Violet

The opportunity I was looking for came a few days later.

Rowan would be leaving to visit another pack in his territory. Something about confirming trade agreements and settling a minor dispute that required his personal attention. He had also promised some wolves would be arriving to check on situations from different territories in regards to the issue with them searching for me.

And he would be gone for several days.

Several days without him being near enough to sense me through the bond. Several days head start before he realized I was gone.

It was the window I had been waiting for.

In the days leading up to his departure, we had both acted as though nothing had happened at the observatory. As though he hadn’t kissed my hand with all that unspoken love in his eyes, and as if I hadn’t seen it and fled like a frightened rabbit.

I couldn’t bring myself to discuss it.

And neither did he.

We fell back into our routine. Meals together, outings, and quiet conversations as I got to know him better.

It made me feel guilty as I had been preparing my exit.

I had studied the maps thoroughly with Bei’s help, using the excuse that I would need the knowledge when we eventually had to leave. I started setting aside a small pack of supplies. I noted the guard rotations, the quietest paths out of the castle and capital, the roads that would take me in the direction I felt the pull.

The night before Rowan was set to leave, I found myself restless.

I paced my room for what felt like hours, unable to settle down. My thoughts kept circling back to him. To the way he would look at me, to the words he had swallowed down, to the fact that after tomorrow, I might never see him again for a while.

The thought made my chest ache so fiercely I could barely breathe.

I sensed him returning to the castle, and within seconds, he was in his bathing room. I paced a little more, and when I could tell he was done cleaning himself, I was walking towards his room before I fully realised what I was doing.

I really hadn’t planned to. My feet simply carried me there, moving on their own, as though they knew something my mind refused to accept.

I had walked up to his door just as he was opening it.

He must have sensed me coming, or perhaps he had simply been about to step out. Either way, he paused in the doorway, his hand still on the handle, and looked at me with surprise.

His dark hair was still damp, pushed back from his face, and his shirt was loosely fastened, the collar open to reveal the hollow of his throat. He looked tired, but when he saw me, his expression softened.

That gentle, warm smile spread across his face.

"Violet."

My name in his voice. It still did something to me every time.

"I was just about to come see you," he said, leaning against the doorframe.

My heart skipped.

He continued, stepping a little closer, "I—"

I stepped forward, closed the distance between us, and reached up to kiss him.

I felt him stiffen in surprise, his breath catching against my lips. For a moment, he was frozen, then his hands found my waist.

His fingers curled into the fabric of my dress, pulling me closer, and he kissed me back with a hunger that stole the air from my lungs.

When I finally pulled away, we were both breathing hard.

His hands were still on my waist, holding me like he was afraid I might disappear if he let go.

"Violet?"

"I want to spend the night with you," I said.

I did not know what had come over me.

His surprise melted away, replaced by something deeper. Without another word, he pulled me through the doorway, kicked the door shut behind us, and kissed me hard.

His chambers were dark, lit only by the faint glow of moonlight filtering through the curtains.

I barely noticed.

All I could focus on was his mouth on mine, his hands sliding up my back, his body pressing me against the door. He kissed me deeply, thoroughly, like he was trying to memorize the taste of me.

"Rowan," I gasped against his lips.

He pulled back just enough to look at me, his eyes dark with want.

I reached up and touched his face, tracing the line of his jaw with my fingertips. He closed his eyes at the contact, leaning into my palm, and something in my chest cracked.

Did I really have to leave?

I pushed the thought away. I couldn’t think about that now. I couldn’t think about tomorrow, or the pull, or the path I had mapped out in my mind. Tonight, there was only this. Only him.

I pulled him back down to me and kissed him again.

He made a low sound in his throat and lifted me easily, my legs wrapping around his waist. He carried me across the room without breaking the kiss, his hands firm beneath my thighs, and lowered me onto the bed.

The sheets were cool against my back, but his body was warm as he settled over me, caging me in with his arms. He pulled back to look at me, his hair falling across his forehead.

He still hadn’t cut his hair.

"You’re so beautiful," he murmured.

My cheeks flushed. "Rowan—"

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead, then my temple, then the corner of my mouth.

He kissed me fully, his hands finding the fastenings of my dress, and working them open with practiced ease. I helped him, shrugging the fabric off my shoulders, letting it pool around my waist. His gaze dropped, drinking me in, and the hunger in his eyes made heat pool low in my belly.

I reached for his shirt and he let me push it off his shoulders, let me run my hands across the planes of his chest, and the ridges of muscle beneath warm skin. When my fingers brushed over a scar near his ribs, one I hadn’t noticed before, he caught my hand and brought it to his lips.

I pulled him down to me, needing to feel his weight, his warmth, and the solid reality of his body against mine. He obliged, settling between my thighs, his hips pressing against mine in a way that made us both gasp.

"Violet," he moaned against my throat.

I threaded my fingers through his hair and pulled his mouth back to mine.