Chapter 16 Wen
— · —
Wen
I closed the front door softly, turning the lock with hands that wouldn’t stop shaking. This was it. Tonight I was going to bite a werewolf and complete the bond that would help manage the heat I was apparently already going into because he’d bitten me first.
No pressure or anything.
Behind me, I could hear Mal moving through the store. Putting away scattered cushions from the reading nook. Straightening books that customers had left on tables. The mundane sounds of closing up shop, except nothing about tonight was mundane.
I took my time with the curtains. Drew each one closed with careful precision. Checked the locks on the windows. Anything to delay the inevitable moment when I’d have to turn around and face what we were about to do.
Then I felt him. His presence behind me, warm and solid and patient.
I turned slowly to find him watching me with that soft expression. The one that made my chest ache. His eyes were gentle. Understanding. He could literally feel my nervousness through the bond.
“Hi, little mate,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down my spine.
“Hi,” I whispered back, my heart pounding as our eyes locked.
We stood there for a moment, just looking at each other. Then my body made the decision my brain was still debating. I walked to him, and his hands gripped my hips like he couldn’t wait another second. I looped my arms around his neck, pushed up on my toes, and crashed my lips against his.
He growled deep in his throat, fingers digging into my sides hard enough to bruise in the best way. The kiss turned hungry fast, tongues tangling as I pressed my body flush against him.
“I missed you,” he muttered against my mouth, which was ridiculous because we’d been together all day. But I understood what he meant. Missed this. Missed being able to touch each other without restraint.
“Me too,” I gasped, nipping at his lower lip.
In one swift move, he grabbed my waist and hoisted me up. I wrapped my legs around his hips, locking my ankles behind him as he devoured my mouth. His tongue plunged deep, mimicking what I craved lower down, and I moaned, grinding my core against the thick bulge straining his pants.
He groaned, the sound vibrating through me, and his grip tightened, bruising my thighs.
Without breaking the kiss, he started toward the stairs, carrying me like I weighed nothing.
I yanked at his hair, pulling him closer, kissing him fiercer, my pussy aching for more friction against that hardness.
The apartment door flew open with a bang. He maneuvered us inside blindly, lips never leaving mine, until we hit the kitchen. He dumped me onto the table, the impact rattling the salt shaker and knocking over a mug. I didn’t give a damn, the only thing that mattered was him.
Our hands were everywhere, frantic. I clawed at his shirt buttons, popping a few in my haste, exposing his scarred chest. He didn’t bother with my top, just ripped at my pants zipper, yanking the fabric down my legs.
I kicked one foot free, the other still tangled, but it didn’t stop him from shoving my thighs apart wide, stepping between them.
“Gods, Wen, look at you, spread open for me like this,” he rasped, eyes dark with lust as he freed his cock from his pants.
It sprang out, thick and veined, the head already leaking pre-cum.
I reached for it immediately, wrapping my fingers around the hot, pulsing length, stroking from base to tip.
He throbbed in my grip, so hard it made my mouth water.
“Wen,” he growled, the sound a mix of warning and desperation. “You’re playing with fire but fuck, don’t stop - feel how hard you make me, little mate. All for your tight pussy.”
I pumped him faster, thumb swiping over the slit, smearing the slickness. “Mal, I need you inside me. Now.”
He hooked his fingers into my panties and pushed them aside, exposing my dripping folds. His gaze dropped, and he licked his lips. “So wet for me already. Your cunt’s begging for my cock, isn’t it? Dripping and ready to take every inch.”
“Please,” I begged, arching toward him. “Mal, please - fuck me.”
He didn’t make me wait. Lining up the blunt head of his cock at my entrance, he thrust in hard.
One brutal push that stretched me wide, burying himself to the hilt.
We both groaned, the sound muffled against each other’s mouths.
My walls clenched around his thickness, the burn of the stretch melting into pure bliss as he filled me completely.
“Fuck, yes,” he panted, holding still for a second, letting me adjust. “Your pussy’s gripping me so tight, little mate, like it never wants to let go. So hot and wet around my cock. You feel perfect. Made for me.”
Then he started moving, pulling out slow before slamming back in, deep and relentless.
The table screeched across the floor with each powerful thrust, my body jolting against the wood.
I hooked my legs higher around his waist, meeting him halfway, my hips bucking up to take him deeper.
His cock dragged along my inner walls, hitting that spot inside that made stars burst behind my eyelids.
“That’s it, ride my dick,” he urged, voice edged with filth. “Take it all, Wen. Let me fuck this sweet cunt until you scream. You’re mine - every thrust proves it. So good for me, clenching like that.”
I was going to die.
I clung to his shoulders, nails digging into his skin as he pounded into me.
Sweat slicked our bodies, the wet slap of his hips against mine filling the kitchen.
He angled his thrusts, grinding his pubic bone against my clit with every plunge, building the pressure in my core until I was whimpering.
His mouth latched onto my neck, sucking hard before his tongue traced the claiming mark he’d bitten into my skin. Electricity shot straight to my pussy, making me flutter around him.
“Fuck,” I gasped, head falling back. “Mal, I’m - oh god, right there.”
“I know, little mate. I feel it. Your pussy squeezing my cock, so close to coming. You’re doing so well, taking me deep like this.” His voice was wrecked, thrusts turning erratic. “Come for me. Milk my dick with that tight heat. Let go - I’ve got you.”
He licked the mark again, teeth grazing it, and I shattered. Pleasure exploded through me, my walls spasming wildly around his cock as I cried out, waves crashing over me. Juices soaked us both, my body shaking uncontrollably.
“Yes, fuck, Wen,” he groaned, hips snapping forward one last time. I felt him swell, then pulse, hot spurts of cum flooding my pussy, marking me from the inside. He buried his face in my neck, shuddering as he emptied himself completely.
Still trembling from the aftershocks, I leaned forward, lips brushing his throat. I nuzzled the spot I’d fantasized about claiming, the pulse there racing under my tongue. Opening my mouth, I positioned to bite down, to seal our bond the way he had mine-
A crash echoed from downstairs. Loud enough to make us both freeze, his cock still twitching inside me, breaths ragged in the sudden silence.
We stared at each other in shock.
“Stay here,” he said, already pulling out of me. We both groaned at the loss. He yanked his pants up and left his shirt hanging open as he headed for the stairs.
Like hell I was staying behind. I scrambled off the table, trying to pull my pants back up with one leg still tangled. Settled for just making sure everything important was covered and grabbed my shirt from where it had ended up on the floor.
Mal shot me a glare when he saw me following. I shrugged. He should know by now I didn’t take orders well.
We crept down the stairs together. Another sound came from the back of the store. The archive room where I kept older inventory and supplies.
I grabbed a massive tome from the nearest shelf, some ancient encyclopedia that weighed about fifteen pounds, and held it like a weapon. Mal’s lips twitched but he didn’t comment.
We moved toward the archive. The door was open. I could see a shadow moving inside.
Mal pushed the door open fully.
A man stood in the middle of the room, tall and broad and wearing actual armor. Like, metal armor. The kind you saw in fantasy movies. He had dark hair pulled back from his face and eyes that glowed faintly in the dim light.
I screeched and threw the book at his head.
He ducked with inhuman speed, growling and scowling at me. His hand went to the sword at his hip.
“What in the seven hells-”
Then Mal stepped forward, putting himself between us. “Aurion?”
The man froze mid-draw. His scowl melted into shock. “Malachar?”
Wait. Aurion. As in his brother? The King of Noctherion? That Aurion?
The growling man who’d just pulled a sword on me was Mal’s brother?
“Brother!” Aurion crossed the room in three strides and pulled Mal into a fierce hug.
Actually lifted him off the ground. “I thought we lost you. I thought you were dead. When you disappeared from the challenge circle, when that cursed light swallowed you - Mother has been beside herself. I have been searching for days-”
“Weeks,” Mal corrected, hugging him back just as fiercely. “It has been weeks here.”
“Time moves differently between realms?” Aurion pulled back, gripping Mal’s shoulders and looking him over. “You are unharmed? You are well?”
“I am more than well. I am-” Mal turned to me, his expression softening. “I am mated.”
Aurion’s eyes followed Mal’s gaze to where I stood, still holding my shirt and trying to look dignified despite my disheveled state. His eyebrows climbed toward his hairline.
Silence.
More silence.
“You are mated,” Aurion said slowly. “To a…”
“A human. Yes.”
“A human who throws books at armed warriors.”
“In my defense,” I said, finding my voice, “you appeared in my store wearing armor and carrying a sword. That’s pretty threatening.”
Aurion’s lips twitched. “A fair point.” He looked back at Mal. “And you were-” His nose wrinkled. “Brother. I can smell what you were doing. Rather strongly.”
My face went nuclear. “Oh my god.”
“We were completing the bond,” Mal said without an ounce of shame.
“Yes, I gathered that from the scent of sex permeating the air.” Aurion’s expression was caught between amusement and horror. “Perhaps I should have announced my presence sooner. Or later. Much later.”
“Perhaps you should not have broken into my mate’s bookstore in the middle of the night,” Mal countered.
“I did not break in. I came through the portal. It deposited me in this... room of old books.” Aurion looked around the archive with interest, then back at me. “You run a library?”
“Yes, it’s a mix of library and bookstore. Family business.” I crossed my arms, very aware I was still only half-dressed.
“I’m Aurion Ashborne. King of Noctherion. Malachar’s older and significantly more responsible brother.” He gave me a small bow. “It is a pleasure to meet you, despite the unusual circumstances.”
“Wen Woods. Owner of said bookstore. Not a queen of anything.” I gestured vaguely at my state of undress. “As you can probably tell from the whole... situation.”
“The situation being that my brother was mating you like a rabbit when I arrived?”
“Oh my god, can we not-”
“She is my mate,” Mal growled, stepping closer to me possessively. “Show respect.”
“I am showing respect. I have not drawn my sword on her despite the book assault.” Aurion’s eyes glinted with humor. “Though I admit, it is strange to see you so... domestic. Running a bookshop? In the human realm?”
“Bookstore,” I corrected. “And yes. He’s been helping me. He’s actually pretty good at customer service when he’s not being territorial.”
“What is that customer service?” Aurion looked at Mal like he’d grown a second head.
“It means I’m good at selling books. And I am also quite good at organizing shelves,” Mal said dryly. “I have also learned much about human romance literature.”
“Romance literature?”
“Yes. It is very educational.”
I bit back a laugh at Aurion’s expression of pure bewilderment.
“Brother,” Aurion said slowly. “What has happened to you?”
“I found my mate. Everything else became secondary.” Mal’s hand found mine, squeezed. “But tell me of home. You said Mother is worried?”
Aurion’s expression sobered. “She is frantic. We all were. You vanished in the middle of a challenge, Malachar. One moment you were fighting Andreas, the next - gone. Swallowed by light.” He ran a hand through his hair.
“I have been searching for any sign of the portal. It took me days to find it, and it has been unstable. Dangerous. Apparently, after it swallowed you up, it moved down levels. It was in a hidden passage beneath the throne room.”
“How did you cross?” Mal asked.
“With great difficulty and plenty of nausea.” Aurion’s jaw tightened. “But that is not the pressing issue. Andreas has been causing trouble in your absence. He claims you fled. That you abandoned the throne rather than face him in the challenge.”
Mal’s expression darkened. “I fled nothing. The portal opened during our fight. It pulled me through before I could react.”
“I know. I witnessed it. But Andreas is using your disappearance to sway the nobles.” Aurion’s voice was grave. “He claims the throne should be his by default. That a king who abandons his people is no king at all.”
“That is ridiculous. I did not abandon-”
“I know that. Mother knows that. But the nobles are restless. They see weakness, opportunity.” Aurion stepped closer. “You must return, Mal. Now.”
The word hung in the air like a death sentence.
I felt Mal’s conflict through the bond. His duty to his kingdom warring with his desire to stay with me. To finish what we’d started and to keep me safe.
“How long do I have?” Mal asked quietly.
“Days at most. Andreas has called for a formal challenge again. If you do not appear, he will claim the throne by forfeit.” Aurion’s expression was pained. “I am sorry, brother. I know this is not what you wish to hear. But your kingdom needs you. Your people need you.”
Mal looked at me. His eyes were conflicted. Torn.
Through the bond, I felt everything he was feeling. Love for me. Duty to his people. I couldn’t help but wonder… Was I about to lose him to a world I’d never even seen?