He didn’t settle on top of her. Instead, he arranged himself alongside her, one massive arm sliding beneath her shoulders to tuck her against his chest. His fur was soft against her bare skin, still damp in places from sweat and exertion, and his heart beat slow and steady beneath her cheek.
The intimacy of it made her chest ache.
He’s not just taking. He’s...holding.
Like she was something that needed keeping. Something precious enough to protect even after the pleasure had faded.
Her legs still shook. She hated the vulnerability of it—hated more that she didn’t hate it with him. That some part of her relaxed into his hold instead of fighting it. That his scent wrapped around her like safety instead of threat.
“You’re trembling.” His voice came out rough, rumbling through his chest and into hers.
“Observant.”
A huff of breath against her hair—almost a laugh. “Stubborn female.”
“You keep saying that like it’s an insult.”
“It’s not.” His muzzle pressed to her temple, inhaling slow and deep. “It’s the only thing that kept you alive long enough to reach me.”
The words landed strangely. Not quite romantic. Not quite threatening. Something in between that felt like truth.
Elsa’s fingers found his fur again, threading through the thick strands along his chest. She should move. Should put distance between them, reclaim whatever independence she had left in this impossible situation. Instead, she burrowed closer, chasing his warmth like a survival instinct she couldn’t override.
“The ceremony,” she said quietly. “What happens now?”
“Now?” His arm tightened around her. “Now the court knows what you are. What you can do. The contaminated core you cleansed will be added to the grid, strengthening our defensesfurther. And any male who thought to challenge my claim—” A growl threaded through his words. “—will think twice.”
“Xar won’t give up.”
“No.” The admission came without hesitation. “Xar sees opportunity. He’ll look for another angle. Another way to prove I’m compromised.”
“Are you?”
The question slipped out before she could stop it. Vulnerable in ways she couldn’t afford to be. But she was lying naked in his arms, still trembling from what he’d done to her, and pretense felt suddenly impossible.
Sylas was quiet for a long moment.
“Yes,” he finally said. “Completely. Irrevocably.” His claws traced patterns along her spine—gentle, careful, almost absent. “The beast knew it the moment it scented you. I’ve been fighting that truth ever since.”
“Fighting or accepting?”
“Both. Neither.” A frustrated sound escaped him. “You make me weak in ways I can’t afford. In ways that could get us both killed. But you also—” He stopped. Started again. “The Moon Tear energy. The madness that’s been eating at me for fifteen years. Itquietswhen you’re close. I can think clearly for the first time in longer than I can remember.”
Her fingers stilled in his fur. “You’ve said that before. That I make the noise stop.”
“Because it’s true.” His muzzle moved through her hair, breathing her in like he’d never stop. “You’re the only thing that makes it true. And I don’t know if that’s Lux’s blessing or curse, but I can’t—” His voice cracked. “I can’t let you go. Even if it destroys us both.”
The confession hung between them, heavy and raw.
Elsa should be horrified. Should be planning escape routes and calculating odds and doing all the things a navigator didwhen facing impossible circumstances. Instead, she lay wrapped in a monster’s arms, her body still humming from his touch, and she felt...
Safe.
It was insane. Impossible. The most dangerous thing she’d ever felt.
But it was true.
“The collar,” she said softly. “In the ceremony. You said any who challenge it challenge you.”