Page 34 of Sun's Roar

“You’re my everything,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. His pace became frantic, his body driving into hers with a ferocity that left her gasping.

The pressure inside her coiled tighter until it finally snapped, her body convulsing as pleasure exploded through her. She cried out as her inner walls clenched around him, the heat within her seeming to ignite, sending flames licking up her skin.

Sol let out a loud groan, and he thrust deep into her one last time, his own release hitting him with a force that left him shuddering as he spilled himself inside her.

For a long moment, they stayed like that, their bodies pressed together as the waves from their movements lapped against the edges of the pool. Helena’s head rested on Sol’s shoulder, her breath coming in ragged gasps. His arms were wrapped tightly around her, his heartbeat steady beneath her ear.

“That was…” she began, but words failed her.

“Mind-blowing?” he supplied, his voice tinged with amusement.

She laughed softly, her fingers tracing the lines of his tattoo. “I was going to say overwhelming again, but mind-blowing works too.”

He kissed the top of her head, his hands moving to cradle her face. “You’re my fire, Helena. My everything. Never forget that.”

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with a warmth that matched the flames inside her. “How could I forget?”

THIRTEEN

SOL

As Sol guided Helena back through the forest, his arm possessively encircling her waist, he savored the lingering scent of their lovemaking. Water droplets still clung to her long red hair, catching the sunlight filtering through the canopy, and her skin seemed to glow with a newfound radiance.

“I should really call Tyanna and the others,” Helena said abruptly, breaking the comfortable silence between them. “They must be worried sick about me. And I need to speak with Victor about the restaurant.”

The name sent a jolt through Sol’s system. His jaw clenched involuntarily, and his wolf stirred, bristling with territorial rage. He’d hoped—foolishly, perhaps—that their connection in the grotto would have pushed thoughts of her human life away, at least temporarily.

“Victor.” The name tasted bitter on his tongue. “You mean the snake who tried to steal you from me?”

Helena stopped walking, her hazel eyes widening. “What? Victor is my new boss. He just bought my restaurant.”

Sol’s nostrils flared. Of course, Victor would insert himself into her life that way—the cunning bastard had been planning this from the start.

“He’s dangerous, Helena. Far more than you realize.” Sol’s voice dropped to a low rumble. “There’s a reason he was exiled from our pack.”

“Wait—Victor is a wolf too?” Helena pressed her fingers to her temples. “This is... this is just too much. I need to call my coworkers. They’re like family to me. I need to know they’re okay, and I need to figure out what’s happening with my job.”

Sol’s wolf reared up inside him, demanding he assert his claim. The very idea of Helena returning to that restaurant—to Victor—sent a red haze across his vision.

“You won’t be returning to work,” he stated, the authority of centuries as alpha resonating in his voice. “Your place is here now, with me, with our pack. You’re the Luna.”

Helena’s jaw dropped, her expression transforming from confusion to indignation. “Excuse me? I never agreed to stay here permanently. I agreed to learn about my powers, not abandon my entire life!”

Sol felt a stab of genuine shock. In his hundreds of years, he’d never imagined his Luna would question her place by his side. It was fate, destiny—the natural order. Yet here she stood, her striking red hair seeming to spark with defiance, challenging him.

He opened his mouth to assert his will, to remind her of what it meant to be Luna, but something stopped him. A flicker of heat shimmered around her fingers—subtle, but unmistakable. Her emotions were stirring her newfound powers. His wolf urged him to dominate, to bend her to his will, but the man in him recognized the danger.

An uncontrolled flare-up here could set the entire forest ablaze.

Sol took a deep breath, reining in his alpha instincts with effort that made his muscles tense. He watched as Helena’s chest rose and fell with quickened breaths. How could he expect her to understand pack law and tradition in just one day when she had spent her entire life as a human, unaware of their world?

The heat emanating from her intensified, and Sol recognized he needed to tread carefully—not just for the forest’s sake, but for the fragile bond forming between them.

Sol gritted his teeth, fighting the impulse to simply throw Helena over his shoulder and carry her back to the castle. But centuries of leadership had taught him that sometimes strength meant restraint.

“Helena.” He kept his voice steady, though a muscle twitched in his jaw. “You don’t understand the danger you’re in. Victor isn’t just some investor who bought your restaurant. He’s a rogue shifter—exiled from our pack years ago for attempting to seize power by force.”

Her eyes narrowed, and he felt a wave of heat pulse from her skin. Through their growing mate bond, Sol sensed her confusion, her fear, and beneath it all, a stubborn determination that both infuriated and impressed him.

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