Chapter 14
POV: Amara
I looked down.
“I didn’t want to bother you.”
His grip on me tightened instantly.
“You are not a bother.”
The words came sharp enough to make me look back up.
Riven stared at me like he needed me to understand that.
Fully.
“You should’ve come to me earlier.”
Emotion caught unexpectedly in my throat.
No one had ever said things like that to me before.
Not with this intensity.
Not like they meant it.
“You made it pretty clear you regretted touching me,” I admitted quietly.
Pain crossed his expression immediately.
Real pain.
“I never regretted touching you.”
The confession dropped heavily between us.
My heartbeat stumbled.
His eyes closed briefly before he continued, voice rougher now.
“I regretted losing control.”
There it was again.
That invisible wall.
That thing inside him constantly dragging him backward every time he got too close to me.
But this morning he didn’t move away from me.
Didn’t release me.
Instead, his forehead rested briefly against mine.
“If you’re hurting again…” he said quietly, “you come to me.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“But—”
“You come to me.”
His voice deepened slightly, carrying that alpha edge that made warmth unfurl low in my stomach.
“You don’t sit alone in pain because you’re too stubborn to ask for help.”
I tried not to smile.
Failed miserably.
“You’re calling me stubborn?”
“I’m calling you impossible.”
I laughed softly under my breath, and for the first time in days, it didn’t feel forced.
Riven watched me laugh like it did something terrible to him internally.
His fingers slid into my hair for one dangerous second before he seemed to catch himself.
His body tensed.
Walls trying to rebuild.
I felt it instantly.
So I kissed him before he could pull away.
Soft.
Slow.
His breath caught against my mouth.
And then he kissed me back like he was starving for it.
One of his hands spread across my waist, dragging me tighter against him while his mouth moved over mine deep and warm and addictive.
I melted into him immediately.
There was no fighting this.
Not anymore.
When he finally pulled back, his forehead rested against mine again.
His breathing uneven.
Mine worse.
“You’re dangerous,” he muttered.
I smiled sleepily.
“You kissed me back.”
“That’s exactly the problem.”
But he was still holding me when he said it.
Still touching me like he couldn’t stop.
After another long moment, he exhaled and brushed his thumb beneath my jaw.
“Get dressed.”
I groaned softly.
“I’m serious.”
“You’re very bossy in the morning.”
“I’m always bossy.”
That actually made me laugh again.
God, this felt dangerous.
Dangerous and warm and heartbreakingly normal.
Riven looked at me for another second like he was memorizing something before his expression carefully shifted back toward control.
Not cold.
But controlled.
“I know you didn’t eat last night,” he said. “Go downstairs before Lyra decides I’m starving you.”
I rolled my eyes slightly and finally pushed myself upright, clutching the blankets to my chest.
His eyes flickered downward instinctively.
Heat flashed across his face immediately after.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
I bit back a smile.
“You’re blushing.”
“I am not.”
“You absolutely are.”
“Amara.”
That warning tone only made me grin wider.
For half a second, he almost smiled too.
Almost.
Then he stood from the bed, running one hand through his dark hair while I completely failed not to stare at the broad line of his shoulders.
My wolf practically purred.
Maybe mine did too.
And for the first time since arriving at Oak Pack, my heat wasn’t clawing through me.
It was quiet.
Satisfied.
Like somehow being held by him had soothed something much deeper than pain.
Later, after breakfast filled with suspicious looks from Lyra and far too much amusement from Joseph, I forced myself back into the labs before I embarrassed myself further.
Work helped.
Work always helped.
The filtration systems needed recalibration after yesterday’s pressure adjustments, and Michael nearly lost his mind when I showed him a minor stabilization refinement that could increase silver purity another three percent during high-volume extraction.
“You’re terrifying,” he said, staring at the numbers.
I grinned slightly. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me all week.”
Michael laughed while shaking his head.
But even while working, my mind kept drifting.
Back to his room.
Back to his hands.
Back to the way he’d said you come to me like it was a command he physically needed me to obey.
And maybe the worst part?
A reckless little piece of me liked that.
I froze in the middle of tightening the last strap around a filtration valve when one of the guards appeared at the lab entrance.
“Alpha wants to see you.”
My heartbeat stumbled instantly.
Not from fear.
From memory.
From the feeling of waking up wrapped in him.
From the way his fingers had lazily traced circles over my bare arm while morning light spilled across his sheets.
Good morning, Amara.
The softness in his voice still lived under my skin.
I tried not to smile like an idiot while removing my gloves.
“Did he say what for?”
The guard shook his head once.
I told myself not to read into it.
Maybe he wanted to discuss the new stabilization sequence. Maybe he wanted another update about the filtration systems. Maybe—
Maybe he wanted me.
The thought alone sent warmth curling through my stomach.
And the worst part?
My heat stayed quiet for the first time in days.
Not gone.
Just calm.
Satisfied.
Like my wolf had finally found the one thing she’d been screaming for.
I cleaned my hands quickly and left the lab before Michael could ask questions.
The walk through House Oak felt different today.
Lighter.
Warmer.
Like somehow the halls themselves knew what had changed between us.
I kept replaying pieces of last night against my will.
His mouth on my skin.
The way he held me afterward instead of pushing me away.
The way he’d looked at me this morning.
Not cold.
Not distant.
Not restrained.
Just… tired and honest and devastatingly gentle.
When I reached his office door, my pulse kicked harder.
I knocked once.
“Come in.”
The second I stepped inside, something felt wrong.
Riven stood near the windows with his back half turned toward me, shoulders tense beneath a black shirt rolled to his forearms. Papers were scattered across his desk like he’d stopped working halfway through.
He looked wrecked.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like he hadn’t slept at all after I left him.
My smile faded slowly.
“Everything okay?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
That alone made anxiety creep into my chest.
Riven finally turned toward me.
And God.
The expression on his face nearly stole the air from my lungs.
Pain.
Pure pain.
His jaw flexed once.
Twice.
Like he was grinding down words sharp enough to cut us both open.
“You should leave.”
For a second, I genuinely thought I’d heard him wrong.
“What?”
“You should leave this pack.”