Chapter Thirty-six Talon Maverick “Solace." I couldn’t believe I’d said that to her. I’d always made a point of not making any woman feel special; they weren't worth that. But this time, I knew the word hadn’t just slipped out — it came from somewhere deep within me. She was my newfound solace, and I didn’t want it to be true. She was supposed to be just a woman to satisfy me when I needed, not someone who could burrow under my skin and make me break my own rules, make me feel and say things I’d never even said to Seraphina. I was slipping. Losing my grip, going past boundaries I’d set to cage the part of me I’d only shown to Seraphina — the part that paid the price with everything I once held dear. I couldn’t afford to let that happen again. Love? That was weakness. It wasn’t for a man like me. I opened the car trunk as she placed the shopping bags inside. There were about nine or ten, filled with dresses, bags, shoes — things I couldn’t believe I’d just bought for a woman
Chapter Thirty-seven Thalina I watched as Professor Maverick’s car disappeared down the road, the tail lights fading into the darkness. And yet, I stood there, with my pulse still racing, my body still tingling from the memory of his hands, his mouth, and the way he made me feel. The last few hours replayed like some fevered dream: his intimate hot touch at the Ford’s mall, the stolen passionate kisses by his car, the tension filling the air in the car, so thick between us it was hard to breathe. I couldn’t believe I was the girl who had just shared all that with a man who was practically a stranger, but it still felt right. He was a man who saw me, not just some wounded version of myself. My fingers tightened around the handles of the shopping bags, heavy with things he’d asked me to pick. I glanced down at them, barely able to believe it. How did I get here? How did I get to this point where I was being treated more special than I could have ever imagined. After Mom passed
Chapter Thirty-eight Talon Maverick The phone buzzed, yanking me out of the thoughts I wasn’t supposed to be having. I grabbed it off the nightstand, the screen flashing with my mother’s name. Great. Pack business, no doubt—something that could wait, in my opinion, but it never did with her. I slid a finger across the screen. “Mother.” “Talon,” she said in that tone that told me I didn’t have much of a choice in whatever she was about to say. “You need to come to the Royal castle. There’s a situation with the pack that requires your attention.” “Is it really necessary?” I fought to keep the impatience out of my voice. It wasn’t like her requests were optional, but a man could try. She was quiet for a second, maybe trying to decide how much of this I’d push back on. “Yes, Talon. It is necessary.” I pushed a hand through my hair, glancing at the door, my mind drifting back to Thalina once again. Yesterday at the mall, the way she looked at me… that damn dresses I’d bou
Chapter Thirty-nine Thalina Was this a dream? A twisted nightmare I could still wake up from? Or some cruel joke he thought would be funny? Because the man who just yesterday had told me I was different—the only one he’d ever wanted to kiss this badly—was right there, kissing someone else. Not just anyone. My roommate. The same man who asked me to sit on his face, who had looked at me like I was his sole obsession, was entangled with her now. How could he say all those things, make me feel so much, then betray me like this? But was it really a betrayal? Did I mean anything to him at all? My chest tightened, my heart twisting in that awful, familiar way. Just like when I’d walked in on Finn with Ember. Why did this keep happening to me? Was I not enough? Wasn’t I giving him everything he wanted? Or was it because of the contract? Because I wouldn’t sign? But no… even without signing, I’d been doing almost everything he wanted. Why did he have to do this? Tears pricked at my
Chapter Forty Talon Maverick My lips still burned from the brutal scrub after that terrible mistake I made, but the ache went deeper, clawing through my chest, digging into something I didn’t know could hurt this much. All from a single sight: Thalina stepping out of a sleek, tinted car just few steps from her dorm. The memory of her words slashed through me immediately—“I have a meeting with another professor.” Was that it? Was this him? Another man? Another professor? My jaw clenched. Was she cheating on me now? No. It wasn’t like this was some real relationship, for it to even be called “cheating.” But damn it, she had more pride than that, didn’t she? Jumping to someone else, right after… Why was I even here, lingering outside her place like a fool in love? I was no man to give in to such weak emotions. Why did I care if she walked off with someone else? And why couldn’t I just step out, confront her, demand the answers to the multiple questions disturbing by peace? “
Chapter Forty-one Thalina Hide the knife under my dress, play the perfect obedient servant to the Alpha King, wait until he’s distracted, and then stab him. Or maybe slip a sedative into his drink, wait for him to pass out, and end him while he sleeps. Simple enough, right? Wrong. I snapped my eyes open, grounding myself back in the cold reality that nothing about this would be as simple as I wanted to believe. Father always thought everything was easy—everything except me. To him, I was lazy, irresponsible, too soft to do what was needed. He was wrong. It wasn’t that I couldn’t; it was that I shouldn’t. Yet here I was, with a knife hidden beneath my dress, about to prove him right. The Alpha King. The greatest ruler of them all. The one whose voice alone sends shivers down the spines of even the bravest. The man whose legend is drenched in blood, whose reputation is carved from vengeance. He doesn’t forgive. He doesn’t forget. And if I failed? No, when I failed, becau
Chapter Forty-two Talon Maverick I had been fuming for days. Thalina was driving me insane, avoiding me like I was some damn plague, acting as if what happened between us hadn’t meant anything to her. It pissed me off, more than I’d like to admit. I don’t chase women. They come to me, and I take them how I want, when I want. But this girl…this infuriating girl, had been toying with my head. Every time I closed my eyes, I thought of her—her body, her taste, the way she moaned for me, the way her tongue wraps around my cock… Fuck! She was driving me crazy. Yet she had the audacity to ignore me, acting as if she wasn’t the same one who kept asking for more. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had been patient, waiting for her to come around, but my patience had run out. I stalked through the hallways of the college, my mind set on one thing. Finding her. She wasn’t getting away this time. I found her walking into the restroom, of all places. Perfect. I followed her, shoved the d
Chapter Forty-three Talon Maverick The hunger to devour her lips, the thirst for the heat of her folds, the ache to bury myself between her legs—it was consuming me. I had held it all back for days, biting down on my own desires, waiting for her to come crawling back. But Thalina? She wasn’t like anyone else. She wasn’t the kind of woman who crawled. She was more than what I had imagined, more than what I thought I could handle. Thalina wasn’t like any other woman I’d known. She didn’t fall in line, didn’t break the way I expected. She had this way of looking at me, of moving, of existing that made me feel like every woman before her had been a blur. She wasn’t just different—she made me feel different. Hell, she made me feel like I hadn’t lived before her, like I hadn’t fucked a number of women into forgetting their own names. That thought alone should’ve terrified me. I should’ve wanted to walk away, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. I wanted to know more. I wanted to see more. An
Chapter Forty-five Thalina The night air was cool against my skin as I stood frozen on the sidewalk, staring at him. Professor Maverick leaned casually against the sleek black car, his signature cocky smirk tugging at his lips, though his eyes held a softness I wasn’t sure he was even aware of. What was he doing here? At this hour? "Hey, baby girl," he drawled again, his voice low and velvety, making my heart stutter in a way that was both infuriating and exhilarating. I crossed my arms, trying to appear unfazed. "What are you doing here?" He straightened and closed the distance between us with measured steps, his height and presence effortlessly commanding. Before I could process it, his hands were on my waist, pulling me close, so close that I could feel that intoxicating bulge pushing against my stomach. "I couldn’t get my mind off you," he murmured and stopped, his lips brushing my ear as his warm breath sent shivers down my spine. It wasn’t just his breath, but th
Chapter Forty-four Thalina The rest of the days dragged by, each second stretching into what felt like an eternity as the dull ache of that time of the month refused to ease. The cramps, the discomfort, the irritability—it all piled on, making me wish I could sleep through the week. But something strange happened whenever I was around him. Just a few moments in Professor Maverick’s presence, and the pain seemed to fade away, as if his very existence was a balm to my body’s rebellion. His deep, piercing gaze and that frustratingly smug smirk had a way of pulling me out of my misery. Yet the moment I stepped away from him, it all came rushing back—the ache, the exhaustion, and the endless reminder of why this was my least favorite time of the month. Still, if there was a silver lining, it was this: I wasn’t pregnant. Not that I’d expected to be, but the relief opened up all kinds of possibilities. Fun possibilities. Professor Maverick possibilities. “You’re off in your lit
Chapter Forty-three Talon Maverick The hunger to devour her lips, the thirst for the heat of her folds, the ache to bury myself between her legs—it was consuming me. I had held it all back for days, biting down on my own desires, waiting for her to come crawling back. But Thalina? She wasn’t like anyone else. She wasn’t the kind of woman who crawled. She was more than what I had imagined, more than what I thought I could handle. Thalina wasn’t like any other woman I’d known. She didn’t fall in line, didn’t break the way I expected. She had this way of looking at me, of moving, of existing that made me feel like every woman before her had been a blur. She wasn’t just different—she made me feel different. Hell, she made me feel like I hadn’t lived before her, like I hadn’t fucked a number of women into forgetting their own names. That thought alone should’ve terrified me. I should’ve wanted to walk away, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. I wanted to know more. I wanted to see more. An
Chapter Forty-two Talon Maverick I had been fuming for days. Thalina was driving me insane, avoiding me like I was some damn plague, acting as if what happened between us hadn’t meant anything to her. It pissed me off, more than I’d like to admit. I don’t chase women. They come to me, and I take them how I want, when I want. But this girl…this infuriating girl, had been toying with my head. Every time I closed my eyes, I thought of her—her body, her taste, the way she moaned for me, the way her tongue wraps around my cock… Fuck! She was driving me crazy. Yet she had the audacity to ignore me, acting as if she wasn’t the same one who kept asking for more. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had been patient, waiting for her to come around, but my patience had run out. I stalked through the hallways of the college, my mind set on one thing. Finding her. She wasn’t getting away this time. I found her walking into the restroom, of all places. Perfect. I followed her, shoved the d
Chapter Forty-one Thalina Hide the knife under my dress, play the perfect obedient servant to the Alpha King, wait until he’s distracted, and then stab him. Or maybe slip a sedative into his drink, wait for him to pass out, and end him while he sleeps. Simple enough, right? Wrong. I snapped my eyes open, grounding myself back in the cold reality that nothing about this would be as simple as I wanted to believe. Father always thought everything was easy—everything except me. To him, I was lazy, irresponsible, too soft to do what was needed. He was wrong. It wasn’t that I couldn’t; it was that I shouldn’t. Yet here I was, with a knife hidden beneath my dress, about to prove him right. The Alpha King. The greatest ruler of them all. The one whose voice alone sends shivers down the spines of even the bravest. The man whose legend is drenched in blood, whose reputation is carved from vengeance. He doesn’t forgive. He doesn’t forget. And if I failed? No, when I failed, becau
Chapter Forty Talon Maverick My lips still burned from the brutal scrub after that terrible mistake I made, but the ache went deeper, clawing through my chest, digging into something I didn’t know could hurt this much. All from a single sight: Thalina stepping out of a sleek, tinted car just few steps from her dorm. The memory of her words slashed through me immediately—“I have a meeting with another professor.” Was that it? Was this him? Another man? Another professor? My jaw clenched. Was she cheating on me now? No. It wasn’t like this was some real relationship, for it to even be called “cheating.” But damn it, she had more pride than that, didn’t she? Jumping to someone else, right after… Why was I even here, lingering outside her place like a fool in love? I was no man to give in to such weak emotions. Why did I care if she walked off with someone else? And why couldn’t I just step out, confront her, demand the answers to the multiple questions disturbing by peace? “
Chapter Thirty-nine Thalina Was this a dream? A twisted nightmare I could still wake up from? Or some cruel joke he thought would be funny? Because the man who just yesterday had told me I was different—the only one he’d ever wanted to kiss this badly—was right there, kissing someone else. Not just anyone. My roommate. The same man who asked me to sit on his face, who had looked at me like I was his sole obsession, was entangled with her now. How could he say all those things, make me feel so much, then betray me like this? But was it really a betrayal? Did I mean anything to him at all? My chest tightened, my heart twisting in that awful, familiar way. Just like when I’d walked in on Finn with Ember. Why did this keep happening to me? Was I not enough? Wasn’t I giving him everything he wanted? Or was it because of the contract? Because I wouldn’t sign? But no… even without signing, I’d been doing almost everything he wanted. Why did he have to do this? Tears pricked at my
Chapter Thirty-eight Talon Maverick The phone buzzed, yanking me out of the thoughts I wasn’t supposed to be having. I grabbed it off the nightstand, the screen flashing with my mother’s name. Great. Pack business, no doubt—something that could wait, in my opinion, but it never did with her. I slid a finger across the screen. “Mother.” “Talon,” she said in that tone that told me I didn’t have much of a choice in whatever she was about to say. “You need to come to the Royal castle. There’s a situation with the pack that requires your attention.” “Is it really necessary?” I fought to keep the impatience out of my voice. It wasn’t like her requests were optional, but a man could try. She was quiet for a second, maybe trying to decide how much of this I’d push back on. “Yes, Talon. It is necessary.” I pushed a hand through my hair, glancing at the door, my mind drifting back to Thalina once again. Yesterday at the mall, the way she looked at me… that damn dresses I’d bou
Chapter Thirty-seven Thalina I watched as Professor Maverick’s car disappeared down the road, the tail lights fading into the darkness. And yet, I stood there, with my pulse still racing, my body still tingling from the memory of his hands, his mouth, and the way he made me feel. The last few hours replayed like some fevered dream: his intimate hot touch at the Ford’s mall, the stolen passionate kisses by his car, the tension filling the air in the car, so thick between us it was hard to breathe. I couldn’t believe I was the girl who had just shared all that with a man who was practically a stranger, but it still felt right. He was a man who saw me, not just some wounded version of myself. My fingers tightened around the handles of the shopping bags, heavy with things he’d asked me to pick. I glanced down at them, barely able to believe it. How did I get here? How did I get to this point where I was being treated more special than I could have ever imagined. After Mom passed