fucking FUCK.”