Eira’s POV
I was happy about this vacation. It was the first of its kind in my life.
In the past, my days with those so called grandparents, all I had ever done was remain obedient within those suffocating walls, as instructed by those old hags, living under their rigid rules and constant scrutiny. Freedom had never truly belonged to me.
The first faint taste of it had come when we arrived at the StormHowl Pack six years back. Those six months I spent with Alice.
I had been surprised then that they allowed me to visit Alice’s home, to spend time with her and her family without interference.
At the time, I had believed it was because they considered me grown enough to take care of myself.
But now, I understood the truth.
They had done it deliberately. It had been part of their devious scheme of destroy my life, this pack and everyone dear to me. They had let me taste freedom just enough that I forgot caution. I had not doubted them. I had not suspected a thing.
And now, this vacation was different. This time I was traveling with my son. With my family. Roman had clicked a lot of pictures of everyone. I was going to frame so many of them.
At moments, it felt unreal, as though I were still dreaming.
Raven and I were genuinely happy.
Yet beneath that joy, I sensed a heaviness in the air.
The other five behaved normally, but something had felt different today. They were unusually calm. There was no chaos, no playful bickering as there usually was.
Rafe teased me as always, yet something felt incomplete, like his mind seemed elsewhere.
Lucian was quiet. Too quiet. There was a tension among them, subtle yet unmistakable.
I could feel it clearly. I had grown so accustomed to their presence that even the slightest change unsettled me.
When Lucian had told me earlier to be with Rafe, I sensed something was not right between them. I wondered if they had fought. Rafe’s teasing nature could be relentless, and Lucian’s patience had limits.
The others appeared to have deliberately refrained from stepping between them.
"What are you thinking, Caldwell?" Rafe’s voice drifted to me from beside my seat.
I turned toward him, studying his face closely. His eyes. The faint curve of his lips. I searched for something beneath his expression, as though I could peel back the surface and glimpse what he refused to show.
He smirked and leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Having some naughty thoughts, Caldwell?"
I frowned. The bastard could never remain serious for long. Perhaps this was how he had irritated Lucian as well.
"In your dreams," I replied coolly and turned my gaze away.
He shifted closer again, invading my space deliberately, his breath warm against my ear. "Come with me."
I turned to face him fully this time, offering him a silent, questioning glare.
"Just come with me," he repeated softly.
In this moving caravan, there was hardly anywhere to go beyond one corner or another.
He rose to his feet and extended his hand toward me.
I accepted it, using his support as I stood carefully.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
I nodded softly.
Still holding my hand, he led me toward the large bed at the far end. My heartbeat had already grown uneven, unsettled by the uncertainty of his intentions. I glanced down at our joined hands, then at his broad back as he walked ahead of me.
For all the ways he infuriated me, I did not hate him.
The warmth of his palm seeped into me, steady and grounding, and for a brief moment I became aware of nothing but our presence in that quiet space above.
We stopped beside the bed, and he finally turned to face me.
My heartbeat quickened instantly, drumming loudly in my ears.
He released my hand, only to slide his arms around me and lift me effortlessly into his embrace.
"Rafe..." His name escaped my lips as nothing more than a breath, fragile and uncertain.
He placed me gently upon the bed and leaned over me, his palms braced against the mattress on either side of my body. His face hovered close, his presence overwhelming in the confined space.
"Why do you look at me as if I am about to drain your blood?" he asked, a wicked glint in his eyes.
The bastard deliberately ran his tongue slowly along his canines.
My breath caught.
I swallowed hard, my gaze involuntarily drawn to the movement of his tongue. The deliberate tease. The confidence in the way he looked down at me, his predatory red eyes aware of the effect he was having.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Am I already getting seduced?

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