The Alpha's Forbidden Vow novel Chapter 71

POV: Selene

Leo didn't understand.

The world of the manor had become a whirlwind of hushed whispers, hurried footsteps, and the heavy scent of fear and medicinal herbs.

He knew something was wrong.

He could see the exhaustion etched onto my face, the dark circles under my eyes.

He knew his father, the powerful, distant Alpha who had always seemed invincible, was now a silent, unseen presence behind a closed door.

It made him feel a deep, childish disappointment.

He had craved a father for so long, and this remote, angry man was not the hero he had imagined.

That morning, he saw Elias in the hallway, and his face lit up with a pure, uncomplicated joy.

“Eli!” he shouted, running to him.

Elias knelt and caught him in a hug, but his own face was grave.

“Hey, champ,” he said softly, his kind eyes full of a sadness Leo couldn't comprehend.

“Your dad… he’s in a little bit of trouble. He was very brave. Now he needs to rest and get strong again.”

Leo didn't understand the words, but he felt the weight behind them.

For the first time, a strange, restless energy stirred deep within him.

His inner wolf, a sleeping pup, was waking up to the scent of its Alpha sire’s weakening life force.

On the third day of my vigil, it happened.

I was sitting by Zane’s bed, wiping his brow with a cool, damp cloth.

His breathing, which had been shallow and ragged, suddenly hitched.

His eyelids fluttered.

I held my breath, my heart pounding against my ribs.

Slowly, painfully, his stormy grey eyes opened.

They were clouded with pain and confusion, but they were open.

He was awake.

His gaze roamed the room before finally settling on me.

He saw my pale face, my sleepless eyes, the raw concern etched into every line of my body.

A look of profound, heart-shattering surprise washed over his features.

We just stared at each other for a long, silent moment, the air thick with five years of pain and a single, selfless act of sacrifice.

The dam inside me broke.

A wave of pure, overwhelming relief crashed over me.

He was alive.

For now, in this moment, that was all that mattered. The anger, the betrayal, the future—it could all wait. He was alive.

Before I could think, I leaned down.

My lips, trembling, pressed against his.

It was not a kiss of passion, but of profound, desperate gratitude.

I found myself helping him, my own hands trembling as I undid the buttons, exposing my skin to the cool air of the room.

His eyes, dark with a feverish desire, devoured me.

His mouth left mine, trailing a hot, wet path down my neck, over my collarbone.

He licked and nipped at the sensitive skin, and a low moan escaped my lips.

“Tell me you want this, Selene,” he rasped, his lips at the swell of my breast. “Don’t let me be the only one.”

I couldn't speak. I couldn't lie and say I didn't, but I couldn't admit that I did.

My silence was answer enough.

He pushed my jeans down over my hips, his touch reverent and desperate.

He hooked a finger into the waistband of my panties. “Are you wet for me, my mate?” he whispered, the dirty words a stark contrast to his gentle touch. “Is your cunt ready for me?”

A sob escaped my throat. I was. It was.

He slid his fingers beneath the lace, finding my slick, swollen folds. He stroked me, and my back arched, a helpless, purely instinctual reaction.

He was about to part my legs, to finally claim the surrender my body was offering.

“Mama?”

A small, sleepy voice came from the doorway.

We both froze.

Leo stood there, rubbing his eyes, his favorite teddy bear clutched in one hand.

He looked at us, his head tilted in confusion. At his father, awake for the first time in days. At his mother, half-undressed in his father's bed.