Thaddeus
She was not happy—nor was Madadh, judging by the low growls vibrating in her chest. The curses, the pleas, even her attempt to rip my hair free did nothing to slow me.
I shifted position, pressing a line of kisses along her thigh until her taste lingered on my lips once more.
Wulfric, to my surprise, was quietly amused.
I waited for the bond to pulse—for her cries to rise and sharpen—before giving her my mouth.
I pried her open with a flick of my tongue, traced the sodden flesh, then drove it home.
A guttural moan tore from her, echoing around the room, her essence coating my tongue as I feasted until she rocked her hips and held me fast.
Flashes of our first heat surged back—of sealing her with our knot, of claiming succession.
Our mate was made for us alone.
“Ooh, Thaddeus—enough,” she gasped, thrusting her hips to press herself against my mouth.
I lifted my gaze past the dark green spill of her skirt. Her hair had slipped free of its pins, damp strands of hair clinging to flushed cheeks, her lips parted and trembling.
“Do you want me to stop?” I asked softly, threading my fingers through her soaked red curls.
“Yes!” she cried—then, breathless and frantic when I withdrew my hand. “No!”
“You seem confused, my love.”
I pressed a kiss against her glistening cunt, a dark chuckle leaving me.
I rose slowly, taking my time as I stretched, then turned my attention to my buttons. She had no idea how swollen my knot had become.
Not yet.
“On your belly, my sweet,” I said calmly. “Keep your feet on the floor.”
I watched as she rolled onto her front, fingers clutching the covers while she carefully set her legs in place—every movement betraying just how much she wanted what I was still denying her.
“I have a nice big surprise for you,” I murmured, easing myself out of my breeches.
The knot was so swollen it looked almost misshapen—grotesque in its need.
“Finally,” she sighed as I lifted the white petticoat clear of her dress.
I moved between her thighs, gripping a handful of her arse and guiding the dripping head of my cock to her opening.
I hissed when her heat engulfed me.
“So beautiful,” I rasped. “So ready for me,” sinking deeper.
Her small, broken whimpers made me slow, pressing the head in and out of her with deliberate restraint.
“Oh, God,” she cried. “Please, Thaddeus. I will dae anything—just gie me what ah need.”
“I want every heat, little wolf. Every pup. And I want you always by my side,” I said, thrusting deeper into her slick warmth.
Never again would we know darkness. Not with our mate.
Wulfric sang in my chest at the vow—a bright, burning warmth spreading through my torso.
“Aye,” she panted, pulling the covers as she tried to push back.
Her voice broke on the word—raw, unguarded—and it struck straight through the bond.
I rewarded her with another deep thrust until my knot grazed her thighs.
Her body answered instinctively, tightening, pleading without words.
“Ah’m yours. Always,” she finished on a broken sob.
The sound of it—fractured, absolute—sent something feral and fierce surging through me.
“Forever?” I growled, rocking my hips back and forth, plunging in and out of her slick heat.
The question was not doubt. It was a demand. A confirmation drawn from her very core.
“In every lifetime,” she groaned.
The bond flared, leaving no room for fear or shadow.
I smiled, and Wulfric purred for her. When I released my grip on her arse, I noticed my red fingerprints had left red marks on her.
Marks of possession. Of choice. Of being claimed and cherished in equal measure.
Our mate could never have enough of our marks.
The thought anchored us.
I braced myself over her, steady and unyielding, and gave her what she needed.
Everything narrowed to sensation and bond, to the way she responded instinctively to us.
“Good little mate,” I groaned as my aching knot slapped against her slippery lips.
The vulgar sound shattered what little restraint remained.
I could feel her ache in our bond. Her adorable little whimpers transformed into needy grunts.
Need bled through us both, mirrored and magnified, impossible to ignore.
“Yes,” I hissed above her flaming red curls. “Open wide.”
Her trust answered before her body did.
Her slick had covered my knot, and I reared back and slammed my hips down. She gasped, finally feeling how thick I’d become. I held myself there, grinding against her soft flesh until I felt her stretch and part for me.
“A little more,” I rasped as the rest of my knot slowly began to sink inside her.
I could feel her tremble beneath me. Her insides already massaging my thick cock with her tight muscles. With a final shove, my knot popped inside.
I didn’t stop—I couldn’t.
My hips moved of their own accord, rocking against her, locking in when her muffled cry escaped. A sudden gush of liquid coated me, and her grip forced me to spill inside of her.
The euphoria of my release took my breath away even as my seed continued to pump out of me in torrents.
She surrounded us.
In mind, scent and body.
Our pleasure fed one another through the bond.
It folded in on itself, endless and consuming.
She wailed my name as it curled around her side of the bond.
“Euphemia,” I answered back.
A single whisper, offered with quiet reverence—not possession, or dominance, but devotion.
Locked together, I pulled her close and curled around her, fitting myself behind her as though we had always been meant to rest this way.
We lay in companionable silence, hearts slowing together, fingers entwined—separate bodies, yet two halves of a single whole.
“I love ye, Thaddeus. All o’ ye,” she sighed, the words settling deep.
“And I’d be a shadow of myself without you, my love,” I murmured, pressing a kiss to her neck.
She huffed a laugh, warm and unguarded.
“But if ye do that again, ah think Madadh is goin’ tae rip intae ye,” she said. “She isnae one tae be teased in oor condition.”
I grinned against her skin, nuzzling her neck.
It had been worth it.