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Her moan when I finally taste her core is a sound I never want to forget, because no one moans as softly as Lila Winter.

I take my time eating her out.

Until her thighs tremble against my face.

Until her fingers claw into the sheets and she’s gasping my name like it’s a benediction.

When she comes in my mouth for the second time in a row, only then do I rise and kiss her mouth again, giving her everything.

And when I enter her, slow and deep, it feels like the world holds its breath.

Her legs wrap around my waist. Her lips part. And when I start to move, our bond sizzles.

Every thrust is a promise that I’ll be here for her and Lina. That I’ll never disappoint her the way life has.

Every kiss is a vow that she is mine.

I don’t hold back.

I can’t.

I tell her she’s beautiful. That she’s mine. That no man will ever touch her like this again.

And she gives it back to me.

Her hands cradle my face. Her lips whisper my name and my cock throbs inside her in delight.

When she breaks, shattering in my arms, I follow right after, groaning into the crook of her neck like the man who never thought I would have a woman like her.

When it’s over, we lie there, tangled in each other, the sheets damp with sweat, our breath uneven.

Her head is on my chest.

My fingers play in her soft and silky hair.

She speaks first, her voice so soft I almost miss hearing her.

“I used to live in this city as a child, you know…before I lost my memory.”

I still.

Everything inside me stills.

She continues, unaware of how fast my brain is firing and connecting the dots.

“I remember…flashes. A tree. A hospital. A man’s voice calling me ‘moonflower’. And then…pain. So much pain. It’s fuzzy. But I think…I think I was sick. I remember someone saying I had Moonborne Syndrome, and the other day, the healer told me that Lina might have it too if her marker weren’t dormant.”

My blood runs cold.

I stare at the ceiling, heart pounding.

Could it be?

Is she…?

My mind spins. My wolf stirs.

Something deep hums in my bones.