The Silver Wolf (Diana and Talon) novel Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Diana froze the moment Artemis spoke. Her breath caught, heart slamming painfully against her ribs as the words echoed through her mind.

‘Our mate is outside.’

For a long, suspended second, she couldn’t even blink. Her body refused to respond, muscles locked as if the air itself had turned to stone. Every instinct she had-every scar carved into her soul-rose screaming to the surface.

A rogue outside her door?

She would have already been moving. Grabbing her blades. Opening the door without fear, without hesitation, ready to end the threat before it could breathe her name.

But this wasn’t a rogue.

This was a mate.

And the last time she had stood face to face with a mate, she had been rejected-discarded like a weakness, like something unworthy of standing at an Alpha’s side.

Pain flickered through her chest, sharp and familiar.

‘Diana, Artemis urged, excitement vibrating through their bond, bright and unrestrained. ‘Move. Open the door. I want to see mate.’

Diana swallowed hard, forcing air into her lungs. “Artemis… does he know about you?” she asked quietly. “Can he feel you?”

There was a pause, then Artemis answered, calm and certain. ‘I don’t think so. I’m still hiding my scent. He only feels you.’

Relief loosened something tight inside her. Just a fraction.

“Good,” Diana said firmly. “Don’t let him know about you. Not yet. We need to be careful. We need to know if we can really trust him.”

A snort echoed in her mind. ‘You still think about that pathetic Alpha ex-mate?’ Artemis scoffed. ‘I told you, our real fated mate will accept us. All of us. Unlike that stupid Alpha who couldn’t see what was right in front of him.’

The anger in Artemis’s voice wasn’t wild-it was protective. Loyal.

‘So come on,’ Artemis added, impatience bleeding through. ‘Open the door and let me see our

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Apte Twenty

mate.’

Diana hesitated one last time, fingers curling into fists at her sides.

Then she moved.

+25 Points

Each step toward the door felt heavier than the last, like she was walking straight into a memory she had spent years trying to bury. Her hand wrapped around the handle, pulse roaring in her ears.

She opened the door.

And promptly forgot how to breathe.

The male standing on her doorstep was… massive. Easily the tallest man she had ever seen, his broad shoulders nearly filling the doorway. His black hair fell in tousled waves around a sharp, commanding face, and when his deep blue eyes locked onto hers, something ancient and powerful stirred in her chest. His body was long, sculpted with muscle earned through battle and strength-every inch of him radiating Alpha power.

And he was completely, undeniably… naked.

Diana’s mouth dropped open before she could stop herself, eyes widening in pure, unfiltered shock.

“You’re very…” she gestured helplessly; heat flooding her face, “…naked!”

She had seen naked bodies before-plenty of them. It came with pack life, with shifting, with battles and injuries. It had never bothered her.

But this?

‘Why not?’ Artemis countered innocently. ‘He licked us earlier. We’d just be returning the favor. And he already asked if we wanted to lick him. I want to lick him. I bet he tasted good.’

‘Absolutely not, Diana muttered.

Talon frowned slightly, concern replacing amusement. “Are you okay?”

She blinked and looked back at him. “Yeah. Sorry. My wolf is just… annoying.”

Talon chuckled, the sound deep and warm. “Just

like my wolf. Annoying as he can be. I like her already.” Then he gestured subtly to his very naked body. “So… can you invite me inside? It’s a little difficult to have a proper conversation when I’m standing outside your house like

this.”

Her cheeks burned.

“Yes… yes, of course,” Diana said quickly, stepping aside. “Come in. I’ll get you something to wear. I still have my dad’s things here.”

As Talon stepped inside her home, the door closing softly behind him, Diana felt it-

That unmistakable pull.

The bond tightening.

3.4

And for the first time in years, instead of fear…

She felt something dangerously close to hope.

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