Chapter 16 – Dinner Date Got a Little Bit Hot
Fiona’s POV
I barely glanced at the menu when the server laid it down. I think I said “thank you,” but my mind was a thousand miles away-still caught in the echo of Jamal’s voice, still wrestling with how easily Alpha Xavien had become… ours. Mine and Jamal’s. Like he belonged.
I didn’t know when that shift happened. Maybe it was gradual. Maybe it was the moment Xavien stood between me and Alpha Dorian like a damn wall of fury and muscle. Maybe it was the way he knew how I liked my tea without asking, or the way Jamal lit up whenever he walked into the room. I didn’t know. But the knowing scared me.
A gentle tap on my hand pulled me back. Xavien’s thumb brushed against my knuckles, steady, warm. Grounding.
“You seem miles away tonight,” he said, voice low, familiar.
I gave him a weak smile and circled the rim of my wine glass with one finger. “Oh, just… things.” I hated how vague I sounded. But how could I dump years of trauma onto linen napkins and a candlelit table?
He didn’t press, which made me love him a little more and fear him even more than that.
But then he leaned in, his usual teasing smirk traded for something softer, something that made my heart stutter.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about us lately,” he said. His eyes didn’t leave mine. “You and Jamal… you mean the world to me. And I think it’s time I introduced you to my mother.”
My breath caught.
Just like that, the air shifted-thickened. Even my wolf, who’d been curled quietly in the back of my mind all evening, perked up and growled low with nerves.
His mother.
I blinked, trying to process, to breathe through the sudden tightness in my chest. “Your… mother?”
Xavien gave me a small, reassuring smile. “Yeah. She’s heard a lot about you. She’s been asking questions I can’t keep dodging.”
He said it like it was no big deal, like this was the most natural next step. But for me, it was a plunge off a cliff.
I dropped my gaze to the untouched plate in front of me. Everything felt like it was moving too fast. This wasn’t just dinner anymore—it was territory I’d sworn never to cross again.
Meeting a mate’s mother? That was a forever kind of move. That was the kind of thing I did once, a long time ago, when I was naive enough to think love could fix broken promises.
*I… I don’t know, Xavien,” I whispered, trying not to let the panic show. But I knew he heard it. I saw it in the way his brow furrowed, his hand tightening just slightly around mine.
“Talk to me,” he said gently.
I bit my lip. “It’s not you,” I said. “It’s just… everything. Meeting your mom? That’s not small, Xavien. That makes this real. Real in a way that scares the hell out of me.”
I couldn’t say Dorian’s name, but I didn’t have to. Xavien knew the shadows I walked through.
He didn’t interrupt. Just waited. Let me finish.
“After what I went through,” I continued, “I’m still figuring out how to be a whole person again. Let alone someone’s partner. Let alone someone’s Luna.”
Xavien’s thumb stroked slow circles over my knuckles. “Fiona, I don’t need you to be ready tonight. Or tomorrow. Or even next month.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “But I’m not going anywhere. You need time? Take it. I’ll be here.”
I looked up at him, and my wolf settled down again, soothed by the truth in his voice. She didn’t trust easily-but him? She didn’t growl at him.
A soft breath escaped me, and I gave his hand a squeeze. “Thank you.” I murmured. “I just… need to move at my own pace.”
He smiled, and it reached his eyes this time. “We’ll walk it together. No rush. No pressure. Just us.”
And for the first time all evening, I let myself exhale. The past hadn’t disappeared. But for the first time in a long time, the future didn’t feel like a trap. It felt like something I might choose.
One day.
The evening had been… perfect.
I couldn’t stop replaying it all in my head-the laughter, the lingering glances, the wine that made my thoughts softer and my heart louder. But underneath it all, there was a heat simmering between us, slow and steady like coals waiting for the right spark.
Alpha Navien glanced toward the window. The moonlight spilled in like liquid silver, bathing everything in a dreamy glow.
“It’s a beautiful night,” he murmured, his voice rough velvet. “Want to take a walk and soak in the moonlight?”
His words were simple. But his voice? His voice made my stomach flip.
I smiled. “Lead the way, Xavien.”
We stepped into the night, the air crisp against my bare shoulders. The moon was full, hanging, casting everything in a glow that made the world feel a little more magical.
Navien walked close, his fingers brushing mine every few steps like he couldn’t help himself. Neither could 1. I kept sneaking glances at him- how his shirt clung to his chest, how his every movement radiated strength and case.
Suddenly, he stopped.
I turned to him, only to find him already facing me. The moonlight caught in his dark eyes, and the look he gave me nearly knocked the air from my lungs.
“You’re looking at me like that again,” he said, his voice a deep, husky tease that vibrated straight through me.
I didn’t even try to pretend. I licked my lips, already breathless. “Can you blame me?” I murmured. “God, Navien. You look too good tonight. It’s messing with my sanity.”
He smiled, slow and wicked. My wolf purred in response.
He stepped closer, his hand lifting to brush my check, then trailing down the line of my jaw. “That so?” he whispered. His breath was warm against my skin. “Because every time you look at me like that, all I can think about is how good it would feel to have you wrapped around me. Skin to skin. No distractions.”
That was it. I snapped.
I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him to me, my lips crashing into his like I’d been starving. Maybe I had. The kiss was hungry, messy, and real-his hands sliding down my back before he grabbed my ass, pulling me flush against him like he needed every inch of me.
When he broke the kiss, his eyes were burning. “Baby,” he growled, and his voice was rough with need, “you’re killing me. You look so damn sexy under this moonlight. I swear I’m two seconds away from tearing that dress off you and claiming you right here.”
I gasped, arousal punching through me. I was already wet. Already aching.
“Then why don’t you?” I whispered, the words tumbling out before I could even think.
His hands tightened on my hips, and he leaned in, lips just a breath away. “Because if I start, I’m not stopping until I hear you scream my name loud enough to wake the forest.”
And then… raindrops.
The first one landed on my shoulder. Then another. And then the skies opened, a full-on downpour drenching us in seconds. But neither of us moved. We just stood there, water streaming down our faces, our clothes clinging to our bodies like second skin.
Xavien looked at me, rain dripping from his lashes, and laughed. I laughed too-loud and breathless and free.
Third Person POV
Her dress was soaked, clinging to every curve of her body, and Alpha Xavien’s heart slammed in his chest as his gaze fell on her.
The thin fabric molded to her skin, leaving little to the imagination, and he could see her breasts pressing against the wet dress, her nipples hard and visible through the soaked fabric.
Fiona didn’t wear a bra tonight.
“Fek,” Alpha Navien cursed, his voice hoarse with need, his eyes dark with hunger as he stared at her. He wanted her. Right here, right now.
His body ached with the raw desire coursing through him. Without thinking, his hands reached down, gripping her firmly by the waist, his fingers digging into the wet fabric of her dress.
He pulled her closer, lifting her easily as his hands slid to her butt, lifting her up against him.
She gasped, her arms wrapping around his neck as he kissed her hard, almost feral now, the rain streaming down their faces, their clothes sticking to their skin.
Her legs wrapped around his waist as he held her, both of them soaked, but neither caring. The heat between them was enough to burn through the cold rain.
“I need to take you somewhere private.” Alpha Navien growled into her car, his voice thick with lust.
His lips brushed her ear before biting down gently, making her gasp. Without waiting for a response, he lifted her fully into his arms, her legs tightening around him, and he carried her back toward the hotel.
Alpha Xavien kicked the door shut behind them, their soaked bodies dripping as they moved through the dimly lit room. He carried her effortlessly, his hands firm on her hips, and when he reached the bed, he laid her down with an intoxicating mix of tenderness and urgency.
Fiona’s soaked dress clung to her body, outlining every curve in the most seductive way possible.
The fabric hugged her skin like it was made for this moment, accentuating her every breath, every shiver of anticipation. Alpha Xavien stood above her for a moment, his chest rising and falling with each heavy breath as he took in the sight of her.
“God…” he muttered, running a hand through his damp hair, his eyes roaming her body, lingering on her hardened nipples visible through the drenched fabric. “You look… so fcking perfect.”
She arched her back slightly, the fabric pulling tighter, showing him exactly what he was craving.
A wicked smile danced on her lips, her eyes dark with desire as she gazed up at him. “Are you just going to stand there. Xavien? Her voice was low, sultry, challenging him.
His jaw tightened, the heat between them unbearable. He leaned in, his knee pressing into the bed beside her, his breath hot against her neck. Fck. Baby!…” he growled, his voice thick with lust. “This dress is killing me. I want to rip it off of you. Right now.”
His hand slid up her thigh, the wet fabric bunching under his fingers as he slowly dragged it up, revealing more of her silky skin. The tension in the air was electric, his gaze locked on hers, daring her to look away as his fingers toyed with the edge of the fabric.
“You’re making it hard to stay in control,” Alpha Xavien rasped, his lips brushing against her car, sending shivers down her spine. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold back.”
She bit her lip, her body aching for him, her pulse racing as she whispered back. “Then don’t. I don’t want you to.”
