Page 40 of Gold Sector

I’m blind.

Everything is dark.

No light.

No, too bright.

I wince, my hand covering my eyes as the world shifts all around me.

Blackness overtakes me once more, followed by a burning deep inside. Somewhere, someone is growling. Snapping. Arguing.

I… I don’t know what to do. How to see. Where to go.Who I am. All I feel isfire. Intensity.Heat.

Gods…

It hurts. Oh, it’s scorching me from the inside out. I think I’m crying. Screaming, maybe. Everything is wet. Scalding.Fiery.

But beneath it all, I sense a vibration that hypnotizes my wolf. She’s been pacing inside me, mewling, screaming for a way out, but that hypnotic reverberation lulls her under a calming spell. I trace that rumble, needing more. It’s so soothing. So tranquil. Soright.

I nuzzle into it, my cheeks soaked with tears.

I’m still naked.

But hot.So, so hot.

“I’ve got you, Taliana,” a familiar voice says, each word underscored with that intense purr. “Just try to relax forme, printesa mea. Can you do that, sweet girl? Take deep breaths. That’s it. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.”

I must be following his commands because I can feel the pressure alleviating in my chest.

“Good girl,” he praises. “Keep breathing with me, little diamond. Yes, like that, baby. Exactly like that.”

Dizziness overwhelms me, his words doing something to me deep within.

Maybe it’s his nearness. His tone. Hisscent. I don’t know, but all I want to do is nuzzle into him.

Except… except I shouldn’t trust him.Why, though?I wonder.Why can’t I trust him?

My head spins as I try to recall the reason, my mind foggy from whatever just happened.

Why am I so tired?

“I’m sorry I stopped your shift,” he whispers against my ear. “Flames, that might have been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. But Doctor Taylor told you not to shift for a reason. You can’t go into heat. Not until you have a plan in place.”

I blink.He used his Alpha dominance to quell my wolf.

I can feel it now, my animal cowering inside me, terrified of the Alpha currently wrapped around me.

Or perhaps just scared because of what happened.

I try to pull away from him, needing to clear my mind, to recall exactly what occurred.

“I don’t want your firstborn, Taliana,” he says, confusing me even more.

What?

“It’s a fairy tale. You asked about my nickname—Rumpel—and it’s just because of my affinity for gold.”

I finally open my eyes enough to look at him. Apparently, I’m in his lap. On the bed.