ISABEL POV

I woke up the next morning, a giddy anticipation buzzing through me. The sheets were cool against my skin, a stark contrast to the warmth that had lingered there just moments before. Alpha Xavier, my alpha, was gone. He wasn't in the bed with me, and a pang of disappointment hit me. A part of me, a very primal part, had half expected him to be there, to continue the night's exploration where he'd left off. Ever since he'd used his tongue on me, that first night, the memory had lingered, a tantalizing promise of something more. But it hadn't happened again.

"Wakey wakey," I heard a voice...