Meredith.
My skin tingled, overly sensitive, and when I thought of Draven, his hands on my face earlier, his mouth on mine, the way his voice dropped low when he teased me, the warmth surged so suddenly I had to clench my fists into the blanket.
Valmora's words from the car echoed in my head. 'You will go into heat tonight.'
I let out a shaky breath. "So this is what you meant," I whispered to myself.
It wasn't just nerves attacking me. It was hunger, curling deep inside me, demanding and growing.
But it wasn't unbearable, at least not yet. Instead, it gave me an odd sense of power—like a whisper daring me to stop holding back.
I imagined sitting beside Draven at dinner and not looking away from his piercing gaze. I imagined leaning closer, speaking first, maybe even catching him off-guard for once.
The thought made me smile and blush all at once.
A knock at the door startled me, one of the maids announcing that dinner would be ready soon.
