Chapter 21
Raven
My head throbbed. Every movement triggered more pain. Only Alaric’s touch eased the discomfort, as if my body recognized he was the cure for my problem. Was this a type of bond sickness?
I thought back to the many books I’d read about soul-bonds, but nothing sprang to mind. Fate pushed soul-bonded mates together, actively encouraging them to seal the bond, but I’d never felt like this with my other mates.
Yes, we’d experienced intense sexual attraction, but not to the point where I’d lost my mind.
This was different, and it felt wrong. Not wrong in the sense I didn’t want Alaric to touch me—wrong in that it seemed unnatural. Forced. A chemically induced mating frenzy.
Goddess save me. I’d read about scenarios like this in omegaverse novels! When an omega went into heat, she became feral for her mates. Had I somehow turned into an omega?
Oh my goddess!
I whined as another crippling wave of spasms racked my feverish body. Omegas whined, my frazzled brain reminded me. This was bad. Like, really bad.
“I need a…” I cried but forced my mouth shut before I added the word knot to that sentence. For fuck’s sake. I wasn’t an omega!
“Tell me what you need, baby.” Alaric moved over me, teasing my senses with his fresh, soapy scent. I raked my nails across his shoulders, arching my back in a subtle invitation.
“Too hot! Please help me!” The cheap cotton robe irritated my skin. I wanted it gone. Rational me knew this was stupid. Getting naked with Alaric would only end one way because the soul-bond demanded it.
Hard muscle pressed me to the thin mattress. Goddess, had Alaric always been this…ripped? Or had I just not noticed before?
He pushed my robe aside, exposing my heated skin to the cool air of the room, offering temporary relief. But it wasn’t enough. My body felt empty, unsatisfied.
Another whine forced its way up my throat. I could feel him, hard and ready for me. So hard. And big.
A flicker of disquiet shot through me as my feverish brain chimed a warning. This wasn’t a normal reaction. Sure, I’d felt pretty damn feral before I sealed the mate bond with the others, but not to this extent.
“Alaric, this—” I tried to say, but my thought train derailed when his hot mouth found my breast. I dug my fingers into his blond hair, pulling his head closer. Each wet pull on my nipple had me writhing beneath him. “Please…” I groaned, wrapping my legs around his hips.
He ground against me, two thin layers of cotton the only thing separating us.
“Fuck, Raven,” he growled before tearing his mouth away and licking a trail down my stomach. “You smell so good. Why do you smell so good?”
I gasped when he parted my thighs, exposing my wet pussy to his wild gaze. No underwear, because the budget in this place apparently didn’t extend to providing panties. My inner slut preened when Alaric dove in, mouth first.
Desperate screams filled the room. Somehow I knew only an orgasm would ease the ache inside me, and Alaric was the only person who could deliver the cure.
He grumbled with satisfaction as he licked and sucked every inch of my dripping pussy. I came with a scream, grinding against his tongue and lips without shame.
The spasms finally faded, along with the pain in my chest and core, but by the time he’d crawled up my shaking body, the cramps had returned. He brushed my tangled hair away from my face before kissing me with such desperation I wondered why we’d waited so long.
I’d wanted Alaric from the very first moment he crashed into me. Literally.
The persona he presented to the world was not the real Alaric.
He kept that side of himself hidden, but I saw him.
The man behind the mask had endured a lifetime of pain.
He’d built his walls high to hide the soft, vulnerable inner child.
The little boy who’d been born to parents who never showed him the love he needed.
It wasn’t too late to undo the damage caused by his evil father. That mage deserved to die horribly and painfully. The sea witch had learned the hard way that underestimating me was a huge mistake.
Tiberius Vane would pay for the awful things he’d done. Maybe not today, but soon.
But first, if Alaric didn’t fuck me, I might die.
“I want you, Alaric,” I told him when we broke apart, both of us breathless.
“I can’t,” he said with a groan while grinding into me. “This is what my father wants.”
“He does?” I frowned. Did I already know this? I couldn’t remember. All I did know was my body needed Alaric’s dick, and if he didn’t give it to me, I’d be in a world of misery.
Hideous spasms sent waves of agony through my body. I tried to swallow my pain, but it was hopeless. A desperate sob escaped.
“What’s wrong?” Alaric cupped my jaw and gazed intently at me. “Are you hurting?”
“Yes!” Another wave of heat washed over me. Was this my magic or something else?
“I should call for help,” he said, but when he tried to roll away, I sobbed harder.
“No, I need you. We must seal the bond.”
The amulet pulsed against my skin, burning hotter than hellfire.
“Raven, we can’t—” But I ignored him.
“Do it, Alaric,” I growled in a rough voice that wasn’t mine. “Make me yours.”