Rowan
Orsen didn’t take long to relish in his victory.
Instead, he turned directly to me. My spine tingled, and I looked up at him, hardly able to find words as he gazed at me, those eyes of his sparkling with latent hunger.
“Mate,” he growled, low.
My stomach dipped. Anticipation and maybe a little fear hit me. Standing there, covered in blood, he looked like an avenging angel, one who had single-handedly defended the horde. It was exceptionally impressive, though one of the scariest things I’d ever witnessed in my life.
A deep sound rumbled out of him, skin rippling with the ghost of scales.
Orsen narrowed his stare on me, snatching me around the waist. After pressing me against his side, he all but carried me to the den, shoving past everyone in his way.
I made wide-eyed contact with my mates behind him, and they all offered looks of serious consideration, their gazes dark.
Before I knew it, I was in the kitchen of the den. Orsen set me down, backing me up into the counter, the others tight on his heels. It felt so similar to the time he’d manhandled me when we’d first met, dragging me into his room and kissing the hell out of me.
Now, I could see the flicker of resolve as he tried to level himself, but it wasn’t working. Naked, bloody, and feral, Orsen couldn’t keep his hands off me, a constant, deep growl rumbling up from his chest.
“You should leave,” Orsen rumbled, his voice different. Deeper and raspier, like it was his dragon speaking, not the human. He shook his head like he was trying to fight against something.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I insisted, wrapping my arms around his neck, oddly drawn to this version of my mate.
Even as he was trying to dissuade me, his hands found the back of my thighs, lifting me onto the kitchen counter, and coming to rest between my legs. “I know what I said before, but… I’m not in control.”
That much was obvious. Orsen was skirting the line between man and beast. His skin had ripples of red under the surface. His own personal dragon fire. I should have been terrified, leaving him to calm down, but something inexplicably strong was pulling me closer.
I’d seen what Orsen had done, knew the stakes, and there was a biting need to feel him, to claim him as I reminded myself that he was here and alive, with me—right where he belonged. I didn’t care about the mess or the evidence of battle clinging to him. I cared about him, about us.
I leaned forward so my lips were close to his ear. “Mark me, mate,” I whispered.
He reeled back, hard eyes meeting mine as that rumble grew to a full-bodied growl that shook me, weaving through my every nerve.
We’d briefly discussed our marks once upon a time. Before, I had one from each of my clanmates, but when I’d been burned, they’d been hidden or healed over by the scars now covering my skin. When I’d understood what the attack had done, it had become another thing I hated Cyrus for.
I wanted them back, starting now.
Orsen was feeling possessive, and I was going to let him claim me in the most permanent way. He’d done something miraculous today. We’d grown so much since the beginning. I wanted to feel my mates again. I wanted all of us, the entire world, to know they were mine, and I was theirs.
Orsen’s.
His eyes flashed red.
“Rowan…” Orsen breathed, his voice a primal snarl, all possession and need.
“Are you sure? Orsen’s not entirely… there right now,” Bastian said, watching the pair of us intently.
With all my mates around us, I glanced over Orsen’s shoulder and flashed them a confident smile. “I’m not going anywhere,” I declared, before turning to the dragon in my grasp. “Bite me, mate. Claim me, so everyone here sees that I belong to you.”
My words made him snap.
Orsen’s grip tightened around me, his eyes flaring from red to pitch-black. One of his hands fisted roughly in the hair at my nape, his lips crashing down on me. It was messy and possessive, but I was already squirming with need, my body hot and desperate.
I ran my hands over his chest, not caring about the bloodstains, opening my neck up to him with a quiet moan.
The hand that wasn’t tangled in my hair tugged at my T-shirt, ripping it open from neck to navel, exposing me.
Rearing back, he admired me for a few moments, keeping me firmly in place before leaning down and lavishing my chest with deep, open-mouthed kisses, nipping at the skin.
He was like a predator trying to get a taste of me.
“Jesus, fuck,” Grey whispered.
My other mates were watching with rapt attention. None of them wanted to interrupt Orsen or face the consequences, so they all looked on, eagerly waiting their turn.
“Mine,” Orsen snarled, fists squeezed tightly.
“Yours,” I repeated, throwing my head back.
He didn’t waste any time. Still holding me in place, Orsen reached down to my leggings, tearing them off. His hands were partially shifted; I could tell from the way his claws dug into my skin. They made quick work of ridding me of what little fabric kept him away from me.
His mouth found mine again, and I lost myself in us. The slight burn in my scalp heightened everything. I wanted to be possessed by him, to be owned. I wanted his knot. I wanted the man and the dragon to take everything I had to give and more.
Grasping onto my thigh, he spread my legs, pulling me to the edge of the counter and lining himself up. He thrust in with one single, firm, mind-blowing thrust that had me seeing stars, filling me up with the erection that had been steadily pressing closer since we’d gotten into the kitchen.
There was no adjustment time, no moment to steady myself. Orsen was frantic and fucked me like a man possessed. All I could do was hold on, my fingernails digging into his shoulders as his hips met mine powerfully, rocking me to my core.
Blown away, I squeezed my eyes shut before trying to focus again, looking over Orsen’s shoulder once more at the group of Alphas utterly mesmerized by the sight of us.
“Don’t look at them,” Orsen growled, gripping my throat and forcing me to meet his eyes. “Who’s inside you right now?”
“You,” I whined, my hips coming up to meet his.
My walls clenched around him as his knot bumped against my entrance, rubbing over my clit. I may have been going crazy, but that thing felt a lot larger than it had before.
Each thrust stole the air from my lungs, my head buzzed, and all I could focus on was Orsen. The way he felt inside me, how his cock stretched me—his knot promised even more.
Mewling, I forced myself to hold his gaze, sighing and moaning as he fucked without mercy. I didn’t want it. I wanted him. I wanted this.
The overwhelming desire to be bitten washed over me.
I wanted him to possess me in every way.
I loved Orsen with everything in me, both the man and the beast, and something about now felt important, finding each other after the risk of death, claiming pleasure after he’d done what needed doing to protect us in that clearing today.
“Please, Alpha. I want your knot,” I panted, nipping at his earlobe. The hand tangled in my hair had gone lax, the energy going into the pounding he was giving me, but he quickly regained control, tilting my head back and nipping at my neck, never slowing his pace.
“You’ll have it,” he growled.
In another perfect, single thrust, Orsen was completely inside me.
His knot stretched my pussy, making me cry out.
But it felt perfect; he was right where he belonged.
I hooked my legs around him, rising to meet his thrusts so he was as deep as possible.
It was so much, so rough and demanding, and I was flying on a cloud, my pussy humming and fluttering as I approached that euphoric cliff.
I pulled Orsen’s face to me, kissing him through the scratches and sweat, taking all of him in as he claimed me, wearing his victory painted on his skin.
I need him.
Humans technically didn’t need to bite a dragon to seal a mate bond, but I couldn’t resist. If he was going to mark me, I wanted to mark him right back.
Given the iron grip he had on the back of my neck, I couldn’t do much, so I waited for the perfect moment when my lips were close to him.
Ignoring his hold, I lurched forward, my teeth sinking into the flesh of his pec and biting down.
Hard.
The reaction was instant. Orsen roared, rearing back. The look he gave me… well, it certainly wasn’t human.
My ass left the counter as I was turned and then bent over, he was thrusting back into me within a second.
The new angle made me see stars, and my toes curled as he set a punishing pace.
The hand that had been wrapped around my hair now came to rest on my throat.
Not holding tight enough to restrict my airflow, but enough to exert his dominance.
My hands scrabbled for purchase on the counter, but it was useless.
I was completely under Orsen’s control and was more than okay with it.
As my release started to grow, my pussy clenched down on his cock.
My nipples pressed against the cool countertop while I tried to push my hips back to weakly meet his thrusts.
With a roar and a particularly violent pistoning of his hips, Orsen bottomed out, his already-growing knot pushing deeper inside me as he shamelessly chased his own release.
“Mine,” he snarled, his voice deep and dragon-like as his teeth pressed into the crook of my neck. He bit down, breaking the skin, a satisfied snarl rumbling from his chest, making my skin vibrate.
My world was obliterated. A keening cry escaped me as my body convulsed under Orsen’s attention. His hand was no longer on my throat, but resting on the counter next to my head as he pushed himself as deep as possible, his cock throbbing with his release.
“My mate,” he cooed, kissing my neck, pulling back, and admiring his mark.
“Your mate.” I sighed, melting onto the counter, utterly spent.
For so long, all I could hear was breathing, us coming down from that impossible high.
Eventually, I had enough wherewithal to groan and adjust my arm into a more comfortable position.
It was quiet for a moment longer, and I looked over my shoulder to see the feral features slowly receding from Orsen’s face and hands.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly, brushing the hair out of my face. We were stuck in that rather awkward position for the foreseeable future, and I couldn’t help but giggle.
“Never better, mate.” I smiled, craning my head to kiss him.
“Well, don’t get too comfortable.” He chuckled darkly. “We’re not done with you yet.”
I glanced over at the others, my pulse skittering. The three of them were looking at me hungrily.