Chapter 136: Chapter 136: The Moon’s Relentless Pull
RAMON’S POV
Ivy couldn’t have told her. She had always been fiercely protective of our secret relationship, especially from Sonia. The last thing my sister wanted was for the girl who had somehow wormed her way into her heart to learn the truth too soon.
"Why Ivy?" I demanded, my voice low and edged with frustration. "Why didn’t you think of Lorena, or even Blane? There’s also Daniel."
Sonia tilted her head slightly, studying me with those wide, perceptive eyes that always seemed to see too much. "Don’t get me wrong, I can see you care about them. But there’s just something about the way you treat Ivy. I know, because it’s the same way Seth treats me. The same way my brothers treat me."
I forced a laugh, sharp and hollow, to hide how right she was. She wasn’t supposed to know about our relationship. Not even Lorena, with all her self-proclaimed cleverness, had managed to piece it together. If Sonia knew the full truth, her knowledge would hold far too much power—power I couldn’t afford to give her.
"Or you’re hoping she’s special to me," I countered, keeping my tone deliberately cold. "Perhaps you want it to be that way, so you can continue getting special favors, courtesy of your relationship with her."
I saw her shoulders slump, her face fall like a shadow passing over the sun. Better her being sad than knowing the truth. Ivy didn’t want out yet, she had made that clear.
"You wound me with all of your accusations," Sonia said softly, her voice carrying a quiet hurt that twisted something deep in my chest. "To think you do so because of what someone said about me. How is that fair?"
"No," I replied, my words cutting like a blade. "I do it because of who your father is. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree."
"So you’re saying your father was just as terrible as you are?"
My eyes darkened with sudden, blinding anger. How dare she speak about my father so casually? The memory of his bloodied body, the screams of my mother, the ruins of our pack, it all surged forward like a tidal wave.
I was on her before I could stop myself, my hand lifting to deliver a slap that would silence her insolence. But midway through the motion, something stopped me cold. Her eyes, wide, vulnerable, filled with a quiet strength that refused to break—held mine. I couldn’t do it. The rage drained from my arm like water through sand, leaving only a hollow ache.
Stepping back, I rose from the bed, my back turned to her as I tried to regain control. "Take that back," I said, my voice rough and strained.
I didn’t hear her rise, but I felt her. Her soft hands slipped around my waist from behind, warm and tentative, pressing gently against my bare skin. The contact sent a jolt through me, my wolf surging forward with a possessive growl I barely contained.
"I’m sorry, Alpha Ramon," she whispered against my back, her breath warm through the thin fabric. "I didn’t mean to upset you. I just want you to see how harsh you are on me. Perhaps you would tone it down. I’m not who you think I am. Freya lied to you."
"She called you a healer," I said, my voice tight. "Was that also a lie?"
She went silent for a few seconds. I could almost hear her mind working, calculating a careful retort. Or maybe it was just my own mind trying to distract me from the way her hands felt around my body. The second her touch landed, my wolf came alive, clawing at my control with relentless hunger.
I was already fighting the heat that wanted me closer to her. She had to go and make it ten times more difficult.
Just like with everything concerning her, difficulty was always to be expected.
"But you didn’t believe I could heal people until very recently," she said quietly. "Makes me think you just wanted to believe the worst of me."
"Would it be wrong to do that?" I shot back. "Am I not justified?"
Her hands left my body, and I almost reached back to pull her close again. My wolf threatened me, clawing at my heart with sharp insistence. He wanted me to bring her back to where she belonged—pressed against me, where the bond could sing.
She suddenly appeared in front of me, her eyes shining brightly with a mix of defiance and something softer, more vulnerable.
"You have every right to be upset," she said, her voice steady despite the tremor I caught beneath it. "But for how long? I should leave now. If I stay any longer, you may be forced to do something you’d regret."
She gave me a small, sad smile before turning around. The sight of her walking away hit me like a physical blow. I realized I couldn’t watch her leave the second she took her first step toward the door.
I pulled her back with more force than I intended, dragging her toward the bed. She landed beneath me as I pinned her down, my body hovering over hers, the heat between us crackling like lightning before a storm.
"Didn’t I tell you the doctor said you should rest?" I asked, my voice rough as I stared down at her.
"I can rest in the house you gave me," she replied, avoiding my gaze by turning her face to the side. Her cheeks were flushed, her breathing shallow.
"The cursed house, you mean?"
"It’s just the land that’s cursed. The empty land, I mean."
"Still, you shouldn’t stay there all alone. Stay here, so in case anything happens, someone would be fast to attend to you."
I didn’t know why I said that. I was supposed to let her leave, to push her away before the full moon made me do something irreversible. But every time she tried to walk away, I found myself wanting her back, the bond pulling tighter with every breath.
"Is that person going to be you?" she asked, her voice soft but laced with challenge. "Because I know you have to leave too."
"I do? Pray tell, where I’m supposed to be?" I asked, actually amused this time despite the storm raging inside me.
"My father always goes around on the eve of the full moon. He likes to ensure everyone is playing their part."
"Are you drawing comparisons between me and your father now?"
She shook her head vigorously, her hair spilling across the pillow like dark silk. "I didn’t mean to do that. Sorry."
"Has anyone ever told you that you apologize a lot?"
"Yes. You’ve said it before, I think."
I turned her head slowly with my fingers, until she was looking directly into my eyes. Her gaze was wide, vulnerable, and filled with a quiet fire that made my wolf howl.
"I hope you don’t get in over your head? The full moon is going to be over soon. We’re not going to be this close after it’s over."
"I know," she whispered, her breath brushing my lips. "That’s why I’m trying not to get too close. You’re not making it easier."
Taken aback by her boldness, I lifted a brow. She had these little moments where she came alive in the most surprising of ways—defiant, teasing, unafraid. It was something that quite fascinated me. Something I wondered about far too often.
"How am I not making it easier?" I asked, my voice dropping lower. "By bringing you to my room after you fainted? Isn’t that just common courtesy?"
"Well, the Ramon that hates me and everything I represent would have left me lying unconscious."
"I could still leave you alone," I said, even as my body betrayed me, pressing closer. "Send you back to the cursed land, so you can see how much I despise you."
"I don’t think you despise me."
"No?" My forehead creased. It was a bold statement to make, especially now.
"Nope." Her eyes held mine, steady and unflinching. "I think you hate my father, and because I’m a representation of him right here, right now, you use me as a punching bag. Metaphorically, of course. In fact, I think if we had met under a different circumstance, you would have fallen hopelessly in love with me."
I didn’t fully understand the boldness until the clock chimed softly in the distance. It was almost midnight. The day had slipped away so fast, most of it spent tangled up with Sonia in ways I never planned.
It also explained her boldness. The closer it was to the full moon, the more the bond stirred, pulling us both under like a riptide.
She lifted her body suddenly, closing the distance, and kissed me. Her lips were soft, warm, and insistent, tasting of quiet defiance and unspoken need. When she pulled back, her eyes were darkened by raw desire, her wolf purring audibly in the charged silence between us.
"You should have sent me away," she whispered, her breath mingling with mine.
The full moon was rising, and with it, every wall I had built was crumbling faster than I could rebuild them.
