Chapter 24-Sten
Owning who I truly was in front of the entire Spring Equinox Festival should have felt humiliating.
Instead, it felt like freedom.
The ley lines crossing Asgarheim shimmered silver-blue through the night sky as I guided my mate through the winding forest paths leading away from the festival grounds and deeper toward my private tower residence at the edge of Runevald’s northern cliffs.
Students stared as we passed.
Of course they did.
Word traveled quickly through magical institutions. Faster still when moon gods descended from the heavens to bless a public claiming ceremony between a celestial heir and a Witch from one of the oldest covens on Earth.
But honestly?
I doubted anyone looked at me for long.
Not when Amrin walked beside me glowing like living moonlight itself.
Gods.
My Luna was breathtaking.
The blue-black gown I crafted for her shimmered with every step she took, lunar moths glittering softly along the folds of her cloak while silver-blue magic still crackled faintly beneath her skin from Máni’s blessing.
Mine.
The matebond thrummed warmly through my chest at the thought.
Every few seconds I caught myself simply staring at her like some lovesick fool.
Her hair.
Her mouth.
The softness of her curves beneath enchanted silk.
The wonder still lingering inside her pale luminous eyes.
I could not stop looking at her.
And perhaps the most terrifying thing of all?
I never wanted to stop.
Amrin moved through the forest paths slowly, pausing often to admire strange nocturnal plants blooming beneath the moonlight.
Runevald’s northern woods were ancient.
Alive.
Magic saturated everything here.
Bleeding blue bonnets glowed faintly beneath the roots of twisted trees while real lunar moths fluttered lazily through silver fog curling along the cliffs.
Somewhere deeper in the forest, nocturnal creatures chirred and hummed beneath the pulse of the ley lines.
The realm itself seemed to breathe around us.
And my Luna noticed all of it.
She touched things gently.
Wonderingly.
Like she still could not believe this world belonged to her too.
I watched a million emotions move across her beautiful face as we walked.
Joy.
Astonishment.
Curiosity.
Contentment.
The matebond remained too newly formed for me to fully interpret every shift in her emotional state, but I felt enough to know she still battled uncertainty beneath her happiness.
Patience had never been one of my strengths.
I wanted certainty.
Possession.
Forever.
But for Amrin?
I could learn restraint.
Or at least attempt it.
Because she deserved gentleness after everything the world had denied her.
She seemed to accept everything with remarkable grace considering the absolute chaos of the last several hours.
My identity.
Her awakening magic.
The claiming.
Her confrontation with her mother.
The celestial blessing.
Gods.
Not to mention I’d already taken her virginity.
Claimed her publicly before the realms themselves.
Bound our lives together beneath the moon.
And through all of it, she still looked at me like I was something miraculous instead of frightening.
The realization tightened painfully in my chest.
Guilt crept in unexpectedly as I remembered leaving earlier that evening for Asgard while she got ready for tonight alone.
True, things ended better than they began once we confronted her mother.
But still.
I hated the idea of her hurting at all.
Good thing she would never face it without me beside her.
I would spend the rest of my existence ensuring she never faced pain alone again.
“Luna,” I began quietly.
She paused beside one of the glowing blue bonnets growing beneath a crooked stone archway, moonlight painting silver across her soft features.
“Yes?”
“I must apologize for tonight.”
Her brows furrowed immediately.
“Apologize? For what?”
“For leading you right into that confrontation with your mother.”
The confession tasted bitter.
“I should have done more.”
Amrin stared at me for a long moment before something impossibly tender softened across her face.
“What? Menon, you did everything,” she whispered gently. “Don’t ever be sorry for that.”
I frowned.
“How could I not be?”
“If anything,” she said and stepped closer slowly, skirts whispering against the mossy forest floor. “I’m grateful to you.”
Confusion rolled through me instantly.
“What? Why would you be grateful?”
I tilted my head slightly as she closed the remaining distance between us.
Gods.
The closer she came, the stronger the matebond pulsed.
Pleasure rolled through my body in warm waves the second her palms settled against my chest.
She hummed softly in contentment.
The sound nearly destroyed me.
Sweet little noises like that had rapidly become my greatest weakness.
“My whole life,” she said quietly, “no one ever thought I was strong enough. Or smart enough. Or… enough enough.”
Pain tightened immediately in my chest.
She looked down briefly before continuing.
“You gave me the strength to face her when all my life I cowered before her. And now I know, my mother always meant well in her own way, but everything with the Coven became about usefulness eventually. Power. Status. Potential.” Her laugh cracked slightly.
“And I was never anyone’s idea of potential. ”
Absolute fucking madness.
I stared down at her, stunned that anyone could look at this female and fail to see her worth immediately.
Amrin’s fingers curled tighter against my chest.
“But then I met you.” Her eyes lifted slowly back to mine. “And suddenly I didn’t feel broken anymore.”
Emotion struck me hard enough my breath caught.
“You make me feel like I’m enough,” she whispered.
Gods. This woman is so fucking perfect.
My throat tightened painfully.
“And tonight?” she continued softly. “You gave me the strength to stand up to my mother for the first time in my life.”
I cupped her face immediately.
“You are enough, Amrin,” I said fiercely. “You are everything.”
And I kissed her.
I could not help myself.
The moment our mouths met, she moaned so sweetly I nearly lost what remained of my restraint entirely.
Mine.
The bond surged violently.
Need crashed through me instantly, hot and primal and overwhelming.
I kissed her harder, sliding my tongue into her mouth while one hand curled possessively around her throat and the other moved lower—
Over the softness of her hip. The lush curve of her ass.
Fuck.
Every inch of her felt made for my hands.
I moved lower still, sliding my fingers between her thighs from behind.
Heat.
Wetness.
Her panties were soaked through already.
The realization nearly drove me feral.
The warmth from her slit spread across my palm as I hoisted her easily into my arms.
My incredible fucking mate.
My undoing.
My reason.
I loved her so much it physically hurt sometimes.
Her soft breasts and belly pressed against my chest and abs while her thighs tightened around my waist instinctively.
Fuck.
The weight of her in my arms felt perfect.
Right.
Her skin was smooth silk beneath my hands while her body remained so beautifully plush and curved I genuinely felt dizzy from wanting her.
“Need you,” she whimpered breathlessly once I finally allowed her enough air to speak.
The sound shattered what remained of my control.
I claimed her mouth again instantly, cloaking us both in shadows as I raced through the forest paths toward my tower.
The world blurred around us.
Moonlight.
Trees.
Magic.
None of it mattered.
Only her.
Only the female trembling in my arms while the matebond burned hot and hungry between us.
By the time we reached my front door, restraint no longer existed.
Close enough.
Growling low in my throat, I allowed her body to slide slowly down mine until her feet touched the stone landing.
Then I spun her carefully, so she faced the heavy black door while my hands held her upright.
“Menon,” she moaned softly.
I physically swayed.
Actually fucking swayed.
If I had not already known she was a Witch, I would have suspected it purely from the spell she cast over me without effort.
Completely enchanted.
Completely ruined.
I grabbed the skirts of her gown, lifting them high enough to expose the gorgeous curve of her ass wrapped in absurdly tiny lace panties.
I froze.
Fuck.
“Dammit, Luna,” I growled roughly. “You wore these beneath your dress all night?”
She whimpered softly and nodded.
The image alone nearly snapped something primal inside me.
Every male at the festival breathing the same air as her suddenly felt like a personal offense.
I grabbed the pathetic scrap of fabric and shredded it clean off her body.
Mine.
Everything about her belonged to me now.
I lifted the ruined lace slowly to my face and inhaled deeply.
Her scent hit me like a drug.
Warm female arousal.
Magic.
Jasmine.
Moonlight.
My tongue dragged slowly across the ruined fabric before I shoved it possessively into my pocket.
Then I dropped to my knees behind her.
“Spread your legs, Luna,” I ordered roughly. “Open for me.”
Her breath caught sharply as I parted her soft cheeks with my hands, exposing every inch of her beautiful body to my hungry gaze.
“Oh gods, Menon!”
She was dripping for me.
My sweet Luna so wet and needy already.
Possessive greed surged through me instantly.
I used my tongue to lap at her slowly, savoring every taste before licking broad deliberate strokes from her slick folds all the way to her tight asshole.
Her cry echoed through the moonlit forest.
Legs shaking.
Hands braced desperately against the front door.
But I wasn’t stopping.
Not until she came apart for me.
She moaned softly, forehead pressed against her arms while I devoured her from behind like a starving beast.
And perhaps I was starving.
For her.
Always for her.
“Talk to me, Luna,” I growled against her soaked skin. “Tell me how it feels when I do this.”
She whimpered helplessly.
I stopped immediately.
The denial made her whole body jolt.
I dropped one hand to my buckle, unfastening it slowly before freeing my aching cock into my palm.
Fuck.
Watching her wiggle her gorgeous ass in front of me while desperate for my mouth nearly destroyed my sanity.
“Please,” she begged softly.
“Please what?”
“Don’t stop.” Her voice shook beautifully. “Touch me. Lick me.”
“I will,” I promised darkly. “But you must tell me how it feels.”
She nodded shakily.
Good girl.
I spread her apart again slowly, drinking in the sight of her.
Mine.
Every inch of her mine.
Then I lowered my mouth back to her dripping cunt.
Gods.
Her taste exploded across my tongue like divine punishment.
I licked her deeply, broad hard strokes reaching farther each time so I could drag my tongue across her clit with every pass.
Her thighs trembled violently.
Need built rapidly inside me too.
The urge to please her.
To claim her.
Worship her completely.
I lifted my head briefly.
“Tell me,” I growled.
“Fuck,” she whimpered brokenly. “It feels so good.”
“When I lick you where?”
I deliberately slowed my pace.
Cruel perhaps.
Necessary absolutely.
“There,” she gasped when my tongue flicked directly over her clit.
“Oh gods—fuck—there! Everywhere! Menon please, yes, do that.”
Her honesty nearly made me groan aloud.
“And this?” I murmured before teasing my tongue slowly around her forbidden hole.
She cried out instantly.
“I know it’s dirty,” she confessed breathlessly. “But that feels so good.”
Mine.
Completely mine.
I stroked my cock slowly while using the leaking precum to slick my fingers before teasing them carefully against her entrance.
More arousal dripped down her thighs.
We truly should have gone inside already.
But I needed her unraveling first.
Needed to hear her pleasure.
“Want to fuck you so bad, mate,” I growled honestly. “Want to claim you properly with my cock.”
Her whole body shuddered.
“But first I need you to come for me, Luna. Want that?”
“Yes,” she moaned desperately. “Please yes.”
I pressed one finger carefully into her ass.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Fuck.
She was tight.
The way her body squeezed around my finger nearly made me lose control entirely.
I lapped greedily at her cunt while teasing her with my tongue and fingers at once, savoring every sound she made.
Every gasp.
Every moan.
Every trembling breath.
Her pussy clenched desperately around nothing while her tight little asshole fluttered around my finger.
Perfect.
Absolutely perfect.
Using two fingers, I tapped rhythmically over her swollen clit.
Her reaction was immediate.
A sharp cry.
Violent trembling.
Wetness flooding over my hand.
Fuck yes.
She liked that.
One more touch and she would shatter.
I could feel it.
And gods help me—I was ready too.
All my life I searched endlessly for something I could never quite reach.
Belonging.
Purpose.
Love.
Then Amrin Cordoza walked into my life and destroyed my loneliness in a matter of weeks.
She gave me warmth where there had only been duty.
Need where there had only been restraint.
Hope where there had only been emptiness.
My mate.
My Luna.
Now it was my turn to show her exactly what she meant to me.
And I would not stop until every inch of her understood.
Mate.