The Snow Wolf's Mate

What the Shadows Remember:

[POV: Aria]

That dream didn’t end when I thought it would. It deepened. Tangled itself into something darker, hungrier—inevitable.

Hayden’s hands roamed my body like he already knew every inch of it, like he’d memorized my shape long before I even understood it myself. His lips devoured mine—slow and demanding—each kiss a claim, each breath between us searing.

We weren’t speaking anymore.

There were no words in this place—just heat and tension and a need that had been boiling for far too long.

I clung to him, my arms locked tight around his neck, my fingers digging into his hair. He kissed me like he didn’t care where we were—like the whole forest had vanished and we were the only two people left.

My back hit a tree, bark rough against my skin, grounding me in the only way it could.

Hayden didn’t stop. He didn’t hesitate.

His eyes met mine—stormy, wild, possessive—and I saw everything in them.

Every flicker of restraint he’d ever shown me? Gone.

He gripped my thighs and lifted me effortlessly, pinning me to the trunk with a growl that sent heat in my core. I gasped, my legs instinctively wrapping around his waist as he held me there—firm and unshakable, his body pressing into mine in a way that made my blood burn.

I couldn’t think. Could barely breathe. But I didn’t want to. I wanted to feel.

He kissed me again, harder this time, our mouths crashing together with a heat I couldn’t contain. His hands gripped my hips as he rolled against me, slow and teasing, making me arch and whimper, desperate for more.

He pulled back just enough to whisper my name against my lips—raw, reverent, like a prayer he wasn’t sure he deserved to say out loud.

“Aria.”

My name in his voice was enough to unravel me.

He pushed my clothes up, baring my thighs to the cool night air. His mouth found my neck again, then lower, trailing heat down my collarbone as he slid into me with a groan that shook the air around us.

I gasped—half pain, half bliss—and clutched at his shoulders as he began to move.

There was nothing gentle about it. It was wild. Desperate.

Each thrust made my back scrape against the bark, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t care. All I knew was the feel of him inside me, the way he filled every inch of me, the way our bodies moved like they were made to fit together.

He was everywhere—his breath, his hands, his voice in my ear telling me how good I felt, how much he wanted me.

And goddess, I wanted him too.

The pressure built with every roll of his hips, every grind that sent sparks through my veins. I felt like I was going to break apart, like the sky itself would split in two if he kept going, and yet I didn’t want it to stop.

I never wanted it to stop.

Until the dream began to fade, dissolving into the darkness behind my eyes.

But even as I drifted toward waking, one truth remained, echoing through my mind like a heartbeat.

I wanted him. And maybe… He wanted me too.