Alex's POV

I halted, waiting for her to break the silence, but she remained wordless, fixating her gaze on me.

Sighing, I completed the blood cleanup, the once-white cloth now drenched with crimson. Trusting it to be effective, I disposed of it in a plastic bag, then donned my robe.

Wiping away the residual blood from the countertop, I squeezed the cloth in the sink. I sensed her eyes on me as I worked, and when I glanced at her through my peripheral vision, she was watching me.

"You need a shower, and then we'll assess your walking. It needs to be convincing that we really mated," I stated without...