Rex's Pov
I knew exactly what was happening.
The heat under my skin wasn't subtle—it never was. It burned, coiled, demanded. My rut had begun, and with it came the instinct that drowned out everything else. Logic. Restraint. Control.
None of it mattered.
Because my body had already chosen.
Her.
There was no point pretending otherwise. No point fighting it. Not when every breath I took felt incomplete without her scent filling my lungs.
And there she was.
Standing just inside her doorway.
Waiting.
Or maybe she wasn't waiting—but it didn't matter. The moment my eyes locked onto hers, something inside me snapped.
I crossed the distance before she could say a word.
My hand caught her wrist, the other at her waist, and before hesitation could even exist, I had her pressed back onto the bed. The world narrowed instantly—reduced to her, to the warmth of her beneath me, to the rapid rise and fall of her chest.
Mine.
The thought came unbidden, sharp and possessive.
Mate.
