As if urging him further, Addison stuck out her tongue and initiated the kiss, playfully slipping into his mouth, teasing and tugging at his tongue with bold familiarity. Zion surrendered easily, lting into her warmth as he chased not only the physical spark but the deeper emotional one he desperately hoped to reclaim.
But it seems her hand alone wasn’t enough.
Instead, Addison shifted her hips and began grinding her wet, needy pussy against Zion’s hard cock, sending bolts of pleasure through his body. He nearly lost it right then and there. The sensation was maddening as it nearly broke what little self-control Zion had left.
’It felt too good.’
And Shura—his wolf—wasn’t helping. Shura was already snarling in want, eager to take her then and there without a second thought. For the beast within him, this was an invitation impossible to resist.
Zion was teetering at the edge of his self-control.
He instinctively leaned back into the sofa, his shoulders relaxing as his head lolled, eyes fixed on the ceiling while he savored the hot, wet friction that slid from the tip of his cock to the hilt.
His breath hitched, his jaw tightened, and though he held back for now, his darkened gaze, though dazed, sharpened with hunger, his instincts screaming to bury himself deep inside her.
Then Addison leaned in, her soft moans tickling Zion’s ear as she whispered breathlessly. The sound sent shivers down his spine, and instinctively, his hands found her hips, gripping her, steadying her.
He wanted to stop her from grinding her slick pussy against his throbbing cock, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. How could he? He’d been dreaming of this mont for so long, craving the chance to make things right, to mate with her again, properly this ti.
Fighting his instincts was like waging war against a storm; he was losing, sinking just like Levi had. Desire clouded his mind, tangled his thoughts, and blurred every line between reason and need.
Then, through her moans and gasps, he heard her sultry voice in his ear.
"I know you want to fuck hard..." she purred, and followed it with a low, coquettish snarl. "Just like the night we first mated. Mmm, I want to be fucked like that again. I want you to ss up..."
The words shattered whatever restraint he had left. His hips twitched, his body tensed, and he was ready, so ready, to bury himself deep inside her. But just as he was about to thrust forward, sothing flickered in the back of his mind.
He hesitated.
Zion gripped her shoulders instead and gently pushed her back, just enough to see her clearly. His dark eyes searched her face, studying her like it were the first ti. She was still the sa breathtaking woman who walked into the banquet hall yesterday, beautiful and alluring, but this wasn’t the sa confident, composed Addison.
No.
This version of her reeked of temptation, dripping with sultry seduction like a succubus wearing Addison’s face.
"Who are you?" Zion finally rasped, his voice hoarse as the last threads of rationality pulled him back from the edge of his burning desire.
It wasn’t just the seductive words that jolted him; it was what she said. The mont she brought up those nights, the ones where they mated like wild, insatiable lovers, he knew sothing was off. This wasn’t Addison.
The real Addison wouldn’t ntion those mories so casually... not without pain.
Zion knew her too well. For Addison, those nights were bittersweet, wrapped in longing, but poisoned by betrayal. Back then, she truly believed they could finally have a proper life together, that they could move forward and love freely without the weight of the past. But instead, it had all crumbled into a nightmare of heartbreak and pain.
Even now, Zion could still feel the ache in his chest when he rembered how she looked at him back then, with hope. And how he destroyed it.
So no, she wouldn’t speak of that ti so lightly. Not after everything. Not when the scars were still so fresh, like it just happened yesterday.
And that’s how he knew.
This wasn’t her.
Yes, those days were beautiful, peaceful, even. They had laughed, held each other like true mates, and for a fleeting mont, Zion believed he could let go of his hatred and grievances. He wanted to start over. They both did. They let their desires guide them, and it connected them in a way neither of them could deny.
But the Addison in front of him now, reeking of lust with no trace of hesitation, no flicker of pain, wasn’t his Addison.
Sothing was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
It wasn’t that Zion wanted Addison to stay trapped in that nightmare of pain. He didn’t wish for her to keep suffering, of course not. If anything, he desperately wanted her to forget those darkest nights, to be free of the mories that haunted her.
But he also knew healing didn’t co easily. Pain like that doesn’t just disappear.
That’s why he was prepared to face her wrath... to be hated, ignored, pushed away. He was ready to bear it all, if it ant she could eventually heal on her own terms.
So the mont he heard her speak of those nights so casually, so devoid of pain, with only lust in her voice, he knew sothing was terribly wrong.
This wasn’t his Addison.
No matter how perfect the voice, the face, the touch, this was sothing else, sothing rely wearing Addison’s flesh like a disguise.
And that chilling realization smothered every ember of desire in him.
Even his wolf had been fooled. For a mont, even Shura believed it was her.
"Who are you?!" Zion’s voice cracked with fury, laced with Alpha dominance as it erupted into a deadly growl. His aura slamd into the woman before him like a crashing wave.
But she didn’t even flinch.
She stared at him blankly, her expression vacant, as if she couldn’t comprehend his words at all.
"I know you’re not Addison," he growled again, his jaw clenched tight. "So tell —who... or what... are you?"
His hands twitched, aching to grip the imposter’s throat and force the truth out, but he couldn’t. That was Addison’s body. And no matter how vile the thing inside was, he couldn’t bring himself to harm her.
All he could do was try desperately to drive this thing out.
He could already imagine the horror and confusion that would shatter Addison when she woke up, realizing she’d done sothing she wasn’t even aware of. And if he, Levi, and Maxwell had been completely consud by instinct and lust... if they had fallen into her arms tonight, only to face her blank, devastated gaze in the morning...
She might think they took advantage of her.
The thought alone made Zion’s stomach churn.
Addison was already walking a thin line when it ca to trust. If they crossed that boundary, even unintentionally, it would destroy what little goodwill she still held for them. Especially him.
After all, her past with him was tainted.
She hadn’t had a good experience as his mate. That bond, once so full of promise, had decayed and festered over three long years. It had nearly broken her, and Zion knew that was his fault. He let it happen. He turned away when she needed him most.
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