Stella POV
"More like it?" I muttered under my breath while I stared at him in a thick and suffocating silence that stretched longer than I intended.
My heart thumped hard in my chest, each beat loud in my ears.
His gaze stayed glued to my face, searching, wary…he must have been afraid of the outcome, because I noticed a flicker of unease crease his brows. It was brief, almost imperceptible, but it was there.
He stretched a finger toward me, hesitated, then retracted it again, definitely afraid I might swat it away.
That alone twisted something painfully in my chest.
I lowered my gaze.
Half wolf. Half human.
The words echoed in my mind like a chant I couldn't silence.
I stared at Adrian, really stared this time, as if by sheer force of will I could peel back his skin and see what lay beneath—fur, claws, fangs…or the same warm body that had held me only hours ago.
My heart raced, but strangely, it wasn't fear alone that gripped me.
It was confusion.
