Leonard.

The way Theresa suddenly acted around me...It didn’t sit right.

There was a softness in her movements now, a hesitation in the way she spoke, the way she looked at me, almost shy, almost unsure. It was so different from what I remembered that it left me feeling...uneasy.

Six years ago, she had been nothing like this, she had been bold, fearless in a way that caught me off guard. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

I could still remember the moment clearly, how she had stood in front of me and confessed her feelings without flinching, without holding anything back. There had been no doubt in her eyes then, no hesitation, just certainty and yet...I had pushed her away.

Not because I didn’t feel anything.

Not because I didn’t love her.

But because, at the time, I believed she was a distraction.

A dangerous one.

Back then, I was only an acting Alpha, still trying to prove myself, still carrying the weight of expectations I could not afford to fail.

My father’s words had stayed with me, echoing endlessly in my mind like a command I could never escape.

"Leonard, the glory and shame of the Ironclad Pack now lies on the shoulders of you and your brothers. Do not fail me."

I had taken those words to heart.

Every decision I made, every step I took, it all revolved around that responsibility and in my mind...Love had no place in it.

Love was weakness.

A distraction that could cloud judgment. A weapon that could be used against me.

So I chose to suppress it.

To ignore it.

To push her away before she could become something I couldn’t control but then...She disappeared.

And everything I thought I knew, every belief I had built around strength and control...Collapsed.

The absence she left behind was louder than anything she had ever said to me. It forced me to confront something I had refused to acknowledge.

That time...Wasn’t endless, that moments...Could be lost.

Forever.

And in losing her, I understood something I had been too blind to see before.

That the little moments, the laughter, the closeness, the presence of someone who mattered...Those were the things worth holding onto.

Worth protecting.

If I had another chance...I wouldn’t hold back. I wouldn’t let fear or responsibility take that away again.

And now...She was here, right in front of me, alive and exactly within my reach.

And when she chose to stay with me instead of Bella...Something shifted inside me. A quiet, unexpected joy.

It wasn’t overwhelming, but it was there, steady, undeniable. A feeling I hadn’t allowed myself to experience in a long time.

Still...I couldn’t let it show too much. I couldn’t completely drop my composure, couldn’t abandon the control I had built over the years. The Alpha in me refused to let go entirely.

But at the same time...I didn’t want her to see me as that distant, cold, aloof man anymore.

I won’t allow it, not again, not after everything. Finding her after all these years...It meant something, more than I was willing to say out loud.

And deep down, I made a quiet promise to myself.

To protect her.

To keep her safe.

To love her... the way I should have from the beginning.

My gaze shifted briefly, catching Bella’s expression and I noticed it—The jealousy.

It was clear and undeniable, and it took everything in me not to react. As these expressions flickered across her face before she masked it, but it was enough.

Bella and Theresa...They hadn’t always been like this, they had been close and inseparable. Best friends before everything fell apart—before Theresa disappeared.

And a part of me still hoped that things could go back to how they were because the truth was simple.

They were both important to me.

The two women...I would do anything for.

So the moment I saw Theresa shifting, ready to leave, something inside me snapped slightly.

I couldn’t let her go, not yet.

Not after what she had stirred up within me.

My wolf—Le—reacted before I even fully processed it. I felt him lift his head within me, restless, pushing forward like he wanted control, like he was ready to take over entirely.

A low warning built in my chest but I had to hold him back.

With effort.

With control.

"Not so fast, Princess," I heard myself say.

The words came out before I even fully decided on them.

And just like that, I moved.

I closed the distance between us in a few steady steps, refusing to give her space to slip away. My hands found her waist almost instinctively, resting there firmly, grounding her in place.

Her body reacted instantly.

That earlier moment came rushing back, how she had traced her fingers over my shirt, how a strange surge had shot through me then. It had been small... but enough—enough to linger, enough to make me want more.

Did she even realize what she was doing?

Did she think she could just leave me like this?

Leave me wanting?

"You have to finish what you started," I murmured again, my voice lower now, quieter, but firmer.

Because that was the truth.

That was exactly what she had done, whether she knew it or not.

She turned back toward me slowly, my hands still resting on her waist, keeping her close.

"Leonard, actually... I..." she started, her voice breaking slightly as she struggled to find the right words.

She kept stammering, clearly searching for an excuse, something to say that would free her from the moment.

But I didn’t wait, I didn’t bother to think nor did I bother to ask.

My control slipped just enough, and I leaned in. My lips met hers again, cutting off whatever she was about to say.

The kiss deepened almost immediately, instinct taking over where restraint had been moments ago. There was a softness to her that I hadn’t expected, something warm, something dangerously addictive.

Damn.

She tasted sweet.

Like honey.

And it was far too easy to lose myself in it.

Too easy to forget everything else.

I pushed her back gently but firmly, guiding her until her back met the wall, my body closing the space between us. One of my hands shifted, then the other, pinning both of hers against the surface above her head without force, just control.

Just certainty.

Just need.

"Theresa..." I breathed against her lips between kisses. "You will be the death of me."

The words were half a warning... half a confession.

Her legs weakened slightly beneath her, and I felt it immediately. Without thinking, I tightened my hold just enough to steady her, making sure she didn’t fall.

"Leonard..." she kept calling softly between breaths, her voice breaking slightly as my kiss deepened and my control slipped further.

The sound of my name on her lips only made something in me tighten.

And I won’t lie—I wanted more of it.

I wanted her to keep saying it.

Again and again.

There was a dangerous thought that slipped into my mind without permission... curiosity about what she would sound like when she wasn’t holding back at all. When there was no distance. No hesitation. When she was completely beneath me, unguarded, undone.

The thought alone made my grip on restraint weaker. I pulled away suddenly, forcing myself to break the kiss.

My breathing was heavy, ragged, and uneven as I stared at her.

And immediately, I noticed it.

Theresa’s expression changed.

Her face had gone slightly pale, but not from fear, it was clearly from disappointment.

She wanted more.

That realization hit me with a strange satisfaction I couldn’t quite explain.

A slow, satisfied smile formed at the corner of my lips as I watched her trying to recover herself.

"You are mine, Theresa," I murmured quietly, almost to myself.

My eyes closed briefly as I let the moment sink in, as though sealing it into memory. My chest rose and fell slowly as I savoured the closeness, the warmth, the way everything felt aligned for just a brief second.

I didn’t want it to end, not now, not like this, not any time soon or moments from now. I wanted it to last forever.

But then, a sound cut through the silence.

The door to my study pushed open abruptly.

My eyes snapped open instantly.

"Who the hell—?"

I didn’t get to finish.

The moment my gaze landed on who had just walked in, every word died in my throat.

My entire body froze.

For a split second, embarrassment washed over me so fast it felt almost unreal. My composure cracked instantly, leaving me standing there caught in a moment I clearly wasn’t prepared for.

And then...I turned sharply toward Theresa.

She looked just as stunned.

Quickly, almost awkwardly, she tried to adjust her pyjamas, smoothing them down as if that could somehow erase what had just happened.

The air in the room shifted completely, and for once in my life...I had nothing to say.