Chapter 20 The Gift

• The forest was alive around us, the wind cutting through the trees and carrying the rich scent of pine and damp earth.
• I walked beside Paxton, my legs still shaky. His hand rested lightly on the small of my back, guiding me back toward the cabin. I wasn’t tied this time—no ropes binding my wrists, no restraints holding me in place. He was showing me he trusted me, that he was a kind Alpha, like he’d said. But the weight of that trust was heavier than any rope could be.
• I huddled close to him, the warmth of his body a stark contrast to the cool air of the evening. My breath fogged in front of me, and for the first time, I felt the tension between us soften. It wasn’t gone, not entirely—how could it be? Paxton had always been the one in control, the one who had tied me down and taken what he wanted. But tonight, there was something different in the way he moved, in the way he touched me. It wasn’t just possessiveness anymore. There was something almost tender about it, something that made my stomach twist in ways I couldn’t understand.