The alliance brought changes.
It reshaped everything—our once-familiar territory now buzzing with strangers. Torin's wolves prowled alongside ours, their eyes sharp and untrusting, mapping borders that suddenly felt too porous. Kael was a live wire, the mate bond thrumming with his relentless vigilance, every muscle coiled like a spring ready to snap.
Shared patrols meant unfamiliar wolves on our territory,learning our borders alongside us. Kael was on edge constantly, the bond humming with vigilance.
I tried to help. Joined patrols when I could. Learned the territory. Proved myself capable.
But nothing eased his tension except one thing.
Night.
When the sun set and the door closed, he was mine. And I was his.
The fourth night after the alliance, he came home later than usual.
I felt him approaching long before he arrived—his presence through the bond, tired but satisfied. No danger. Just another long day.
I had dinner waiting. A fire burning. And nothing on beneath my robe.and beneath my silk robe? Nothing but skin flushed with anticipation, nipples hardening at the mere thought of his touch.
He froze in the doorway, those molten gold eyes igniting as they raked over me.
"Elena."
"Welcome home, Alpha."I purred, letting the robe slip just enough to tease the curve of my breast.
He crossed the room in three strides. Pulled me into his arms.
"You're trying to kill me."
"Never." I kissed him. "Just reminding you what you're working for."
"Works." His hands found their way under my robe. "Definitely works."
You're a fucking temptress," he growled, hands sliding under the robe to grip my bare ass, fingers digging in possessively. "Trying to destroy me."
"Only to rebuild you," I whispered, crushing my mouth to his in a kiss that tasted of fire and need. My tongue tangled with his, bold and demanding.
His grip tightened. "It works. Gods, it works too damn well." His palm skated up my thigh, brushing the slick heat between my legs, drawing a gasp from me. "Already wet for me? My perfect little mate."
Dinner was forgotten.
cooled untouched as he scooped me up, my legs wrapping around his waist instinctively, the robe falling away like shed inhibitions. He carried me to the bedroom, depositing me on the rumpled sheets with a reverence that belied the feral gleam in his eyes. He stepped back, stripping off his shirt to reveal the sculpted planes of his chest, marked with faint scars from battles past—each one a testament to his strength.
The robe pooled open around me, exposing every inch: the swell of my breasts, the dip of my waist, the glistening ache between my thighs. His gaze was a physical caress, making my pulse throb.
"Beautiful," he breathed, voice thick with awe, shedding the rest of his clothes until he stood gloriously naked, his cock thick and straining, veins pulsing with need. "Every goddamn time. You steal my breath, Elena. You're a vision made for me to worship."
I arched toward him, fingers trailing down my own body in invitation. "Then stop staring and claim what's yours."
He prowled over me, a wolf unleashed. Clothes vanished in a frenzy—mine already gone, his kicked aside. Skin met skin, electric and scorching. His mouth crashed into mine, the kiss savage, all teeth and tongue, devouring me as if I'd vanish by dawn.
"I need you,"
"I need you," he snarled against my lips, his erection grinding against my core, teasing my entrance with its heat. "Every fucking day. Buried so deep inside you I forget the world exists."
"Take me, Kael," I moaned, nails raking down his back, urging him closer. "I'm dripping for you. Fill me up."
He took me hard and fast.
He surged into me with a primal roar, hard and unrelenting, stretching me to the brink of ecstasy. The day's pent-up fury channeled into every powerful thrust—deep, punishing strokes that slammed home, his hips snapping against mine with wet, rhythmic slaps. I met him thrust for thrust, legs locked around him, pulling him impossibly deeper, my walls clenching around his thickness like a vice.
Through our bond, it crashed over me: the raw fear of losing this, the iron will to shield us, the all-consuming love that burned hotter than any fire. It amplified everything—the slide of sweat-slick skin, the musky scent of our arousal filling the air, the electric zing where we connected.
"Look at me," he commanded, voice a guttural demand, slowing just enough to lock eyes.
I did, drowning in those golden flames.
"Mine," he growled, punctuating the word with a brutal thrust that made stars burst behind my lids.
"Yours," I gasped, hips bucking wildly. "All yours."
"Forever?" His pace quickened, coiling the tension tighter.
"Forever," I cried, teetering on the edge
The tension of the day poured into every thrust, every touch, every desperate sound. I matched him, pulling him deeper, taking everything he gave.
Through the bond, I felt it all—his fear of losing me, his determination to protect, his overwhelming love.
"Look at me."
I did.
Gold eyes burning.
"Mine."
"Yours."
"Forever?"
"Forever."
The first orgasm hit like a wildfire, ripping through me in shuddering waves as I clenched around
The first time left us both breathless.
But he wasn't done.
He rolled me onto my stomach, pulled my hips up. Entered me from behind with a groan.
"This angle," he breathed. "I can go deeper."
He could.
I cried out as he filled me completely, hitting places that made my toes curl. His hand found my hair, wrapped gently, pulled my head back.
"You feel that? How deep I am?"
"Yes. God, yes."
"That's where I belong." He thrust harder. "Inside you. Always."
I couldn't speak. Could only moan as he drove me toward another peak.
---
He reached around, found me with his fingers.
"That's it. Come for me. Let me feel it."
I did.
Screaming his name as pleasure ripped through me. He followed seconds later, buried deep, growling his release.
We collapsed together, tangled and sweaty.
"Holy—" I couldn't finish.
"Yeah." He kissed my shoulder. "Exactly."
We should have slept.
Instead, he pulled me close, traced patterns on my skin.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"For what?"
"For being here. For waiting. For—" He stopped. Swallowed. "For making this worth it."
I turned to face him.
"Kael."
"Yeah?"
"This isn't just worth it. This is everything." I touched his face. "You're everything."
He kissed me. Soft this time. Tender.
"I love you."
"I love you too. Now sleep. You have another long day tomorrow."
"So do you."
"Then we'll be tired together."
He smiled. Pulled me closer.
"Together."