The Wolf God's Unwanted Luna

Chapter 156: Unfinished Business

I turned slowly and found Zaliver standing just behind me, arms crossed over his chest, his expression stone-cold and completely unreadable. His piercing blue eyes pinned me right where I stood, holding me in place like a predator cornering helpless prey. His dark hair was slightly damp with sweat, stray strands sticking to his forehead. His broad, firm chest rose and fell beneath a shirt stretched far too tight across hard muscles.

Ugh. Focus, Vivian!

"What’s going on?" he asked sharply. "What has you all worked up?"

I blinked at him, forcing a fake expression of exaggerated confusion onto my face. "Me? Upset? What are you talking about?" My voice cracked embarrassingly at the end. I let out a forced, awkward laugh. Zaliver’s eyes narrowed into suspicious slits.

He took a single step forward. I mirrored him, side-stepping instead.

"You’ve been acting strange ever since the workout. If you’re still mad about earlier "

"Oh, no. Not at all! I’m fine. Really. I just don’t like feeling... sweaty, that’s all."

My wolf scoffed loudly inside my head.

Oh, so you don’t like a little sweat, but you plan on rolling around with him anyway?

My eyes went wide, and intense heat surged straight into my cheeks. I looked anywhere but at him, cursing my own thoughts and hers. Could she maybe not blurt out every mortifying truth at the worst possible moments?

I glanced nervously toward the bathroom door, trying to calculate whether I could make a sudden run for it. Zaliver was far too fast. I knew it. And the dark look on his face said he knew I was actively considering it.

I darted forward, but before I even got a full step in, his hand closed firmly around my upper arm. Warm. Strong. Unshakable.

I slowly tilted my head up to meet his eyes, caught completely red-handed.

"Wait... why are you...?" Zaliver started, his deep voice low and deeply concerned, confusion etched across his handsome face.

His dark brows drew together, and I could feel the raw tension radiating off him. My stomach twisted. That look like he was genuinely worried I was pulling away from him made my heart ache and race all at once. Part of me desperately wanted to blurt it out, to simply tell him I loved him. But it wasn’t the right moment. How do you even drop something that massive on someone like Zaliver? The timing had to be absolute perfection. This chaotic moment wasn’t it.

My lips parted.

"Nope," I muttered instead, snatching my arm out of his grasp with way too much sudden force. A few toiletries slipped from my hands and tumbled to the floorboards, but I didn’t stop to pick them up.