Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
King Tovik
I’m patrolling the dark forest, but all I can see is her. Every time I close my eyes, I see her gorgeous face smiling shyly at me. Every time I open them, I see that body, wrapped in pink silk, ready to be claimed by us.
I shouldn’t be here. Not tonight. I should be at the castle.
But there’s so much to do. It’s our first night patrolling Aurevale’s northern border and I have dozens of new recruits to train.
They’re running all around me in their wolf forms, making too much noise, unnecessarily burning energy with all their youthful nerves.
Luckily, there’s no sign of the Hollowborn tonight.
I’m staying in my human form so I can shout orders at them. I can do that in my wolf form as well, but it’s not as precise. Plus, I’m not entirely sure that my wolf won’t sprint all the way back to the castle to see our mate in the flesh.
A young wolf runs past me. Alone. I grab his tail, yanking him back. The wolf yelps.
“Where is your partner?”
He lowers his head.
“Stay together,” I snap, releasing him. “The Hollowborn will tear you apart.”
He sprints off and I sigh.
I walk along Aurevale’s ancient wall, dragging my hand along the smooth rock as I think about her. I can’t wait to get home and smell her again. I wonder what her mouth tastes like. I wonder what it feels like to sink my hands into her beautiful blonde hair.
It’s after midnight when the Hollowborn find me. I’m walking along the wall, absorbed in thoughts of my mate when a Hollowborn comes at me from above so quickly I don’t have time to phase into my wolf.
The monster was halfway up the wall. I was looking sideways. I should have looked up.
One second I’m dreaming of our Vaela, the next, the vicious creature lands on my back and its venom-tipped claws slice across my chest.
“Fuck,” I shout, kicking it away as my flesh tears open.
I call my wolf forward, but he’s sluggish and drugged, and doesn’t come. The venom is already surging through my veins, stopping my ability to phase.
“Oh well,” I say, rolling my shoulders and squeezing my hands into fists. I’m going to have to do this the old fashioned way.
The creature rolls on the ground and springs up on its unnaturally long limbs, rising until it towers over me.
Its pale gray skin is stretched tightly across its lean muscles, slick and nearly translucent beneath the moonlight.
You can see their black veins through their skin, which is deceiving.
They look paper thin, but I know from experience that Hollowborn skin can withstand even the fiercest wolf shifter’s claws and teeth.
They must be the most disgusting creatures that have ever existed.
This monster has no hair on its body, its bald head long and narrow with pointy ears and a mouth crammed with a disgusting number of sharp, jagged teeth.
Strings of dark saliva drip out of its open jaw as it lowers itself onto all fours.
Its arms are so long that it can run on four feet, giving it the gruesome, hunched shape of some enormous, starving insect.
“What the fuck do you want?” I growl as I touch my chest. My fingers come away slick with bright green venom and crimson blood.
It lets out a nasty hiss as its lips peel back from its teeth.
“Come on, then,” I growl, raising my fists as the wound across my chest burns hotter. “Give me your best shot.”
There’s not much prey left up here. These beasts are happy to chow down on shifters, humans, adults, babies, whatever they can get their long, creepy claws on. They’ll devour it all. If they can get through me.
He swings his long claws as fast as a crevermoore snake and I lunge back just in time. The tips of those claws graze the skin of my shoulder.
Normally, I’d be in my wolf form right now, calling my pack, going for his neck, but the venom is preventing that.
I keep my focus locked on his red glowing eyes as I circle. My feet hit a large rock. With one quick movement, I grab it and throw it at his head. He dodges it, but it smacks his shoulder, making him hiss in pain.
All I want is to get back to my girl. To see her face. To touch her body. I can’t die without marking her. That’s my sole purpose in life.
And she’s finally here. The only thing between me and that beautiful girl’s sweet neck is this disgusting creature.
“You picked the wrong night to fuck with me,” I growl as I grab another rock. This time, I keep it.
He jerks back in surprise as I attack him, rushing in and cracking the rock across his head. He swings his arm to slice me open with those claws, but I grab his wrist as I pummel him again and again and again.
He kicks his hind legs at me and slices my stomach with his back claws.
I cry out as I feel them like knives slicing through my flesh.
There is no venom in these claws, but they hurt all the same.
And with the venom already in my veins, stopping my shifter healing from kicking in, the pain is only going to get worse.
I get in nice and close, his foul breath assaulting me as I go for his neck. I wrap my hands around his jugular and squeeze as hard as I can. I’m lifted off the ground as he stands on his two hind legs. These things are so damned tall.
He hisses and thrashes at my back with his clawed hands, slicing me open some more. I grunt and curse as I swing around, wrapping my legs around his back as I choke him from behind.
I don’t even know if these things need to breathe, but it seems to be working. He drops to his knee.
And that’s when my boys come.
They come sprinting out of the darkness, darting around trees in their wolf forms. Two, then three, then four leap on the Hollowborn and tear him to shreds. He dies with a pitiful wail.
The new recruit is the first one to arrive. He sinks his teeth into the monster’s neck as I let go and land hard on the ground.
I’m a mess. My body is cut to shit and bleeding everywhere. All I feel is searing pain, but the thought of Vaela waiting for me at the castle makes me feel better. I can handle anything if I know she’s waiting for me.
The kid phases into his human form and looks devastated when he sees my shredded body. “My Alpha,” he whispers, turning white as he drops to his knees.
“I’ve been through worse,” I say, grinning at him as I force myself to my feet.
“You’re a Blood Guardian now,” I say, placing a bloody hand on his shoulder. “Your first kill of many. I hope your wolf has a taste for Hollowborn blood now.”
“He does, my Alpha,” the kid says, lowering his head. “I’ll make you proud.”
“You already have,” I say, wincing as I begin to walk the long way back to the castle.
“Can I carry you, my Alpha?” he asks. “Would you like to ride my wolf?”
“It’s going to take more than a few scratches before I fail to walk back into my own castle,” I say as I keep going, every step like pure agony.
At least, I have Vaela waiting for me.
All this pain feels like pure bliss, knowing that.
It’s so late when I finally return, limping into the castle. The venom is still coursing through my veins, although it’s beginning to wane.
I’m still in pain and I can’t phase, but the gashes have closed up and I’m no longer leaving a trail of royal blood through the forest.
I picture Vaela sleeping in her bed as I limp up the stairs and it brings a smile to my face.
I’d like to open the door and look in on her, to make sure she’s okay, but we’re not there yet.
I’ll be able to do that one day, but not on her first night.
As eager as I am to be in that place with my mate, I know she’s a human and needs some time to adjust.
So, I head into my quarters and have the servants draw a hot bath. The lines across my chest, back, and stomach are pink and tender, but they should be fully healed by tomorrow night.
I strip everything down and sink into the hot tub with a moan, feeling the last of the Hollowborn venom working its way through my body.
There’s nothing but a torch on the stone wall, barely lighting the room. I wonder if Cassius spoke with her or had any luck.
It’s strange not to have any jealousy when it comes to them. The three of us are one. I wouldn’t be upset to hear that they kissed or did more. I’d be relieved. It would mean that our mate is starting to accept her place beside us.
I rest the back of my head on the tub and close my eyes. I lie there for a long time, soaking my tired body until the door slowly creeps open.
I smell her before I see her. Vaela steps into the bathroom and closes the door.
Neither of us say a thing. We just lock eyes as she stands there and then slowly approaches, looking ravishing in a yellow dress.
She’s so virtuous and angelic. I can’t get enough of her.
“I heard you got injured,” she says as she sits on the edge of the tub. “I was sick with worry. I had to come check on you.”
I smile as I look up at her gorgeous face all twisted up in concern. She looks over my body with those stunning hazel eyes. The water is murky from the soap, so she can’t see how hard I’m getting. It’s hidden under the water.
“I’m fine, Princess,” I say. “I was distracted tonight.”
She swallows hard. “Because of me?”
“I’ve been waiting for you my whole life.”
She dips her hand into the water and then gently runs her fingertips over my chest. The pink claw marks are still there, healing slower than I’d like. The last thing I want is for my body to be all mangled the first time she lays her pretty eyes on it.
But she doesn’t seem to mind.
“They did this to you?”
I nod.
“Are you injured anywhere else?”
“A bit on my back.”
“Let me see.”
I stand up without thinking. Nudity is so common amongst us wolves. People shift from wolf to human form at will, everywhere and anywhere without thinking. It’s not uncommon to see naked people walking around, shopping at stores, and then phasing back into their wolves to run home.
But I can tell by the way she leans back and gasps that it’s not common for her. Those pretty cheeks turn pink and those gorgeous eyes get wide when she sees my long meaty cock in front of her face.
“I’m fine,” I say as I show her my back. Her eyes dart right back onto my cock as I slip back into the bath.
She swallows hard as she stares at the murky water.
“Have you ever seen one before?” I ask in a deep, throaty voice.
She shakes her head.
“Do you want to touch it?”
Her eyes dart to mine and she forgets to breathe.
“You can touch me,” I say softly. “We’re mates, Princess. You can do anything you want.”
She takes the washcloth and starts dabbing my chest. I lean back with a groan as her hand travels south.
“How can I make you feel better?”
“You’re doing it, Princess.”
I groan as she dabs my stomach with the washcloth and keeps going down. My eyes close. My cock is rock hard.
“Should I… keep going?”
I open my eyes and my body aches at the beautiful sight of my mate sitting on the edge of the bath, looking ravishing in a yellow dress.
“I’ll die if you don’t.”
She licks her lips and drops the washcloth, dipping her hand into the water. I let out a primal groan when I feel her hand wrapping around my firm cock.
I pull the plug, letting the water drain as she begins to stroke me. The thick head of my dick appears and then the shaft with her sexy hand sliding up and down it. When the water drops to my hips and everything is visible, I put the plug back in, lean back, and watch.
She squeezes her hand as she jerks me off, up and down, up and down. It feels so divine, I nearly pass out.
“Fuck, Princess,” I growl. “I’ve never felt anything so good.”
She adds her other hand and starts squeezing and stroking harder, making my heart hammer in my chest when I see her breasts pressed together.
I grab one and squeeze it, which makes her moan and lick her lips. I’m wetting her dress, but she doesn’t seem to care. She’s too focused on my cock.
I can’t take it… It feels too fucking amazing…
A few more strokes and I release with a roar, cumming all over her hands. I grit my teeth and let out a savage grunt as more thick cream surges up and lands on her fingers, hands, and wrists, covering them as she continues to jerk me off like she has no intention of stopping.
I squeeze the rim of the bath with my hands, my chest and arms flexing as she continues stroking me again and again until I cum for a second time.
After my long night and my two orgasms, I sink into the warm water, absolutely spent.
She just grins as she brings her hand to her mouth and licks the cum off her skin.
“I’ll let you get some rest so you can heal up,” she says, licking her lips as she stands up. “We’ll continue from here when you’re all better.”
I just stare at her in awe as she skips to the door and closes it with a shy smile.
I’ll get injured every night if I can come home to that.
This castle will never be the same.