Page 55 of Star Claimed Omega
There was no shame in it, only possession and hunger and the unmistakable glint of restraint, like a man balancing on the very edge of control.
‘One more question,’ she whispered. ‘How are you a lycan shifter?’
He took an inhale. ‘My pack and I, from Xander to Rigo, got caught in a nuclear accident on Earth years ago. It fused our cells with those of wolves in the nearby forest and with some other unknown power, transforming our tissues into regenerative aetheric nucleii in the bloodstream. Giving us the ability to shift into transcendent lycans that can flit between mortal and spectral forms. We can stalk through walls and space, burn through minds, freeze blood mid-vein, and tear through flesh and bones in seconds.’
She blinked, and he misunderstood her trepidation.
It wasn’t because she was scared of him; she was worried about what might happen if he realized she was a lycan too.
Albeit an Earth-born one without his spectral powers, she still had the potential to cause significant harm when she shifted.
She sliced her eyes away, her heart a staccato rhythm against her ribs, and focused on finishing her food.
She sensed his eyes on her as she cleared the tray.
‘I’d never harm you, Soleil, you should have figured that much by now. If anything, you’re the safest you’ve ever been.’
His voice, the way he saidsafe, sounded more like a vow than a reassurance, and for the first time in days, she believed it.
‘Sleep well. We’ll talk in the morning.’
By now her plates were empty, and he prowled to her side, took the tray.
With a chin lift, he stepped out, the door whispering shut behind him.
She exhaled and her body sagged into the pillows, mind whirring even as relief curled around her like a warm tide.
Because, despite the shiver that chased down her spine at his expression, and the knowledge that Santi Alvarro was as dangerous as he was desirable, she also saw the flickers.
Of longing, hunger, and a protectiveness so fierce it burned.
He was also the man who found her in an alley, carried her to his home, had her cared for, and fed her.
No man had ever shown her such kindness in her life, and Santi was an eye-opening revelation that goodhearted males still existed.
She curled her socked toes against the plush bedding.
The mattress under her was deliciously warm.
If this moment were a fragile gift from the universe, she received it with gratitude.
She leaned back into the plush headboard, closed her eyes, and let herself indulge in bliss, however fleeting.
That, and in the steady, undeniable pull of a man she recognized she shouldn’t want, but couldn’t stop yearning for.
9
Chapter 9
SOLEIL
Soleil woke in a languorous daze, her body still tender but no longer trembling.
The fever was gone, the ache in her bones now dull.
Even the chill that gripped her lungs a few hours earlier was a distant memory.
She glanced at the windows and then at the digital readout on the wall clock.
