Chapter 17-Sten
My sweet Luna was a virgin?
Untouched save for me.
Oh, fuck.
The realization had nearly split me open the moment I understood it.
The gift she had given me—a Monster unworthy of her in every way—simply humbled me to the marrow.
Even now, tangled together in the center of my bed beneath the dim silver glow of moonlight filtering through my tower windows, I still could not fully process what she had given me.
Amrin lay draped across my chest in a warm, sleepy tangle of soft limbs and tangled sheets while rain battered the cliffs of Asgarheim outside.
The storm had deepened sometime during the night, thunder rolling low across the sea below the Runevald cliffs like distant drums.
But none of it touched me.
Not really.
Not when she was here.
Not when my mate—gods, my fucking fated mate—was curled naked against my body breathing softly against my skin.
The scent of sex still clung heavily to the room.
Her.
Me.
Magic.
I could smell it everywhere.
Warm vanilla and jasmine wrapped together with sweat and lunar power until the entire chamber felt saturated with her existence.
Mine.
The possessive thought purred through me again instantly.
Not violent.
Not sharp.
Something deeper.
Something ancient.
Something marrow-deep and final.
I rubbed slow circles along her back while trying to gather enough coherent thought to speak without sounding completely insane.
Not an easy task considering I was seconds away from dragging her beneath me again and spending the rest of eternity inside her.
“Your thoughts are so loud, Sten,” she whispered sleepily, echoing words I’d once spoken to her.
A grin tugged helplessly at my mouth.
“Smart ass,” I growled softly before pressing a kiss against the crown of her head.
I felt her smile against my chest.
And gods—that tiny little smile undid me.
Something inside me loosened painfully.
Like I’d spent years carrying bitterness and rage and loneliness packed tightly inside my ribs only to realize there was suddenly no room left for any of it now that she existed here with me.
Contentment spread through me in slow heavy waves.
Not surface-level satisfaction.
Something deeper.
Bone-deep.
Soul-deep.
Like my entire body had finally stopped fighting itself for the first time in years.
And I needed to know if she felt it too.
Did she feel this impossible tether wrapping tighter around us with every breath?
Did she feel the way my instincts practically knelt before her?
Did she regret giving herself to me?
The thought made something sharp twist beneath my sternum instantly.
Because if she regretted this—no.
Absolutely fucking not.
I couldn’t even finish the thought.
Not after claiming her.
Not after feeling her body open for mine.
Not after hearing those sweet sounds she made while wrapped around me.
I wasn’t giving her back.
Not ever.
“What was that at the end?” she asked quietly.
I looked down.
Her moonbeam eyes stared up at me beneath the storm-lit darkness, wide and uncertain and still flushed from pleasure.
Fuck.
Beautiful.
“The blue sparks,” she continued softly. “And that feeling like… like something was squeezing me toward you.”
Her voice dropped lower on the last part.
Almost shy.
I frowned slightly.
“I thought that was you,” I admitted. “Your magic.”
“But I don’t have magic like that.”
Immediately, I disagreed.
Not verbally at first.
Instinctively.
Violently.
Because the idea that Amrin thought herself powerless after what I’d just felt between us bordered on absurdity.
“Luna,” I said carefully, brushing tangled curls away from her face, “you are far more powerful than you realize.”
“Well, that’s not true,” she replied quickly, already shaking her head.
The movement alone told me this argument wasn’t new.
This wasn’t insecurity born tonight.
This was old.
Conditioned.
Carved into her over years of comparison and disappointment.
“I don’t want you thinking you’re getting some kind of bargain with me, Sten,” she continued, words rushing faster now.
“Other Witches here have incredible affinities. My sisters all made excellent matches because of what they could offer their husbands and their positions in the Coven.”
My jaw tightened instantly.
Husbands.
Offer.
The language alone irritated me.
As though her worth existed solely in usefulness.
As though this female beneath me—this warm soft miraculous creature—could somehow be reduced to political advantage.
Amrin kept talking before I could interrupt.
“But I have none of that,” she whispered, voice growing thinner. “You understand that, right? I can’t really do anything. I wouldn’t be useful to you.”
Something dangerous shifted inside my chest.
“Luna—”
“And not that you’re proposing or anything,” she rushed onward nervously. “I don’t even know if your kind marries. Gods, I’m making this weird. I’m sorry.”
Sorry.
She apologized.
After giving me everything.
My vision flashed briefly silver.
What the fuck had the world done to this woman?
“No,” I said sharply enough that she startled slightly. “None of that.”
She blinked at me uncertainly.
And gods—the hopelessness swimming behind those beautiful pale eyes nearly drove me feral.
She should never look hopeless.
Not while I breathed.
Not while I existed.
“Hey, look at me,” I murmured more gently.
I shifted upright against the headboard, pulling her with me immediately because the thought of physical distance suddenly felt intolerable.
My hands settled firmly on her shoulders, forcing her to face me fully.
Naked.
Flushed.
Beautiful beyond reason.
My mate.
And there it was again.
That word.
No longer frightening.
Only true.
Amrin stared at me anxiously while sheets pooled around her waist, exposing the soft swell of her breasts and the marks I’d left across her skin.
Mine.
My control slipped another fraction.
“What exactly do you think happened here tonight?” I asked softly.
“I…” Her face turned impossibly pink. “I mean… we had sex?”
I barked out a rough laugh despite myself.
“We did indeed, little lunar butterfly.” My thumb stroked slowly across her cheek. “But it was more than that.”
Her breathing changed instantly.
“Sten?” she whispered.
Gods.
The way she said my name.
Like a prayer.
Like a question.
Like she was already half afraid of the answer.
I cupped her face fully then, brushing away tears I hadn’t even realized had started slipping down her cheeks.
“Why are you crying?”
She shrugged helplessly.
And that destroyed me.
Because she genuinely didn’t seem to know.
Emotion leaking from her faster than she could contain it.
I pulled her immediately onto my lap again, needing her closer.
Always closer.
Her naked body settled against mine with a soft gasp while I wrapped both arms tightly around her waist and buried my face against the curve where her shoulder met her neck.
Fuck.
Her scent.
I inhaled deeply.
Vanilla.
Jasmine.
Female heat.
And beneath it now—me.
My scent clung to her skin unmistakably.
My male musk tangled through hers until she smelled claimed already.
The realization nearly made me dizzy with possessive satisfaction.
I wanted it there permanently.
Wanted every creature in every realm to know she belonged to me.
Sex alone was not enough to fully bind mated pairs.
There were rituals.
Biting? Yes. And I had already done that.
But there was more.
There were vows.
Moon rites older than human civilization.
Tomorrow night during the Spring Equinox Festival, I would kneel beneath Máni’s light and formally claim her before the realms.
The thought settled through me with absolute certainty.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Only inevitability.
I wiped another tear from her cheek and kissed it away slowly.
She melted against me immediately, arms winding around my neck while I rocked us gently together.
Comforting her soothed something primal inside me.
Protect.
Hold.
Cherish.
Mine.
“Hush, Luna,” I murmured. “Don’t cry. Nothing bad happened.”
“I’m not crying,” she hiccupped softly. “I’m just leaking emotions everywhere.”
A laugh rumbled from my chest despite the fierce ache she caused inside me.
“I understand.”
And I did.
Bonding overwhelmed even experienced supernatural pairings.
For a female like Amrin—untouched physically and emotionally—it must feel catastrophic.
“If I’d known you were a virgin—”
“No,” she interrupted immediately, gripping my shoulders tighter. “Please don’t ruin this by apologizing for anything. It was perfect.”
Her eyes locked onto mine with such fierce sincerity that my chest tightened painfully.
She meant it.
Gods help me, she truly meant it.
“I think it was perfect too,” I admitted roughly.
“You do?” Her eyes widened slightly. “But I didn’t know what I was doing.”
The answer came instantly.
Absolute.
“You knew everything you needed to know. You knew me. Your body knew mine. It accepted me.”
My voice deepened dangerously.
“You have no idea what you gave me tonight, Luna.”
Heat flickered across her cheeks again.
“You don’t know what it feels like,” I continued, struggling to contain the possessive hunger clawing up my spine, “to realize I am the only male who will ever have you.”
My control slipped enough for a growl to vibrate through the room.
I kissed her again helplessly.
Couldn’t stop.
Would never want to stop.
“I’m glad it was you too,” she whispered against my lips.
Something inside me snapped fully at those words.
“It will only ever be me,” I said.
The vow came from somewhere ancient.
Primal.
Final.
Her breath caught softly.
“What are you saying?”
Too soon.
Not because I doubted her.
Because I feared overwhelming her.
How exactly did one explain to a curvy insecure Witch from Earth that she’d just mated with a future celestial ruler?
That one day soon I would inherit the mantle of Máni himself?
That my bloodline governed tides and seasons and lunar blessings across realms?
That she had somehow become the center of all of it?
I kissed her forehead slowly.
“Wait for me at the festival tomorrow,” I whispered. “I’ll tell you everything then. I swear it.”
She studied me carefully for several seconds.
Then smiled.
A real smile.
Bright enough to split open the darkness inside me permanently.
Gods.
That smile was mine too.
I gathered her even closer instinctively, hands roaming slowly over her lush body.
Soft everywhere.
Perfect everywhere.
Her belly yielded beautifully beneath my palms.
Her hips curved generously against my thighs.
Everything about her felt made for worship.
Amrin moaned softly and tilted her head back, offering me her mouth again like temptation itself.
I was far too greedy to resist.
I kissed her deeply while lowering her slowly onto the bed once more, spreading my hands down every dip and curve like I was memorizing sacred scripture.
Mine.
My lunar butterfly.
My mate.
Sweet Luna.
I settled between her thighs reverently.
This.
This was how she should always look.
Flushed pink.
Panting softly.
Her eyes were heavy with desire while she watched me like I hung the fucking stars.
And someday I will. For you, Luna. I will hang them for you.
“Will I hurt you if I touch you here?” I asked quietly, petting her swollen slick pussy with agonizing gentleness.
“N-no,” she whimpered immediately, hips flexing upward instinctively.
Fuck.
“So wet for me,” I growled darkly. “How am I supposed to resist that?”
Then I buried my face between her thighs again.
And gods—she tasted even sweeter now.
Like devotion.
Like sin.
Like something the Fates themselves crafted specifically to destroy me.
I licked her slowly first.
Then harder.
Making out with her slick folds greedily while her cries echoed through my chambers alongside the storm outside.
“Sten—oh gods—”
Mine.
Always mine.
Her fingers buried into my hair desperately before wrapping around my horns.
And something monstrous inside me snapped completely.
Possession detonated through my bloodstream violently.
My tail lashed hard enough to crack stone somewhere behind us while I devoured her harder, drunk on the sounds spilling from her mouth.
I wanted everything.
Every moan.
Every trembling orgasm.
Every drop of sweetness she offered me.
And I took it.
Greedily.
Reverently.
Like a starving celestial Monster finally tasting heaven for the first time.
Because that’s what she was to me… heaven.
And it was mine now.
All mine.