#Chapter 39

Aaron’s POV I’m awoken by the sweetest smell of jasmine and a familiar warmth wrapped around me. For just an instant, I’m living in a dream, inexplicably swathed in the life I’ve been craving as I wake up with Mae in my arms. I don’t question how or why or how long it will last. I just breathe in the peace of this moment, grateful to have it at all. Then her body stiffens in my arms, and I know she’s awake. She slowly detangles from me, clearly trying not to wake me. I keep my eyes closed and breathing even, pretending to be asleep. I don’t remember how we ended up sleeping in each other’s arms, but I’m afraid that the second she knows I’m awake, she’ll express regret that I don’t want to hear. The bed undulates as Mae quietly slips out of it, and I listen as her footsteps recede behind a door that closes shut. Once she’s out of the room, I open my eyes, surprised to find we’re in her house. Leaning into my wolf’s hearing, I listen to the giggles emanating from Ruby’s roo