Chapter 011 Fraying Threads
The scent hit Julian like a gut punch before he even turned the corner into the corridor.
Frustration. Bone-deep exhaustion. And underneath it all, that goddamn maddening sweetness that had his wolf clawing at the inside of his skull for the better part of a week.
Quinn.
He'd dragged himself back from patrol, muscles aching from hours of prowling the perimeter under a waxing moon that tugged at him harder with every passing night. Two days now until full—no, the midnight hour had slipped by while he was out there, so two days exactly. Sleep was the plan. Lock the door, crash hard before the pull made it impossible. But his feet had veered here instead, instincts overriding sense, dragging him back to check his territory.
To her.
Ours, the wolf snarled inside him. Check. Protect.
He clenched his jaw outside the office door. Through the wood, her heartbeat thrummed—too fast, erratic bursts of stress laced with sharp inhales. Keyboard clicks rattled in furious spurts, halting, then resuming like she was battling some invisible enemy.
Still working. Past midnight. Alone. Running herself ragged.
Stubborn human.
He should turn around. Hit his quarters, ignore the pull screaming that her health was his business. Her work ethic wasn't his problem. She wasn't pack. Wasn't his.
The wolf ripped through that logic like wet paper.
He shoved the door open.
She hunched over the laptop at his desk, pink strands escaping her ponytail in wild tufts, screen glow carving deep shadows under her eyes. Glasses abandoned beside a mug of what smelled like hours-old coffee, now stone-cold. Her face pinched tight, lips pressed thin as she hammered the keys.
She didn't glance up. Fingers flew on.
"Quinn."
Nothing. Just more typing.
"Quinn."
"Give me a minute." Hoarse, scraped raw. "I almost have this security vulnerability mapped, and if I stop now I'll lose the thread—"
"You will stop now."
Her head snapped up, gray eyes flashing fire through the fatigue dragging at her. "Excuse me?"
He stepped in, letting the door thud shut. The office shrank in the night, shadows crowding the windows like they were hungry for the space between them. Her scent flooded everything—no pack interference, no distractions. Just her, coiling around him, wolf pacing frantic circles under his skin.
"It's past midnight. You've been at it for—" Quick math: she'd been planted here when he left for evening patrol, pre-dinner. "—at least eight hours straight. No real break. You need sleep."
"I need to finish this vulnerability assessment." She pivoted back to the screen, flicking a hand like he was some pop-up ad. Any pack wolf pulling that would've caught heat. "The breaches I'm spotting? Getting smarter. Someone's probing hard, and I have to nail the target before they slip through."
"That waits till morning."
"No. It really can't."
"Quinn—"
"Julian." She hurled his name like a gauntlet, eyes locked on code. "Appreciate the worry, but I've done this years. I know my limits."
"Do you?" He closed in. She stiffened—not scared, but that live-wire spark igniting whenever he crowded her space. "Hands shaking. Heart hammering. You're on fumes—caffeine and grit—and they're crashing."
"How do you—" She cut off, sighing as memory hit. His senses. "Creepy superpower, FYI."
"Look at me, kitten."
Low. Rough. The wolf threading dominance into it, velvet over steel. The kind of order that dropped wolves to knees.
Her chin jerked up.
Straight into his eyes. No flinch. No drop. Pure, flat-out defiance that shot heat straight down his spine.
Wolf lunged. Control strained.
"You need rest." Growl edged the words. "Body demands it. I hear the exhaustion in every breath."
"Body rests when brain says go." Jaw locked. "Brain's locked on whoever's hacking your network."
"Not your call."
"Think it is. My body. My call."
"You're in my territory." Closer. Too close. Her scent spiked—sweet defiance twisting into something that had his wolf snarling to pin her, prove who held the reins. "Under my watch. Your health? My problem."
"Not your responsibility." She shoved back from the desk, rising to square off. Inches now. Her frame dwarfed by his, face tilted fierce to hold the stare. "I work for Silas. Here for the job. My terms."
"My terms keep you from collapsing into the infirmary."
"My collapse. My issue."
"It's my issue when—" He bit it off. The truth jammed in his throat.
When you haunt me. Scent in my head. Every fiber screaming you're mine—protect, guard, claim.
Couldn't voice it. Wouldn't.
"When what?" She pushed, relentless. Never backed off. No easy yield. "When it messes your day? Gotta call Silas on his downed hacker? Spill it."
"When you matter to me."
Slipped free. She froze. Heart stuttered, then raced wild.
"I... what?"
No pulling back now. Wolf crowed victory.
"Wolf's been feral since you showed. Logic screams distance. Professional. Remember why trusting your kind's suicide."
"Your kind?" Echoed soft, edged.
"Female. Stunning. Sharp as hell." Last like a curse. "Last sharp female? Nearly gutted my pack."
"Your stepmother. Morgana."
Irene's doing, spilling that. But Quinn needed the raw data on his walls if she was slamming into them.
"Smart," flat tone. "Charming. Poison. Wrapped my father tight, betrayed him endless. Tried me next." Almost won, too. "Sowed rot everywhere. Bitterness. Betrayal."
"I'm not her."
"Know that. Head knows." Ripped it out. "Wolf ignores facts. Twenty years caution doesn't."
Stared across the gap, air thick, charged. Her fatigue vanished, swapped for that laser focus—mind whirring, sorting his dump, conclusions forming.
"Conflicted," she said at last. "Instincts pull one way, scars yank back. I'm the glitch in the middle."
"Yes."
"Frustrating as hell."
"No clue."
Lips quirked. Not smile, but damn close. "Might. Brain flags you red—client. Werewolf boss with baggage. Pack side-eyes the outsider. Smart move: job done, ghost out clean."
Chest vise-gripped. "Rest of you?"
"Rest?" Eyes dipped to his mouth. Obvious. Wolf triumphed. "Rest doesn't give a damn about smart when you're this close."
Fuck.
Control shredded.
One stride bridged it. Hands spanned her waist, hoisting her onto the desk edge. Gasped surprise ripped from her.
"Julian—"
"Tell me stop, kitten." Barely his voice—raw need, moon-pull gravel. Inches apart, breaths tangling. "Say mistake. Say no—"
"Shut up."
Fists knotted his shirt, yanked. Mouth crashed his.
Desperate. Teeth nipping, groans spilling, week's denial exploding. Coffee-bitter, steel resolve on her tongue, lips plush under bite. Fingers twisted his hair, hauling tighter.
Growl rumbled deep, vibrating them. Hands gripped waist, bones fragile under shirt fabric. Primal roar at the feel. Small. Savage. His.
Deepened it, angling her head, claiming every inch. Whimper-demand escaped her, legs hooking his hips, pulling flush. Short skirt hiked, heat searing through silk panties.
Claim. Mark. Now.
Wrenched free. Chest heaved, air ragged. She blinked up, eyes glazed, lips bruised, hair chaos, cheeks blaze—wrecked perfection.
"Why stop?" Croak.
"If not now, never." Hand raked hair, wrestling wolf down. "Won't use you. Exhausted. Me half-wild from moon."
"Maybe want using."
Goddess.
"Kitten." Warning rasp. "Thread thin. Don't push."
"Not pushing. Telling." Never. Felt. Alive. You. Leaned, flashed thigh slickness. "Want you. You want. Adults. Why overthink?"
"Already overthought." Step back. Another. Distance or shatter. "Temporary gig. Pack leads. No casual from me. Won't drag you—"
"Who says casual?"
Froze.
Vulnerable shift. Fire banked, raw underneath.
"Never fit," quiet. "Fosters. Schools. Jobs. Connections? Temporary. People bail. Safe play: need no one." Breath. "You? Different. Fitting possible. Needing? Not endgame."
Mate. Wolf whispered. Feels. Bond. Ours.
"Quinn..." Words failed the weight. Two a.m., lips swollen, pulses thunder—what they bared.
"No answers." Slid down, legs wobble. "Don't decide solo. Complicated? Team it. Don't shove 'cause scared."
"Not scared."
"Liar."
Lips twitched despite. "Frustrating woman."
"Heard." Closer, head tilt. "Problem?"
Yes. Challenge eternal. Crave it.
"Slow," deliberate. "Talk tomorrow. Clear heads."
"Deflecting."
"Responsible."
"Same." No press. Got it. "Fine. Tomorrow. Julian?"
"Yeah?"
Tiptoes. Kiss corner mouth—devastating. "Won't forget. Said I matter. Can't unsay."
Laptop, glasses scooped. Past him, out.
Left him mid-room, heart slamming, wolf sated quiet, her taste lingering.
Door paused.
"Record? Matter to me too. More than smart."
Gone.
Danger. Caution barked. Close. Morgana. Trust burns.
Wolf silent, content. Found.
Window. Moon bloated, near full over lands. Palm to chill glass.
Decision locked. No deny pull. No lunar excuse. Real. Profound. Terrifying.
Protect. Care. Prove not all leave. Bonds worth gamble.
Convince stay.