Vaelor had no idea how much longer he could tolerate the tension between them without losing control completely.

Every second near Claire felt physical now.

Her scent.

Her voice.

The way she looked at him right before arguing.

His wolf wanted her constantly.

Wanted her beneath him.

Around him.

Breathing his name against his mouth while he ruined her slowly enough to make her shake.

He'd planned to keep his distance until he understood what she truly was to him.

Then she casually mentioned she wasn't wearing underwear.

That plan died immediately.

Now every instinct inside him screamed the same thing:

Mine.

There was no chance he'd let her wander around the pack alone smelling like that.

Fine.

If she refused to let him take care of her willingly, he'd simply do it anyway.

Food.

Clothes.

Warmth.

Everything.

He just needed to be smarter about it.

"Morning, Dulce."

Vaelor rested his forearms against the counter casually while greeting the woman behind it.

Dulce smiled instantly.

"My Alpha."

Her voice softened immediately.

"How have you been?"

"Good." Vaelor smiled lightly. "And you?"

"Better if you took me out again someday."

Dulce leaned forward slightly.

"It's been a while."

Vaelor laughed quietly under his breath.

"Retired from that life."

His eyes flicked briefly toward Claire between the clothing racks.

"Thought everyone knew already."

Then he added smoothly—

"I'm practically a married man."

Across the store, Claire froze for half a second.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Vaelor watched her while pretending not to.

Tight shirt.

Soft curves.

Narrow waist.

Round hips that kept pulling his attention lower every time she walked away from him.

He had to swallow hard just imagining her naked in his bed.

God.

This woman was becoming a problem.

"Is that really enough?" Vaelor asked quietly after stepping beside her again.

Claire barely looked at him.

"For the few days I'll be here? Yes."

Liar.

The tension radiating off her body said otherwise.

She'd already picked jeans, shirts, a dress.

Now she stood in front of the lingerie section pretending his presence didn't affect her.

Which would've been more convincing if her heartbeat wasn't speeding up every time he got closer.

Claire grabbed a simple white cotton set first.

Vaelor stared at it silently.

Then at her.

Immediately, she changed her mind.

Interesting again.

The white disappeared back onto the shelf.

Black lace.

Dark pink.

Soft silk.

Much better.

Vaelor's gaze lingered openly this time.

Claire noticed instantly.

A small flicker of satisfaction crossed her face before disappearing.

Cute.

Very cute.

Then Vaelor reached past her and picked up a deep wine-colored lace set.

Expensive.

Delicate.

Beautiful.

Claire went completely still beside him.

The shift in her scent happened instantly.

Not arousal this time.

Something sharper.

Jealousy.

His wolf nearly purred.

Meanwhile Claire stared at the lingerie set like it personally offended her existence.

Of course she assumed it was for another woman.

Vaelor almost smiled.

Almost.

Instead he calmly added the set to her basket without explanation.

Claire blinked once.

Then looked at him suspiciously.

"You have opinions about underwear now?"

"Very strong ones."

Her face heated immediately.

Good.

For the first time since meeting her, Vaelor finally felt slightly less tortured than she did.

Claire quickly looked away again.

But her thoughts were loud all over her face.

Womanizer.

Arrogant.

Probably bought lingerie for half the town.

Vaelor could practically see the accusations forming behind her eyes.

The worst part?

A few days ago, she would've been right.

Now the idea of another woman touching him felt strangely wrong.

His wolf rejected it instantly.

Only Claire.

The realization hit hard enough to unsettle him.

Across from him, Claire folded another shirt too aggressively before tossing it into the basket.

She looked irritated.

Frustrated.

And unexpectedly sad.

Vaelor noticed immediately.

That bothered him more than it should have.

Because eventually she would leave.

Back to Seattle.

Back to her normal life.

Far away from him.

The thought sat badly in his chest.

Very badly.