I didn't understand why Theron still wouldn't look at my breasts.
Was there something wrong with them? Were they not attractive enough?
Nonsense. No man had ever seen them without immediately having the urge to touch them.
"Is ten minutes still not enough?" I approached him slowly, but for some reason, he stepped back. "How about half an hour?"
As the words left my mouth, I knew how ridiculous they sounded.
There's no way anyone would enjoy touching my breasts for half an hour. Even ten minutes already felt like too much.
"You really underestimate a man's desire, Evie," my wolf said in a sly tone. "If he wanted to, he could touch your boobs for an hour and not get bored."
I rolled my eyes at her comment.
"But it seems like your mate is a coward," she added, more serious this time.
A coward?
I saw his hand almost touch me, but he pulled it back with his other hand. Was he trying to restrain the desire from his own wolf?
Was he trying to hold himself back? Was he fighting against the desire inside him … because I told him I wasn't ready to be his mate?
If that was true, then he wasn't a coward at all.
He was more like a gentleman, someone who respected my boundaries, someone who wouldn't touch me carelessly.
Still, I had just given him a chance. He should've taken it before I changed my mind and took it away.
"I won't let you go," Theron said at last, his voice low, "even if you let me touch … your breast. So forget it."
I frowned at his words. "Your Majesty," I said, "there's no point in letting me stay in your palace. The only thing I'll bring you is bad luck."
I knew he was only keeping me here because he didn't want me running off before paying for the damage I caused to his wall.
But honestly … the bad luck I carry is way worse than a broken wall.
"Bad luck?" Theron said. "From what I see, the only person your bad luck ever really hurts … is you."
I blinked at his words.
What was that supposed to mean?
For as long as I could remember, I thought I was cursed. I believed that getting close to me meant pain, loss, or even death.
People whispered that I brought misfortune, that I was the reason behind every accident, every tragedy.
Some said it out loud, and deep down, I believed them.
I had watched people suffer because of me.
I had seen them bleed, cry, disappear from my life like shadows swallowed by night. It felt like the universe had placed a dark mark on my existence, one that doomed anyone who dared to care about me.
"Are you sure all of that happened because of you?"
My wolf's voice echoed gently in my mind, snapping me out of my reverie. She didn't sound mean or irritated this time. Instead, she was calm … and surprisingly kind.
"All those accidents, the deaths, the tragedies around you … were you really the one who caused them?"
Her question made me freeze.
'What are you trying to say?' I asked her silently.
"Your mother died from blood loss while giving birth. That wasn't your fault, Evelyn. That was her body giving out … not you."
I swallowed hard.
"Your father died because rogue werewolves attacked and burned your village. You were just a child. You didn't summon them. You couldn't have stopped them."
My throat tightened as the memories rushed back.
"And that man who tried to touch you on the ship … he died because the anchor rope snapped and hit him. That wasn't your fault either. It wasn't a curse."
Each word hit me like a hammer against the walls I had built around my heart.
"You didn't cause those things," my wolf said gently. "All of those things were … accidents."
My hands slowly curled into fists.
Her voice sounded too gentle, too considerate, and … too odd.
'Stop pretending to be kind,' I snapped in my mind. 'You're only saying this because you want me to be marked by him, don't you?'
There was silence in my head for a moment, then I heard her laugh.
The kind of laugh that sounded like she was mocking me.
"Well … maybe I do," she finally admitted, still chuckling. "But that doesn't mean I'm wrong."
Her answer was too ambiguous for me to trust it.
'Of course it means you're wrong. You're biased. You've been pushing me toward him from the very beginning.'
"I've been pushing you because he's your damn mate, Evelyn! You can run all you want, hide all you want, but in the end, you'll always come back to him!"
My wolf sounded so frustrated, I swear if she had a body, she'd slam my head against a wall.
"That's why, stop fucking resisting and just let him mark you!"
'Like hell I would,' I spat back.
My wolf let out a harsh sigh. "Alright, fine."
I thought she had finally given up, realizing there was nothing that could change my perspective.
But then she spoke again. "What if I give you a little push?"
Her voice had a playful tone, followed by a laugh that filled my head. "You're lucky, Evie. I've been holding it back ever since I woke up. But I guess … you need it now."
'Holding what?' I asked, already feeling something strange in the way she spoke. It made me uneasy.
My wolf lowered her voice and whispered, "Your heat."
The moment she said that, my legs gave out beneath me, and I dropped to my knees.
"What … what's happening?" I gasped, confused as to why my heart was pounding so hard, just like it had the first time I met Theron.
But this was worse, so much worse.
My blood felt like it was on fire. My chest tightened painfully, and it was getting harder and harder to breathe.
"Shit." I heard Theron curse and looked up.
He had turned his face away, covering his nose with his arm as he stepped back.
That was when I realized my body was releasing a strange scent.
It smelled like intoxicating wine, the kind that could get someone drunk with just two shots.
When I tried to stand, I felt something trickling between my thighs,something warm and sticky.
I felt disgusted with myself.
'What the hell are you doing to my body?!' I snapped in my mind.
"I'm not doing anything," my wolf replied calmly. "This is normal, Evelyn. When a Luna awakens and meets her true mate, her first heat follows soon after. I've been holding it back for your sake because I pitied you."
"But clearly … you really need it." My wolf said, "Trust me, Evie. This is the best choice for you."
I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists as the heat spread through my body, like it was trying to burn me alive from the inside out.
It felt strange and unnatural.
I wasn't innocent. I'd messed around with men before. I'd touched, been touched. I wasn't shy about desire at all.
But I had never felt like this, like a damn whore who'd willingly spread her legs just for a taste of a man's cock.
The lower part of my body kept getting wetter, and I could even smell the scent of it.
If I stood up now, my nectar might actually drip down my thighs and stain the floor.
The thought made me sick. This was why I hated the concept of heat with passion.
If I'm disgusted by myself … then what about Theron?
He probably thinks I'm pathetic, disgusting, and acting like a whore.
"He doesn't think that way," my wolf spoke up.
But she wasn't trying to comfort me. On the contrary, her voice held a warning. "He wants to devour you."