Chapter 13 Wolf
Wolf
The hallway stretched in front of me—dark, silent, every shadow suddenly too deep.
The creak had been real.
Inside.
Close.
I moved forward with the slow, controlled precision drilled into me years ago. One step. Pause. Listen. Another step.
Behind me, Nora sat frozen in the doorway, clutching the sheet to her chest, eyes wide and terrified.
I held up a hand.
Stay.
She nodded, barely breathing.
Another sound whispered through the house.
A soft click.
Metal. Faint.
My grip tightened on the gun.
That came from the kitchen.
I edged closer, sweeping corners, checking blind spots. The house felt… wrong. Like someone had walked through it and left the air rearranged.
I rounded the corner—
A shadow darted across the floor.
I lunged, gun raised—
heart in my throat—
And then—
A cat.
A small, fluffy, gray cat.
Nora’s cat.
Sitting on the counter like it owned the entire house and had just staged a home invasion.
I closed my eyes, let out a breath so heavy it nearly turned into a laugh.
Jesus.
The cat blinked at me judgmentally.
Behind me, Nora’s voice trembled.
“Is someone there?”
I lowered the gun. “Yes.”
She gasped.
“Not a person,” I said quickly. “It’s your cat.”
She blinked. “Muffin?!”
The cat meowed like he’d been deeply offended by the accusation.
Nora sagged against the doorframe. “I forgot he was in the laundry room. I thought he was outside.”
Muffin flicked his tail.
Then knocked a spoon off the counter just to prove he was still in charge.
I rubbed a hand over my face. Trigger was never going to let me live this down.
I turned back to Nora.
She was pale. Shaking. Her breathing uneven.
Fear didn’t just vanish because the threat wasn’t real.
Her body had been preparing for survival.
I walked toward her slowly.
Carefully.
Not wanting to startle her.
“Nora,” I murmured.
She looked up. And the moment her eyes met mine, all that fear cracked something in me.
I holstered my weapon and reached for her face, cupping her cheeks gently.
“You’re okay,” I whispered. “I’ve got you.”
Her voice was a shaky whisper. “I thought he got inside.”
“So did I,” I admitted. “But he didn’t. You’re safe.”
A tear slid down her cheek—silent, quick. She wiped it, embarrassed.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “Adrenaline.”
“Don’t apologize for being scared. You handled it exactly right.”
She breathed in, shaky and soft. “Wolf?”
“Yeah?”
“Stay with me. Please.”
I brushed a thumb along her cheekbone.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Back in the Bedroom
I guided her inside, closing the door—not to shut the world out, but to give her space to feel something other than fear.
She sat on the bed, hair mussed, skin still flushed from the moment before the noise interrupted.
I sat beside her. “Heart still racing?”
She nodded. “Yes, is yours?”
I huffed a breath. “After you opened that door wearing nothing but a sheet? Yeah.”
Her cheeks pinked, but she didn’t look away.
I reached out and gently tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
Slow.
Soft.
Giving her time to pull away.
She didn’t.
“Wolf,” she whispered, breath trembling, “when you went out there, I thought—
I thought I might lose you. And I realized something.”
My pulse kicked. “What?”
She swallowed. “I don’t want distance between us anymore.”
Very slowly, she reached out and touched the center of my chest.
Right over my heart.
I covered her hand with mine.
“Nora…” My voice broke low, edged with everything I’d been holding back. “You have no idea how much I want you.”
Her breath hitched. “Then stay. Not just in the house. In my bed. With me.”
Something molten unfurled inside me.
I leaned in, brushing my forehead against hers. “Are you sure? You’ve been through a lot tonight.”
She nodded, steady this time. “I’m sure.”
I lifted her chin with two fingers, kissed her slowly—this time not rushed, not frantic, but deep and tender and aching.
The kind of kiss that meant something.
She sighed into my mouth, and I eased her back against the pillows, the sheet sliding away as she pulled me down with her.
Her hands roamed my back.
Mine explored her curves, reverent and hungry.
“Nora,” I murmured against her neck, “I promise you this. You’re safe. With me. Always.”
Her whisper came warm and breathless:
“Then take me.”
And I did.
Slow at first.
Then deeper.
Then, completely, as I pushed inside her. I thought I might explode like a teenager. The need to please her took over, and that’s what I did.
The world outside could burn—
because in that moment, nothing existed except Nora’s soft gasps, her hands gripping my shoulders, my name on her lips…
And the unshakable knowledge that I would burn down the world to protect her.