Chapter 6 - Freya #2
Gaining confidence, I began to move above him, setting a rhythm that had both of us gasping. The piercings created an entirely new dimension of pleasure, hitting spots inside me that made my back arch and my toes curl. Zak’s hands gripped my hips, guiding my movements.
“You feel so good,” he groaned, his voice strained as his careful control started slipping. “Better than I ever dreamed.”
Through our bond, I could feel his restraint, his desire to make this perfect for me. But I wanted more than his careful consideration — I wanted his passion, his need. My inner wolf called to his.
“Let go,” I urged, leaning down to nip at his throat. “I want all of you, Zak. You know wolf shifters aren’t fragile. Don’t hold back. I can take everything you have to give.”
Like my words unchained him, his hands urged my hips faster while his bucked up beneath me. He drove the pace as our pleasure mounted, his piercings creating new sensations inside me, and I found myself gasping in pleasure again and again.
Through our bond, I could feel his need to claim and be claimed growing stronger with each upward thrust. The memory of our dreamscape encounter with Tor and Rowan sent a fresh wave of heat through me. I clenched around Zak, drawing a groan from his lips.
“That’s it,” he encouraged. “Take what you need, Freya.”
My release built with each thrust, the piercings prolonging and intensifying every sensation until I was crying out his name.
“Tell me you’re ready,” he urged, his voice strained with the effort of holding back.
“Ready,” I gasped.
Zak’s eyes flashed with desire as he bared his neck to me, inviting me to mark him in the traditional spot. As the waves of pleasure crashed over me, I leaned down and sank my teeth into the junction of his neck and shoulder, claiming him as mine just as my climax hit.
Zak’s taste flooded my mouth — spice and magic and the earthy musk of wolf — even as his emotions flooded through our bond, revealing his joy, his desire, his profound relief at finally being claimed.
He shuddered beneath me, his control finally breaking as he thrust up hard with his release.
The friction of his piercings prolonged my orgasm, making me writhe and whimper even with my fangs latched in his neck.
I pulled myself up so I could see the matching wonder in his expression. He gazed up at me with adoration for a few moments, but then his eyebrows furrowed.
“It’s only one-sided until you bite me back.” I reached down to caress his face, running my thumb over his lips.
He moaned as an aftershock of pleasure left both of us shuddering. I was surprised to feel he was still hard. Zak raised both of his hands, capturing my hand in his.
Then, with a devious look in his eyes, he pulled my palm to his lips. I thought he was going to kiss me there as he’d done a couple times before. Instead, his dark eyes went golden, and as his lips parted, they revealed sharp canines.
He twisted my wrist slightly, and then bit down on the meat of my right thumb, marking me with his claiming bite. The effect slammed into me. My body immediately clenched down on his length, and I threw my head back in renewed pleasure.
The claiming bite sent wave after wave of pleasure through me, so intense I nearly blacked out. My second climax rose higher and higher.
The bond between us, already strong through the Bonded circle, crystallized into something more — a wolf’s mate bond, equal and unbreakable.
I lost track of the world around me until I felt his fangs dislodge. He tugged on my wrist, and I let myself collapse onto his chest, my hair cascading around us.
We clung to each other, breathing hard, as the magic of our mating settled around us. When I finally lifted my head, Zak’s eyes were bright with unshed tears.
“I love you,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “I know maybe it’s too soon to say it, but—”
I silenced him with a kiss, soft and lingering. When I pulled back, I smiled at the wonder in his expression.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said gently. “I wouldn’t have mate bonded you if I didn’t love you back.”
His eyes widened. “Really?”
The vulnerability in that single word broke my heart. This incredible man, who had given up everything to find me, who had integrated so seamlessly into our pack, still couldn’t quite believe he was truly wanted.
Maybe it was because I’d already fallen in love four times that I felt so certain of the powerful emotion welling up inside my chest now, pressing against my sternum until the words came.
“Really,” I confirmed, cupping his face in my hands. “I love you, Zakaib. Your strength, your gentleness, your magic, your wolf — all of it, and all of you.”
His smile was radiant, brighter than any magic I’d ever seen. “I love you too. So much it terrifies me sometimes.”
I saw with satisfaction that my mark would remain — a visible sign that he was mine as much as I was his. Zak’s eyes shone with emotion as he gazed up at me.
“My mate, I’m yours,” he said softly, reverently, turning his face to press a kiss to my palm, right beside where he’d bitten me.
“Mine,” I echoed, feeling the rightness of it deep in my bones. “And I’m yours, too.”
Gage and Flint had claimed the traditional spots on either side of my neck for their bites.
Heath had been completely nontraditional when he’d bitten my breast. Rowan’s primal dominance had shone through when he bit my nape.
But Zak’s bite on my hand felt just as right.
Neither of us were alphas, and he’d shown me so much tenderness.
In the future, every time he kissed my palm, his mate mark would be in easy reach for him to kiss, nibble, or bite all over again.
We lay together, our bodies still joined even as he softened, trading lazy kisses and gentle touches. I raised my hand and looked at my newest bite, a crescent adorning both sides of my thumb.
“It’s perfect,” I murmured, pleased with his choice.
The completed Bonded circle hummed with energy around us, all six connections glowing strong despite the distances involved, the seven of us forming the sacred heptagram Tor had shown us in the dream.
“Can you feel them all?” I murmured in wonder. “Even Tor, even Rowan, so far away.”
Zak nodded, his expression thoughtful. “We’re all stronger now because of it.”
The sun rose higher outside our window, filling the room with warm light, and a deep sense of contentment settled over me. This perfect moment with Zak, the knowledge that our bonds were stronger than ever, the hope that soon we’d have all our mates together safely.
Time seemed to stand still as we lay together, basking in each other’s presence. I traced lazy patterns on Zak’s chest, my mind wandering back to the dream.
“Do you think Rowan and Tor will become your mates too? Not just mine?”
Zak’s hand stilled where it had been stroking my hair. “I care about them both,” he said carefully. “Deeply. But I care about you, too, Freya. I don’t want—”
I lifted my head to meet his eyes as I interrupted. “I know you do. And I wasn’t asking because I needed any reassurances. My love for you doesn’t diminish my love for Heath, for example. I love you both, love you all. It’s not a finite resource that gets divided up.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “You’re very wise for someone so young.”
“So, I know it’s the same for you. You won’t love me any less if you mate with the others.” I settled back against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. “Do you think he’ll mate with all of us?”
“Tor?” Zak considered this. “Yes, I believe he will. He’s an Odinswolf like you — built for multiple bonds. And the way he looked at all of us in the dream…” He trailed off, but I could feel his certainty through our new mate bond.
“What about you, though?” I pressed gently. “How do you feel about having multiple mates?”
Zak was quiet for a long moment. “Witches often do,” he said finally, his voice carefully neutral. “I meant what I told you and Heath… I believe all our bonds will naturally deepen over time, thanks to the Bonded link.”
“That’s not what I asked.” I propped myself up on my elbow to look at him directly. “Whatever the magical reasons might be, what do you think? What do you want?”
His dark eyes held mine, vulnerability flickering in their depths.
“Maybe it’s too early to tell,” he said softly. “I don’t want to get my hopes up. My wolf… he won’t let me push the alphas into anything they’re not ready for.”
“But?” I sensed there was more he wasn’t saying.
“Tor intrigues me,” he admitted. “The way he was in the dream, the connection I felt… But that was a dream. I won’t hold my breath that we’ll have the same chemistry when we meet.
As for the others…” He shook his head. “I care about them all, but I won’t assume anything. Some bonds take time to develop.”
“But your wolf wants us all?”
“Yes, very much so.”
The wistful longing in his voice made my heart ache for him. I could feel through our bond how much he wanted to belong fully, not just to me but to all of them. The careful way he held himself back, afraid to hope for too much.
“Give it time,” I murmured, pressing a kiss to his collarbone. “You might be surprised what develops.”
“We should head back to camp,” Zak suggested, clearly unwilling to talk any more on the subject.
I was about to agree when a sharp pulse of urgency shot through the Bonded link. Rowan’s presence blazed to life in my mind, his voice clear and determined across the impossible distance.
“I saw her,” his mental voice rang with excitement and fierce determination. “Freya’s sister. I found Valkyrie, and I have a chance to break her out. But it has to be today or tonight. I might not get another opportunity.”
The peaceful morning shattered around us as adrenaline flooded my system. My sister — so close to freedom, but I wouldn’t agree if it required sacrificing Rowan.
Gage clearly felt the same. “No, Rowan. That’s not the mission. The risk is too great.”
I felt Rowan’s smirk through the bond. “Good thing you’re not my pack alpha anymore.”
“We have to help him,” I said, already moving to get dressed. “I won’t lose Rowan, even if it means…”
I trailed off, scared to think of what might happen to my sister if she remained in Denraider.
Zak nodded grimly. “If Rowan’s making his move, he’s going to need every advantage we can give him.”