Rylan was a cuddler.

Lyra couldn't deny that.

Not when she woke up at six in the morning with her mate at her back, snuggling her from behind. His breath brushed against her neck, his face buried in her hair, and his arms wrapped around her waist.

She wanted to curl up into a ball and die promptly.

But she couldn't.

There was no way in hell she was going to wake him up... plus she wouldn't deny it felt oddly nice. She'd slept well too, unlike most nights in her life, so maybe—

Lyra shook her head, face bright red. "Stupid bond," she muttered, pressing her face against her pillow. It wouldn't do for anyone to see her blushing, especially since that idiotic Alpha, Blaze, didn't seem to have any concept of personal boundaries.

"You awake already?"

His voice was husky, lined with sleep, his mouth—teeth—only millimetres away from the spot she knew most wolves marked their mates.

She'd seen enough of those with Omega Taurus.

"Yeah," she squeaked, trying to ignore the insistent tugging in her stomach.

The damned bond wanted her just to roll over and bare her neck to him.

Lyra refused to comply.

"You want to get breakfast, or do you want to stay in bed a bit longer?" he asked, his stare boring into her, the hairs on the back of her neck rising.

"Breakfast sounds great."

"Alright then," Rylan murmured, nuzzling into her neck for another awkward minute before finally relinquishing his hold. "Do you want to use the bathroom first or should I?"

"You can."

She bit her lip, wandering over to their gigantic wardrobe, ignoring the feeling of his eyes on her back. Oddly enough, she was completely fine with leaving her back to him.

Another damned side-effect of the bond.

Sighing, she pawed through all the racks of clothing, pulling herself away from her mate's comfy-looking sweaters and onto all her new clothes.

Blaze's preference in underwear was becoming all too apparent to her, and unsurprisingly it wasn't similar to hers in the slightest. She wanted normal boring pants, maybe ones with cute little wolves printed on them, not lacy and silky scraps of fabric which didn't cover a damn thing.

She picked up one of them, quietly investigating it, silently wondering how she was supposed to wear it.

It was not practical.

Not in the slightest.

How was she supposed to train while wearing that?

Though she doubted that was the exercise Blaze had been imagining when he'd ordered the black little lacy number for her.

Lyra reigned in her blush, cursing the annoying Alpha under her breath. Of course, he just had to make her thoughts venture in that direction... and he didn't even have to be in the room to do it.

"I'm done, Ly—"

She turned to him, still holding the item in question.

"Oh."

"Um," Lyra mumbled, staring right back at him.

"I'll... just go back to the bathroom now, bye."

She threw her new underwear away like it'd burned her, holding her hands to her bright red face. Why did the universe like to keep throwing these things her way? First she couldn't hold her tongue, and then she just had to be examining the scantiest pair of knickers she'd ever come across in her life when Rylan decided to pop his head back in.

She'd never be able to live it down.

She'd also never be able to run away from both the embarrassment and the danger.

There was no lying to herself anymore.

She wouldn't be able to leave her mate, even if she tried. Her body was already missing his presence, even though he was only behind a sturdy wooden door, and a small part of her mind had already decided it wanted to make him hers.

It was probably the same side of her which kept putting all those naughty thoughts into her head.

Static crackled in her ears suddenly, a spike of pain rushing through her head.

"Don't be naughty while I'm out, Ly-Ly."

Lyra grabbed her head, wincing. "Ouch."

"You OK out there?" Rylan called, cracking open the door ever so slightly.

"I'm not dressed yet!" she yelled, relaxing ever so slightly as the bathroom door slammed shut once more. Lyra rubbed her head, shaking away the odd image. That voice was familiar... and yet it wasn't from her time in Omega Taurus.

And that could only mean one thing.

It was his voice – the one who'd been like a brother to her before she was taken.

So why did it feel like she'd heard it again recently?

Admittedly, it was deeper and far more masculine, but the similarities were there, and the question was boring into her brain.

"You decent yet?" Rylan asked, snapping her out of her thoughts and onto far more important matters.

She needed to get dressed.

Urgently.

"Right," she mumbled, quietly weighing up the options. Her gaze lingered on Rylan's side of the wardrobe, teeth biting down on her lip.

Should she, or shouldn't she?

"Let's just get this over with," she muttered, yanking open her mate's drawers, quickly sneaking out a pair of boxers. "I do hope these are new."

Though she doubted that.

They smelt like him far too much.

Not like that sly sneaky part of her didn't already know.

She pulled her attention away from her mate's underwear, grabbing the first pieces of clothing she saw, throwing it on as quickly as she could. Blaze had already proven he had no qualms about bursting in whenever. "Should I...?" she mumbled to herself, silently eyeing up one of Rylan's sweaters.

The temperature of the room soon made up her mind.

It was winter, and she liked being warm.

So stealing one of her mate's sweaters it was.

"Is it safe?"

Smiling slightly, she turned to the bathroom. "It's safe."

"Great," he said, emerging, cheeks still oddly flushed. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine," she muttered, biting her lip as she stared determinedly at the ground, silently berating her lack of courage.

Wasn't she supposed to be a scary rogue?

Yet there she was, blushing like a little schoolgirl, stammering over her words whenever she tried to talk to him. Still, at least she wasn't outright terrified like she'd thought she'd be when she first woke up in the unfamiliar place.

Now it was home.

She had a home. One she actually liked returning to oddly enough... and no doubt it was all to do with the man staring down at the floor alongside her.

"You OK to head downstairs?" Rylan's voice broke the silence.

"Sure," she mumbled, trailing after him as he left the safety of their bedroom.

"About damn time you finally showed up!" Blaze said, folding his arms, smirking as he leant against the wall. "Me and Blaine have spent ages planning your—"

"Blaze, I'm not going gallivanting off anywhere with Lyra today, OK?" He sighed, shaking his head. "We were attacked, in case you've forgotten, so I'm spending the day with my mate inside these lovely walls, end of story."

"Aww, you're no fun, Ry-Ry." Blaze pouted. His gaze, unfortunately, soon turned onto her, looking her up and down once or twice before a loud sigh escaped his mouth. "Rylan..."

"What?"

"I know you're a complete prude, but you could've at least let her wear some of those nice panties I bought for the pair of you," he said matter-of-factly, and Lyra's face burnt.

How the hell did he know?

"But... she is?"

Blaze blinked, realisation flashing across his face, and a devious grin pulled at his lips. "So you don't know that dear sweet Lyra here is wearing a pair of your boxers?"

"What?" She folded her arms. "They're way more practical for training than those flimsy scraps of lace you bought me!" she yelled, face bright red. "Besides... whose pants I wear is entirely my own business."

Blaze smirked. "Sure... just so long as you don't decide to wear any of mine."

Rylan growled, glaring down at him.

She felt satisfied, strangely enough. Her mate was taller and could send the other Alpha running should he choose. He all but radiated power.

And he was hers.

Teeth sunk into her lip, hard enough to draw blood. The thought of belonging – of having someone to worry about – in that way made her heart ache. It was a connection she'd always wanted deep down and now she had a chance to make that dream come true. Yet she was scared. Too scared to make a move.

He was doing the leading.

She was too scared.

Cowardly.

Her hands curled into fists.

Weak.

Fingers closed around her wrist, the sudden warmth making her startle, brown eyes meeting those icy blue pools she knew she could get lost in. They reminded her she wasn't there. No, she was safe.

"So... any ideas on what you want to do today?" he asked, pulling her forwards gently, ignoring the sputtering Alpha behind them. "After breakfast, of course."

Lyra mulled over all the answers she could give, which didn't take her very long – seeing as there was only one option she knew.

"T—Training?"

-----

ILLENIS HERE

Sooo...

Thirteenth chapter done.

Thirteen is actually one of my favourite numbers, despite it being unlucky, which is why I ended up deciding on thirteen books. Twelve is a good number for a Council, in my opinion, but seeing as they need to vote on things... Thirteen it was.

Besides, I've used the number seven far too much in some of my other unpublished works.

Happy reading everybody.

See ya all around.

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