Chapter 14 #2
Beside me, Chloe went very still. I could feel the tremor that ran through her small frame break and reform to something furious and possessive.
The Elder's voice sliced through the tension, sharp as a blade.
"This is Kragath and Vorn, two of our finest warriors.
" She gestured to the scarred one and the bone-draped one in turn, her tone matter-of-fact, as if she were discussing the weather.
"They have expressed interest in claiming the human female as mate.
Since you have not yet completed the mating bond—"
"No."
The word ripped from my throat, instinctive and absolute. I surged to my feet, my chair scraping violently against the floor as I placed myself between Chloe and the warriors. A growl built in my chest—deep, resonant, reverberating through the small room like thunder.
"She is mine."
Every muscle in my body coiled tight, ready to spring, ready to tear apart anyone who dared take another step toward her. Something ancient and instinctual roared to life inside me, drowning out reason, drowning out everything except the singular, overwhelming need to protect what belonged to me.
Behind me, I heard Chloe's sharp intake of breath, felt the heat of her presence at my back.
Kragath—the scarred one—stepped forward with a sneer that twisted his ruined face into something uglier.
He inhaled deeply, deliberately, his nostrils flaring.
"I smell no mating bond." His eyes raked over me with open contempt.
"Perhaps the Aljani's blade has grown dull. Unable to claim a female properly."
Vorn's chuckle was dark, cruel, the bones at his throat clicking in rhythm with his amusement. "The human female deserves a warrior who can actually claim her. Not one who keeps her untouched like a child hoarding a toy he doesn't know how to use."
My vision went red. The growl that erupted from me was barely recognizable as my own voice—feral, murderous, shaking the very walls. I lunged forward, claws extending, ready to paint the floor with their blood.
But the Elder raised her hand, her command cracking through the air like a whip. "Enough!"
Before anyone could speak further, Chloe's voice rang out from behind me—sharp, furious, and utterly fearless.
"Are you fucking kidding me right now?"
I felt her push past me, her small body practically vibrating with rage. Every instinct I possessed screamed to pull her back, to shield her from these males, but something in her posture—in the fire blazing in those gray eyes—made me hold back, transfixed.
"What exactly did you expect?" she demanded, her voice rising with each word. "You people abducted us! You nearly bashed Nansar's skull in—he was unconscious for hours! And now you have the audacity to stand here and judge us for not having sex on your timeline?"
Kragath's sneer faltered. Vorn's amusement dimmed like a candle in the wind.
But Chloe wasn't finished. She took another step forward, her finger raised and pointing like a weapon. I watched, stunned, as both warriors—seasoned killers by the looks of them—actually stepped back.
"Nansar is my mate," she said, her voice dropping to something low and dangerous, more threatening than any growl.
"And we'll fuck when we're good and ready, thank you very much.
So thanks for your interest in my sex life, but both of you can get the fuck away from me because I'm not interested. The only one I want is Nansar."
Pride swelled in my chest, powerful and hot.
Then she turned that blazing gaze on the Elder, and I half-expected the old woman to burst into flames. "And if you have a problem with that, you can take it up with me. Not him."
The silence that followed was deafening.
The Elder's eyes widened fractionally, and then—impossibly—her lips curved into what might have been approval. Perhaps even respect.
"Enough," she said, straightening to her full height. "The human female has spirit. This is good." She turned her sharp gaze on Kragath and Vorn, who both had the grace to look somewhat chastened. "You two—out. It is not yet time to consider other claims for the female."
Kragath opened his mouth as if to protest, but one look from the Elder—one withering, ancient look—silenced him. He and Vorn exchanged glances before backing toward the entrance, their earlier bravado evaporated.
"This isn't over," Kragath muttered, though his voice had lost its edge.
"It is for now," the Elder replied coolly, her tone daring him to argue. He wisely didn’t.
She watched them leave, waited until their footsteps faded, before turning back to us.
Her gaze lingered on Chloe with something that might have been admiration.
"Your mate speaks well for you. Perhaps there is hope for this bond yet. "
With that cryptic statement, she followed the two warriors out, leaving Chloe and me alone in the sudden, ringing silence.
The moment the Elder disappeared through the entrance, Chloe's trembling intensified. I felt the aftershocks of adrenaline coursing through her small frame, caught the rapid flutter of her pulse at her throat. I turned to her, my movements slow and deliberate, not wanting to startle her.
"Chloe," I murmured, my voice as gentle as I could make it. "You're safe now. They won't—"
The words died on my lips as she fisted her hands in my vest and yanked me down to her level. Her mouth crashed against mine with a desperation that stole my breath, all heat and hunger and need.
For one stunned heartbeat, I froze. Then instinct roared to life, innate and possessive.
I hauled her against me, one arm banding around her waist while my other hand cradled the back of her head.
I kissed her back with everything I had, pouring days of longing and restraint into the press of my lips against hers.
She tasted like starlight and salvation, sweet and perfect and mine. When she whimpered into my mouth, that small, needy sound sent liquid fire racing through my veins.
Then her scent hit me—the unmistakable perfume of her arousal, delicate at first but growing stronger with each passing second. Sweet and musky and uniquely Chloe. My entire body went taut as a bowstring, every nerve ending suddenly, acutely aware of her softness pressed against me.
I tore my mouth from hers, breathing hard, and stared down at her flushed face. "Chloe..."
She gazed up at me through lowered lashes, her cheeks beautifully pink, her lips kiss-swollen and glistening. Then, impossibly, a smile curved that tempting mouth—shy and sultry all at once.
"That was really hot, you know," she said, her voice breathy and low.
I blinked, my lust-fogged brain struggling to process her words. "What was?"
"The whole..." She gestured vaguely between us, a flush creeping down her neck.
"The whole 'she's mine' thing." Her smile widened, becoming almost bashful even as heat blazed in her eyes.
"I know I should probably be more independent or whatever, but watching you claim me like that?
Protecting me from them?" She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. "It did things to me, Nansar."
A rumble started deep in my chest—half growl, half purr of pure masculine satisfaction. "Things?"
"Yeah." Her hands slid up my chest, fingers tracing the ridges there with maddening slowness. "Hot things."
"Chloe," I growled, my voice dropping to a register I barely recognized. My hands tightened on her waist, claws pricking gently through the fabric of her clothing. "I can scent your need. Do you... do you want this? Want me?"
Her eyes darkened to the deep gray of storm clouds, pupils blown wide with desire as she looked up at me. She worried her lip again, and I watched a kaleidoscope of emotions flicker across her expressive face—want and uncertainty and something that looked almost like awe.
"I..." She started, then faltered, her fingers curling tighter in my vest as if anchoring herself. "Nansar, I haven't felt like this in so long. Not since before..." Her voice cracked, and I watched her throat work as she swallowed hard. "Not since before Declan took me."
My chest constricted painfully at her words, rage and tenderness warring inside me. Rage at what had been stolen from her. Tenderness for the courage it took to speak those words aloud. I wanted her more than air, more than life itself. But it had to be her choice. It would always be her choice.
"The drugs they gave me," she continued, her voice barely above a whisper, each word clearly costing her, "they made my body respond, but it wasn't real.
It wasn't... it wasn't me. Just chemicals forcing reactions I didn't want, couldn't control.
" Her eyes met mine, and I saw tears gathering at the corners, making them shimmer like jewels.
"But this? Right now? This is me, Nansar. This is real. I want this. I want you."
The fury that surged through me was primal, volcanic—a rage so fierce it threatened to consume me whole. That he had violated her in such a way, stolen even the sanctity of her own desire and twisted it into something false and forced, something that belonged to him instead of her—
"Never again," I vowed, and the words came from somewhere deep and ancient within me, a place where oaths were binding and sacred.
My voice was low, fervent, trembling with the weight of my promise.
"No one will ever touch you against your will again.
What happens between us will always be your choice, Chloe. Always."
A single tear traced a silver path down her cheek, but her lips curved into a smile that made my heart stutter in my chest.
"That was..." she breathed, her fingers still clutching my vest like a lifeline. "That was really sexy, the way you stood up to those guys and claimed me as yours."