Chapter 24 Rozi #3
“Welcome to our family,” Freya said, pulling me into a warm hug that smelled like magic and acceptance. “You’ve made the Thornbern bloodline proud.”
“Thank you,” I whispered against Freya’s cheek. My voice cracked. My throat closed around words I couldn’t express. Her arms tightened around me, smelling of sage and ancient magic.
“We always knew you belonged here,” she murmured. “Even when you didn’t.”
I pulled back, blinking rapidly.
They’d given me this, a circle of friends I considered family. Hands reaching to touch my shoulders, my arms, my hands. Voices calling my name with affection instead of suspicion.
And the strangest part? I hadn’t had to diminish myself to fit in.
I hadn’t had to hide my intelligence or soften my edges. They hadn’t just accepted parts of me; they’d embraced all of me.
Piper squeezed my hand. “About damn time,” she said with characteristic bluntness.
“Well, what are you two waiting for?” Imani called out with trademark sass. “Time to celebrate your union.”
She winked meaningfully, and several pack members laughed with the easy camaraderie of people who understood shifter traditions.
“Damn right,” Brody growled, his arms tightening around me possessively.
His hands were splayed across my stomach, just inches from where I most wanted them, a deliberate tease that made my breath catch.
The sound reminded me of our nights in the cabin, of his passionate response when I took control in the bedroom, of the perfect balance we’d struck between dominance and surrender. Each time different, each time perfect.
Following Others tradition, we slipped away to consummate our commitment alone. The private path led out of the cave and deeper into the forest, away from the celebration and toward the grove where we could claim each other without witnesses.
Lush foliage and bright blooms surrounded us under the full moon’s light.
The soft grass cushioned our feet as we walked hand in hand toward our private sanctuary.
So different from our first claim in the Fae cabin, when urgency and need had driven us, when the mating heat had consumed us both with primal hunger.
“Do you remember the first time I claimed you?” Brody asked, his voice husky with desire as we approached the hidden clearing. “When the mating heat hit and I chased you through the forest?”
“How could I forget?” I replied, memories of that night sending fresh heat flooding through me. “I’ve never felt so wild, so free.”
“Tonight will be different,” he promised, his eyes glowing gold in the moonlight. “Slower. Deeper.”
His words made a sweet ache build between my thighs.
A year together had only deepened our connection, each discovery leading to new pleasures, each moment of vulnerability building greater trust. We’d learned each other’s bodies with meticulous attention, mapped every sensitive spot, memorized every sound and movement that signaled pleasure.
Once we reached the hidden clearing, Brody stopped and turned to face me. “You are stunning,” he said, unfastening my cloak with reverent hands.
It fell to the grass, leaving me naked before him under the moon’s silvery light. His gaze devoured me hungrily, making my skin flush with desire. He took his time looking at me, eyes tracking over my body with possessive appreciation that made me feel both powerful and vulnerable at once.
“I’ve been dreaming about this moment all day,” he growled, his eyes flashing with predatory intent. “About claiming you as mine before the entire pack, then bringing you here to remind you exactly who you belong to.”
“Then stop dreaming and take what’s yours,” I said, watching his pupils dilate with lust. The words echoed our first night together but now carried the weight of everything we’d built between us.
He was on me in an instant, his mouth claiming mine in a kiss that bordered on savagery.
His teeth nipped at my lower lip, demanding entrance that I willingly granted, our tongues tangling in a dance we’d perfected over countless nights together.
His hands explored my body with desperate need, as though committing every curve to memory.
I gasped when his fingers found the slick heat between my thighs.
“Already wet for me,” he murmured against my neck, his voice thick with satisfaction. He circled my entrance with his fingers, gathering my arousal before sliding up to find the bundle of nerves that made my hips buck against his hand.
“Always,” I admitted, arching into his touch. “Only for you.” The words were true in a way I’d never imagined possible, this connection that transcended physical desire, that linked us body and soul.
My fingers fumbled with his cloak, desperate to feel his skin against mine.
When the fabric finally fell away, I took a moment to appreciate the magnificent body I’d claimed as mine.
The scars from the Swarmer attack had faded to silver lines that caught the moonlight, reminders of how close I’d come to losing him before I’d truly found him.
My gaze moved hungrily over his rock-hard chest, the abdominal muscles that tapered to a perfect V, down to his long, thick cock that stood at attention, ready to claim me again. A year of exploring each other’s bodies had done nothing to diminish my appreciation for his physical perfection.
“See something you like?” He grinned, his voice rough with desire.
“Everything,” I whispered, dropping to my knees before him.
I wrapped my hand around his impressive length.
When I took him into my mouth, his groan of pleasure sent a thrill of power through me.
I worked him with a sensual rhythm, using every trick I’d learned over our time together, the twist of my hand at the base of his shaft, the swirl of my tongue around the sensitive head, the gentle scrape of teeth that made his thighs tremble.
I relished the way his hands fisted in my hair, guiding my movements with just the right amount of dominance.
“Enough,” he growled when his control began to fray. “This isn’t how I want to claim you tonight.”
He guided me onto the soft grass, kneeling between my thighs as moonlight painted us both silver.
His fingers explored me with knowing precision, drawing desperate sounds from my throat as he built my pleasure with masterful strokes.
He played my body like an instrument he’d spent years learning, knowing exactly where to touch, how much pressure to apply, when to ease back and when to push harder.
“Please,” I gasped, back arching as his thumb circled my clit, while he curled two fingers inside me, finding that spot that made stars explode behind my eyelids. “I need you inside me.”
“Not yet,” he murmured, lowering his head to replace his thumb with his tongue.
The wet heat of his mouth against my core made me cry out, hips bucking against his face as he devoured me with single-minded focus.
He held my thighs apart with strong hands, not allowing me to escape the pleasure he was determined to give.
When I was writhing beneath him, balancing on the knife’s edge of release, he finally positioned himself at my entrance. “Do you take me as your mate?” he asked, his voice strained with the effort of his restraint.
“Yes,” I breathed, my body aching for him to fill me completely.
“I take you as my fated mate,” he said, sliding inside me with one perfect thrust, “my other half, and the only woman in my bed.”
“And I take you as my fated mate,” I replied, wrapping my legs around his waist to take him deeper, “my other half, and the only man in my bed.”
He set a punishing rhythm that had me clawing at his back, leaving marks that would fade within minutes thanks to his shifter healing.
Each thrust sent waves of pleasure radiating outward, building toward a climax that felt spiritual as much as physical.
He knew exactly how to move, how to angle his hips to hit that spot inside me that made coherent thought impossible.
“Mine,” he growled, his teeth finding the mating bite on my neck. The sharp pain followed by pleasure pushed me over the edge, my inner walls clenching around him as I shattered beneath him.
“Brody!” I screamed as the orgasm crashed through me, more intense than any we’d shared before. Wave after wave of pleasure washed over me, each more powerful than the last, until I was reduced to sobbing his name as my body convulsed around his still-thrusting cock.
“Yours,” I gasped when I could form words again, my own teeth finding the spot where I’d claimed him a year ago. The moment I broke his skin, the connection deepened further. I could feel his heartbeat syncing with mine, his breathing falling into perfect rhythm with my own.
He continued his relentless pace, drawing a second orgasm from me before his own control finally broke.
When we shattered together under the moon’s light, it was with the absolute certainty that nothing would ever separate us again.
We were mated, bonded, eternally connected in ways that transcended the physical.
But Brody wasn’t finished with me yet.
Before I could catch my breath, he flipped me onto my stomach, pulling my hips up until I was on my hands and knees before him. “Again,” he commanded, his voice carrying the dominant edge that made my inner walls clench with anticipation.
He entered me from behind, the new angle allowing him to hit all the right spots. He snaked his hand around to find the sensitive bundle of nerves between my thighs, working it in time with his thrusts.
“You feel so good,” he groaned, his rhythm becoming more erratic as our combined pleasure spiraled higher. “So tight. So perfect.”
“Harder,” I begged, pushing back against him with desperate need.