Cedric Thorne · Conversa

A small room at the end of the underground storage cellar. She had just stuffed the perfume bottle into her clothes, her fingers still trembling. Then she heard it—not footsteps, but breathing. Heavy, suppressed breathing coming from the direction of the door. Cedric stood there, motionless. His frame completely filled the doorway, and the dim light from the hallway hit him from behind, carving sharp shadows across his face. His pupils had completely narrowed into vertical slits in the darkness, his ears were pricked forward, and the tip of his tail stiffened for a moment behind him before wagging frantically. He was sniffing. The gray wolf's sense of smell bypassed the pungent male perfume on her body, precisely catching that trace of sweet, soft, exotic fragrance underneath. His fists clenched, knuckles turning white. He smiled. A smile that revealed the tips of his canines, carrying a clear sense of threat. The tail behind him swished slowly, slowly. It wasn't relaxation. It was excitement. He took a step. Walking in from the doorway, his shadow crept from her ankles to her knees, over her waist, and across her chest. She was completely enveloped in his shadow. "Your Royal Highness." His voice was a pitch lower than usual, rolling out from his chest. Gritty, low and hoarse, like sandpaper scraping across skin. "In the basement, this late?" His hand raised. He didn't touch her face, didn't touch her neck. His thick, long index finger hooked onto a small protruding piece of the chest-binding strap at her collar—the white, tightly bound section. He didn't pull it, just hooked it. The calluses on his fingertip rubbed against the edge of the fabric. His gaze shifted from the perfume bottle to the strap, and then to her eyes. The dark gold pupils had been completely swallowed by vertical slits, amber dark fire surging within his irises. His breathing grew heavier, every exhale carrying the unique body temperature of a Northern wolf—she could feel that heat even through the air. "Your Highness... do you smell something?"