Chapter 120 – Red–Handed–1
–LIA’S POV–
11 min left
Zane and I had gotten too comfortable.
It had been almost a month since he started sneaking into my room at night, and not once had we been caught. Not when he tripped over my bookshelf that one time. Not even when he forgot to leave before my mom knocked on my door that morning—and had to literally hide under my bed until she left.
The universe had been kind.
Zane curled up on his side of my bed like he owned the place, shirtless today, because apparently being a werewolf meant shirts were optional after 10 PM. I didn’t completely blame him, because the night was particularly hot. Him being shirtless, though, only made it worse.
“Move over,” I grumbled, kicking at his legs.
“I’m already on the edge,” he muttered, eyes closed.
“You’re not. I can feel your knee taking over my whole half of the
bed.”
“You mean our bed?” he said, barely opening one eye. “Am I not your emotional support wolf? Don’t I protect you from monsters at night?”
1/7
15:25
Chapter 120–Red–Handed–1
“You mean the monsters apparently inside me?”
“Maybe.”
11 min loft
I huffed. “Yeah, well, my emotional support wolf has taken up ninety percent of the mattress.”
Zane grinned without looking at me. “You love it.”
I did. But that wasn’t the point.
I pulled the blanket dramatically up to my chin. “If we get caught, it’s your fault.”
“We won’t,” he said, smug and overly confident. “We never do. I’ll be out that window before anyone can blink.”
I glared up at the ceiling. “That’s the kind of thing people say right before disaster strikes.”
“Relax,” he said, reaching over and pulling me into his arms. “You worry too much.” He nuzzled his face into my hair, and immediately, I relaxed.
He smelled like woods and cologne, and I found my eyes slowly begin to droop shut. His fingers lazily traced shapes on my back, making it easier to fall asleep, the sparks shooting through my skin making my mind go numb.
2/7
15:25
Chapter 120 – Red–Handed–1
We lay there in comfortable silence for a few minutes, hist heartbeat steady beneath my ear.
“You’re thinking about something,” Zane murmured.
“I’m always thinking about something.”
“Okay, you’re thinking too loud. Spit it out.”
I hesitated. “Your parents. They were really sweet today.”
11 min loft
He smiled. “Told you. My mom’s obsessed with you. And my dad already sees you as part of the pack.”
“They didn’t act like it was weird I was human.”
“Because it isn’t.”
I nodded slowly. “I think… part of me expected them to treat me like I didn’t belong.”
Zane pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes. “You belong more than anyone. You’re mine.”
My stomach flipped in that annoying way it always did when he
“And I love you,” he added, like it wasn’t already obvious from the way he was holding me like he was afraid I’d disappear.
3/7
15:25
Chapter 120 – Red–Handed–1
“I love you too,” I whispered.
11 min left
He kissed me. Just once. Soft, slow, sleepy. Like we had all the
time in the world.
And then we kept kissing.
His fingers slipped into my hair, tugging me closer. My handst rested against his chest, his bare skin underneath my palms. sending tingles shooting through me. I felt every little sigh he let out against my lips and it only made me cling tighter. His body was warm, like a comfortable blanket.
Eventually, we pulled away to breathe.
“I never get tired of kissing you,” he said, lips brushing against. mine as he spoke.
“You act like you don’t get to every day.”
“I don’t get enough. There’s no such thing as enough when it comes to you.”
I smiled, reaching up to run my fingers through his messy hair. “God, you’re cheesy.”
“I’m romantic,” he corrected, leaning in again.
This kiss was deeper. Longer. The kind that made time blur and my heart thump with passion. I felt his hand slide beneath my
4/7
15:25
Chapter 120 Red–Handed–1
–
shirt to rest on my waist.
10 min left
“Can we just freeze this moment?” I whispered when he finally pulled back. “Like, actually pause time. I want to live in this version of life where there’s only you and me and this bed.”
Zane chuckled. “Careful what you wish for. If I could really do that, I’d trap you here forever.”
“Tempting.”
He held my face in both hands, his thumbs brushing over my cheeks. “I still can’t believe you’re real, love.”
“You’re the werewolf. I should be the one saying that.”
“Still,” he whispered. “You’re everything I ever wanted. Even when I didn’t know what I wanted.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I kissed him again.
It got warmer after that. My senses felt heightened; I could feel every brush of his fingers, every whisper, every heartbeat under my palm. He pressed tiny kisses down the side of my neck, my shoulder, my collarbone. It wasn’t rushed or frantic. Just slow. Gentle. Familiar.
It wasn’t even about desire.
It was simple intimacy. Quiet, sacred. Something truly divine.
5/7
15:25
Chapter 120 – Red–Handed–1
Something only soulmates could have.
10 min left
“I like you like this,” he murmured into my shoulder. “When you’re sleepy and soft and not trying to argue with me about. every little thing.”
“I do not argue about every little thing.”
“You do. But it’s cute.”
“Don’t make me punch you.”
“There she is.”
I rolled my eyes and tried not to smile as I curled closer to him, wrapping one leg over his. “I’m serious though. I could stay like this forever.”
“So stay,” he said. “I’ll keep you safe.”
“You always do.”
I buried my face in his neck, and he wrapped both arms around me like he was anchoring me to himself.
We stayed like that for a long time.
Too long.
Because then, fate came knocking.
6/7
