Chapter 28
Delphi had never really trusted anyone in her whole life, so realizing that she trusted Tenebrys was a new and strange sensation. Everything about what she was feeling about him was new.
Looking into his eyes and hearing that he didn't care who her father was meant more to her than he could ever know. She had always been the one that people complained to that Narcisse had done this or that to them, and she had grown up cringing in embarrassment or fear.
Louis had come after them because Narcisse couldn't leave without stealing as much as he could. If it wasn't for Tenebrys showing up when he did, she doubted she would have been treated as kindly as she was now.
"You are looking very thoughtful and far away again," Tenebrys commented, his hands holding her steady in the water to keep her from going under.
"Just thinking about how lucky I am that I ran into you in the Mistwood when I did," she replied. She wrapped her arms around his horns and kissed him on the end of his nose. He was so big that she had to take advantage of them being at the same height while she could.
"That's fate For you. You are my mate. I had to find you eventually," he said, his hands dropping to cup her ass.
Delphi grinned. "You found me in my dreams often enough. Maybe that's why I wasn't afraid of you when we first met. I was shocked but not scared. It's probably why I find you so easy to be around, too, when you aren't grumpy with me."
"Don't give me reason to be grumpy with you," he said, tilting his head and running his rough tongue up her neck. Goosebumps danced across her skin despite the water's warmth.
"That's hard for me to do. We can both be very stubborn and insufferable. What if we become mated, and in a few months, you can't handle the sight of me because we fight all the time?" Delphi asked, still unable to accept that 'forever' meant just that to shifters.
Tenebrys hummed thoughtfully, the sound vibrating in his chest and through Delphi's breasts where she was pressed against him.
"We would deal with it like any other couple. I could always fuck you until you see my point of view?" he suggested.
Delphi pulled on his horn. "That's cheating. You can't use your big dick and spur to get your own way."
"Are you sure? Seems like the best way to get you in a good mood," Tenebrys reasoned, making Delphi laugh.
"I'm not going to complain if you want to use your dick to solve arguments, but I'm not going to guarantee that it will work every time." Delphi loved the way his eyes lit up with amusement, their golden color beaming brighter.
He had said that he would always be hers alone. She had never had anything that belonged to just her before.
Tenebrys was a powerful shifter king, someone who had kept fighting the fae and protecting the human world when everyone else had forgotten the threat they had faced. She was the daughter of one of his biggest enemies, and he still wanted her.
Would anyone ever love her that way? Would they accept her witch blood or magic so easily? Delphi didn't have to ask the questions out loud to know the answers. No one looked at her like she was worth anything except what they could get from her. No one except for Tenebrys.
He wanted her to learn her magic. He gave her the books to do it and wouldn't ever hold her back or worry that she would become more powerful than him. He didn't care that a fae high lord wouldn't stop coming for her.
Delphi rested her cheek against his, the soft fur tickling her eyelashes. Her legs wrapped around him as far as they could, and she took a moment just to hug him and draw comfort from his strength.
"Tenebrys, make me your mate," she whispered.
"Are you sure, little flower? I said I would give you time…" he began.
Delphi moved her mouth to his and nipped him on the lip. "Don't make me ask again."
Tenebrys growled, his hand squeezing her ass. "You can't take it back once it's done."
"I won't want to," she said truthfully. "I want to belong to you, Tenebrys."
"I want that to." He kissed her softly, and his fingers glided down the curve of her ass to her pussy. Her breath caught as he teased her in lazy, sensuous strokes. "I also want it to be good for you, so I need to make this delicious little cunt of yours ready to take my knot."
Delphi shivered at his words, his touch, the thought of getting wet and stretched enough to fit all of him inside of her.
"You are off to a really good start," she said, her hands gripping his horns.
Tenebrys's tail moved under the water and teased her breasts. "You are going to make me the happiest monster in the world. I'll make sure that you can never get enough of my touch." He slid a finger into her, making her groan and rub against him.
"Already can't," she admitted. He only had to look at her the right way, and she would get wet. It would have been embarrassing if he hadn't always made her feel so good with every tease and touch.
Tenebrys's mouth moved to her neck, his fangs and rough tongue making the walls of her cunt squeeze his finger.
"Hold on. I need to taste you," he said, and she tightened her hands on his shoulders.
Tenebrys carried her out of the steaming spring and laid her back on soft towels and blankets. He started to move down, but she grabbed him by a horn.
"Turn around," she said and licked her lips. "I want to taste you at the same time."
Tenebrys gave her a heated look. "You'd better take some deep breaths because I can't promise I won't fuck that pretty face of yours."
Butterflies danced in Delphi's belly as he turned around and got into position on top of her.
The dark head of his cock was already wet with precum that dripped on her breasts. Delphi's nipples went hard, and her pussy ached at the sight. She guided his cock to her lips, smearing the precum on them to help lubricate them before licking and stroking his shaft.
"Fuck, Delphi, you are going to make it hard for me to concentrate," Tenebrys said, his thick thighs trembling on either side of her head.
Delphi spread her legs wide. "Focus on the task at hand, or I'll smack you in the balls."
"Don't you dare, you naughty little thing," he said and gave her pussy a squeeze that made her jump, right before he rubbed his tongue over her clit and made her moan.
Delphi gripped one of his thighs with her hand, using the other to stroke and tease all the parts of him that her mouth couldn't reach.
She played with squeezing his knot with every stroke until he was groaning and swearing against her pussy.
She loved every time she learned something new that made him unravel for her.
Tenebrys's long tongue thrust into her, his fingertips teasing her clit just hard enough, and Delphi's orgasm shot through her sharp and sudden. Her cries were muffled against his cock, and he lifted off her so she could catch her breath.
"Need to get in you," he said, moving so that he could position himself on top of her. He ran his fingers over the precum on her breasts and fed it back into her mouth. Delphi sucked, too turned on for words, her whole body aching.
Tenebrys stroked his cock and spur, making sure he was slick enough to be able to get into her. Delphi would never get enough of watching him touch himself over her. She cupped her breasts, teasing her nipples, needing some kind of relief.
Tenebrys pushed her thighs wider, lifted her hips, and pressed the tip of his cock inside of her. When he met no resistance, he slid in a bit more before gently pulling out and thrusting in again.
"Dear goddess, Delphi, you are always so damn hot," he said, somewhere between a growl and a groan.
"More, Ten. I can take it," she begged. He was being too gentle, and it was going to make her crazy.
"I plan on fucking you for a long while, my Delphi. I need to make sure that I don't hurt you," Tenebrys replied, his maddeningly slow thrusts making her want to weep in frustration.
Delphi lifted her hips, forcing him to slip in a bit further.
"I'll tell you if it hurts," she promised.
She wanted him with a feral need that she didn't always understand.
Nothing felt as good as him filling and stretching her.
The tip of his spur teased against her ass, and she moved her legs up over his arms, where he had braced them on either side of her.
"Dark goddess, you look so fucking sexy right now. Spread open, soft, and wet and all fucking mine to take." Tenebrys made a sound that was full of male satisfaction and eased his spur into her ass on the next thrust. Delphi's hands pulled on his mane, her whole body rising to meet him.
"Fucking hell, Ten, you feel so good," she gasped, the strange sensation of having both of her holes filled easing into liquid heat inside of her.
"That's it, my mate. Relax for me. Let me claim you," Tenebrys said, lowering his head to kiss her. Delphi kissed him back, sucking his tongue into her mouth, timing it with his deep, slow strokes inside of her.
The place where her magic always resided deep in her chest started to thrum, and she focused on it, trying to pull down the walls that always seemed to be holding it in.
She didn't want to hide it anymore, especially not from Tenebrys.
She wanted him to see all of her and for him to know exactly what he was claiming.
The thought made her body loosen, and her magic bloomed like a rose of fire inside of her, lighting up the place between her breasts.
"That is incredible," Tenebrys said in awe and placed his hand over the shimmering rose. "You're a miracle, my mate."
Tears filled Delphi's eyes. "You're not afraid of me?"
"Of you? Never," he said and began to move, making love to her, his hand never leaving the spot over her heart. "Come for me, love. Let me feel it before I knot you."
"Let me ride you," she begged. "It will make it easier.
Tenebrys dropped her legs and lifted her as he sat up. Delphi held onto the bone plates on his chest and adjusted to the new position. She ground her clit against the lump of his knot.
Tenebrys grabbed her hips. "You're going to drive me insane doing that."
"Then let's be mad together," she panted and rubbed herself harder on him, over and over until lights danced in her vision.
"Fuck, Ten!" Delphi's head went back as she cried out, magic and pleasure burning her alive until she was glowing like a sun in his arms.
Tenebrys pulled her down harder onto him, his knot slipping inside of her. Delphi was shaking, so full she could barely get enough breath, her orgasm going on and on.
Tenebrys bent to press his forehead to hers.
"Delphinium, I claim you as my mate. From this day until the day my bones are laid with my ancestors, I will protect you from all harm and put you before all others.
I bind myself to you, heart to heart, soul to soul, in this life and the next," he said in an urgent whisper.
Hot magic poured into Delphi from Tenebrys and collided with the fire rose in her chest. The pressure broke, and power pulsed out of them, causing the ground to shake and the water of the spring to ripple.
Fire danced on her lips as she kissed him, Tenebrys never hesitating to accept it. He came a moment later, her name on his lips.
Delphi held onto him, her head resting against his shoulder as she tried to breathe through the magic that was binding them together. She could feel his pleasure, his emotions, and his happiness at having finally claimed her.
"I feel you," she said, awestruck.
"I feel you too," Tenebrys replied, his arms wrapping around her, making her feel warm and safe.
Delphi had never been so happy. She wanted to be with him forever and be his partner and equal in all things. Magic twisted inside her, and she cried out as her power began to burn again.
"Oh, fuck, Ten, something is…" She gripped her head as light poured from her. Her nails lengthened into claws, her incisors sharpening in her mouth.
"Delphi! What's happening?" Tenebrys sounded panicked, but she couldn't reply.
Pain shot through her skull again, quick and sharp. Two horns grew out from the top of her head before a wave of healing euphoria rolled through her.
"Ten…" She stared at him, eyes wide.
"You're okay, love. Look at me." Tenebrys cupped her cheeks. "Breathe. There you go. Again."
Delphi's panic eased enough that she held her hands out in front of her. Her nails were now long, black claws. She touched the sharp incisors in her mouth.
"What… I don't understand," she whispered. "This can't be happening."
Tenebrys touched her horns, and she shivered at the new sensation.
"They are like smaller, feminine ones of mine," he said, voice full of wonder. "What is this miracle?"
"Does this usually happen with mating?" Delphi asked, voice rising in alarm.
Tenebrys shook his head slowly. "No. I think this was your magic reacting to the magic in the mating bond."
"My magic has never done anything like this."
"Witch fire is about transmutation and creation. See those flowers?" he pointed to the delphinium flowers beside their nest of blankets. "They grew from where your blood spilled on the full moon."
"No. That is impossible," Delphi whispered, shaking her head.
"Nothing is impossible now that your magic is loose." Tenebrys touched her horns again, an adoring smile appearing on his lips. "Look at you, you are so beautiful with your little fangs and horns."
"Don't tease me! This is serious, Ten," Delphi hissed at him.
Tenebrys burst out laughing. "So fierce, my little mate."
Delphi tried to wriggle away from him and found she couldn't. It made him laugh more.
"There's no escaping me now, lover. Not until my knot goes down," he said, and rocked his hips.
Delphi moaned, her treacherous body clenching around him. "This conversation about my blood growing flowers is not over."
"It is for now," Tenebrys said, laying her back. When his hips moved again, Delphi forgot about magic flowers entirely.