“I have always held these powers, but they are strong, stronger than anyone knows,” she whispers, and then meets my eyes. “I hid them, they make me different. For years, I hated the place I was born into, the expectations. I just wanted to help people, and I did, me and my best friend, the prince. Then he was killed in an accident. Wild magic escaped the forest and sucked him dry while we were near it to heal those who dwelled there. It was fast, so fast I couldn’t even help him. I remember falling to my knees next to him and just crying. The guards came but didn’t help me. I needed to heal him, I tried, I tried so hard, but he was beyond help. The only people who helped me were those who were there…the poor. They held my hand, they closed his eyes, and they carried him with me to the palace. The queen blamed me and all of those dwellers, and over the years, she took it out on us. Her grief twisted her into something violent and evil.”
I hold her closer, feeling her pain.
“After that, I tried to be the good noble lady, but I would still go and heal those who needed it. I had been fighting off an arranged marriage for years when I was finally told it was happening. I thought I could do it, Slate, but I was wrong. He was an evil man, truly evil, hiding behind a beautiful mask.” She shakes her head. “The night the magic of our lands chose me as the heir to the throne and the queen informed me I would die before that happened, he-he hurt me so badly, my magic burst forth.”
She looks at me with such pain, her untrained magic swirling around her to protect her.
“It only got worse after that. I had lessons with the queen where she would berate and torture me. The man who vowed to be my husband attacked me, hit me, kicked me, tore me down until, one night, he took it too far.” I sense her hesitation, so I cup her chin. I know what’s coming, but she clearly needs to say it again, not in the haze of passion, and I will always listen.
“Nothing you could ever say will stop me from caring for you, darling. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” I murmur, but she shakes her head.
“I want to, he-he tried to ruin me for anyone else. He touched me, Slate, and not in the nice way you did. After, I knew I had to leave. I was dying with each passing day, so I escaped with the help of a friend, and I ran straight into the forest. They chased me, how could they not? I am destined to be the heir, the lands have chosen, they are duty bound to retrieve me. They won’t ever stop, but I am never going back.” Her eyes harden. “Never. That was never my home or where I belonged. I was a wilting flower in a toxic garden, but no longer. The world is too vast for such pain every day, and now here we are, together.”
“I’m glad you told me, darling,” I offer softly, holding her close as she relives her pain. For those suffering, all you can do is let them know you are there and that you see them.
“I am too. I thought it would make it worse to talk about it, but it made me feel so much better, like this weight was lifting.” She leans up and kisses me. “I guess it’s in the past. I can’t hold onto it forever, especially when I have so much to look forward to…mate.”
I grin, and when she presses her lips to mine, I can’t help but let out a wolfy growl that has her giggling as she rushes to her feet and tries to flee, but I’m on her in a moment. I catch her near the den, pinning her to a tree. Within a moment, I have her dress hiked up and I’ve dropped to my knees, covering her pussy with my mouth. I’m unable to go another moment without tasting her, and reassuring myself that my mate is here and unharmed.
She groans, her hand anchoring in my hair. “If only your noble friends could see their future queen now, all trussed up and at the mercy of the big bad wolf.” I roll my eyes up and meet hers. “And I plan to eat you whole.”
She moans and closes her eyes as her head drops back to the tree, and I give up teasing. I bury my tongue inside her before dragging it along her pussy, back and forth, until she is shamelessly rubbing herself against me. She’s shedding that icy, perfect façade she wears, becoming my beautiful, wild mate. She begs and screams and claws at my head, unapologetic in her passions as she fucks herself on my face. I finally add two fingers and stroke along the front of her channel, sending her shrieking into orgasm. I lick her through it, unable to get enough of her sweetness until my cock jerks, unable to handle not being in her for a moment more.
Getting to my feet, I hoist her up, and her legs wrap greedily around my waist as she reaches between us and strokes my hard cock. Her eyes are lazy, and she wears a hungry, naughty smile on those lips, making me groan. “Later, I want you in my mouth,” she purrs, and fuck if I don’t nearly come at the thought.
“Later. Right now, I need to be inside you,” I snarl, feeling my wolf moving under my skin to get as close to her as he can. She guides me to her entrance as I kiss her, swallowing her moan as I slam inside her tight channel.
Fuck, she feels amazing. Each time I have her, I think it’s the best, but then the next time is better—how wet she gets, her body moving in sync with mine, and how fucking beautiful she looks screaming my name as she comes. Sex has never been like this, but that’s because it’s between mates. Everything is enhanced, and there’s passion and a hunger I can’t control.
She makes me wild.
She moans against my lips, biting on them as she clenches around me, already trying to make me come. Fuck. I can barely think with her wrapped around me. I try to hold back, to not hurt her with my darkness, but she doesn’t let me. Using the tree for leverage, she slams herself onto my cock, and each time we come together, she unleashes this desire she has no hopes of controlling. She’s embracing her sexuality, and I love how she is willing to take whatever she wants without being ashamed of it.
I let go of my control and just give in to the siren call of her body, losing myself in her. I fuck her hard and fast, our skin slapping together loudly in the forest.
Our lips clash in a desperate kiss as I reach between our bodies and pinch her engorged clit. She rips her mouth from mine, tossing her head back as her orgasm crashes through her.
Her scream rivals that of the monsters’, and I hear them pull back at it. I let out my own roar of possession and ecstasy, and our cries echo together through the forest.
Mates, forever.
Alejandra
“Tell me,” I insist, rolling over to face him as he lounges next to me. The days have passed so quickly, with both of us wrapped up in each other now that we have decided to give ourselves fully to the mating bond. We know we will probably have to leave at some point. The hunt won’t stop looking for me, and it’s not safe, but for now, I’m enjoying us being alone together as we talk and plan our future.
“Paris?” he suggests, trying to pull his gaze from my breasts, which makes me giggle. He smirks at the sound, and his eyes flicker back up to mine. “It’s beautiful, full of art, and a few hundred years ago, it was such an uninhibited place before most of the world. They embraced their sexuality and freedom, it was a sight to behold. It’s one of my favourite places actually.”
“I would love to see it.” I sigh as I grab his hand and play with his fingers.
“Darling?” he murmurs.
“Hmm?”