Chapter 6 Isabella
ISABELLA
The instant I hear his voice, every thought stills.
I found my precious little moon.
It’s part reverence, part threat, and I cannot control the shiver that runs down my spine at the gutturally spoken words.
Low and rough—threaded with something darker that I cannot name but yearn for all the same.
Our mating has always been powerful, but as I stand here and watch him take me in, it feels different somehow.
New. Hunger, unlike anything we’ve shared in the past, presses against my chest until my knees nearly buckle.
Instead, I step forward, the cloak moving with each step, exposing more of my nakedness to the man who knows me inside and out.
He’s seen me at my worst and my best, but the eyes following my movements are full of a desperation I can’t name—it’s hotter, hungrier, stripped of every ounce of restraint he’s ever held.
He’s losing himself to the rut.
He’s had them in the past; they’re as common as a female’s heat, but my wolf has always held on to his control. Even at his most fevered, the look in his eyes remained soft and loving. His touch was dominating, yet careful not to hurt me.
The naked man standing across from me, though, this one wants to make me bleed.
And more damning, I want him to.
To break. To claim. To make me take his knot and breed his mate.
“My alpha,” I croon, my tone coy, and his head tilts to the side.
His lips curve up in a dangerous grin, knot swelling as his shaft thickens further and the angry tip glistens, causing my mouth to water.
Then, there’s the fur across his half-shifted form while black-tipped claws glint in the filtering light.
I’m not sure if it’s the moonlight or the aurora shining through, but in its glow, he’s beautiful.
A beast. An animal.
King Xadiel Evergreen is magnificent and terrifying, yet I’m aroused.
The apex of my thighs is wet and swollen, my skin flushed and slick with need.
He’s the cause and effect: my mate’s nostrils flare, and he takes two steps forward, pausing when a branch above breaks. A tiny one, and the culprit is scared.
A small marten falls, landing near my mate before scurrying away in fright.
Neither of us speaks. No one moves. Our eyes maintain contact, though, deep penetrative stares that say what words fail to at the moment.
I love you.
I live for you.
Catch me.
The latter comes from me, and I take off into the trees before Xadiel can react. It’s not lost on me that I’ve broken a sacred rule: never turn your back on a predator. But I do, and the answering roar that Alpha Evergreen lets loose is delicious. Loud. Full of dominance.
It demands I drop to all fours and spread wide, but I won’t make it easy on him.
“Enough,” Xadiel grits out, the garbled sound more wolf than human, and I ignore it just the same.
I head deeper into the ravine, following a trail of rocks near a stream that leads to near complete darkness.
Very little light streams through, but my vision is sharp enough to detect objects near me.
That is, until I hear him.
Feet pounding the ground. His chest purring in a new cadence, yet the underlying edge is clear. Submit. Obey. Come. And while all three sound wonderful, tonight my mate will need to earn the right.
Pushing harder, I undo the clasp of my cloak and let it fall behind me.
It’s cold, yet the rush of adrenaline and his nearness keep me from feeling the full depth of winter’s bite.
Instead, I feel warmer the closer he gets, and just as he skims a claw down my right asscheek, the cut deep enough to sting, I turn right where a cave sits empty.
It’s large and spacious, perfect for tonight, and I’d had help cleaning it out.
A week ago, while Xadiel was on a short trip to North Dakota, helping an expanding pack, I asked my brother and his fae mate for some help. We cleared out the enclosed space. Stocked it with firewood and food—furs atop a thick mattress with plenty of pillows to satiate my nesting needs.
The place is my gift to him, and in return, I expect to be worshipped the way his ancestors once loved their mates. Untamed. Savagely. Without modern restraints or proprietary notions.
I want to be fucked. I want to be bred.
Loved so thoroughly and deeply that it feels like the first time all over again.
“Last chance, female. Come to me.”
“No,” I call over my shoulder. We’re almost there, but I made a mistake, taking my eyes off the prize. He’s closer than I expect, only two steps behind me, and I stumble a bit. Not enough to fall, but the second wasted righting myself lands me in his grasp. “Oh shit!”
“Gotcha.” I’m tossed in the air, a scream ripping from my throat before Xadiel catches me.
His fur is soft and so warm against my bare flesh, his chest vibrating with a purr that promises retribution.
At seven feet tall, he stands proud and hard—every sinuous muscle flexing for me in a show of strength.
Black irises look down at me, the small ring of gold a reminder of his human side, but even that disappears when his nose twitches, head snapping toward the cave entrance.
His steps are large and imposing, eating up the space quickly before he pushes open the thick, velvet curtain aside.
It’s in the same shade of green as our pack’s crest.
Through our bond, I sense his confusion, but the moment we step over the threshold, it all changes.
Once inside, the golden glow of a well-stoked fire greets us.
The chimney was built to lead the smoke out the other side of the cave, invisible to anyone on this side of the dwelling.
Its glow is warm and inviting, while a large mattress sits at the center of the room atop a plush rug.
There’s a cooler with food. Plenty of fabrics and pelts to keep us warm. A small stream runs along the left wall for fresh water…
His scent and mine are intertwined, creating a comforting perfume that soothes his beast and my witch. Us.
“Goddess, Isabella.” His black eyes turn molten honey for a second, soft and full of love. “What a special little treasure you are.”
“You like?”
“I have no words for how much this means to me,” he says. The deep timbre of his voice runs through me, and goosebumps rise across my sensitive skin. It’s a tone I know: love and wonder tangled with something heavier.
Gratitude. Awe. Pride.
Xadiel looks around slowly, as if memorizing everything inside—from the smallest item to the intimate touches throughout the den.
The flicker of firelight paints his features in gold, softening the savage edges.
For this small moment, my king isn’t the predator, but a man stripped bare by something simple and given with love.
I swallow hard, heat burning behind my eyes. “It’s yours. For when the rut takes hold.”
This isn’t our alpha home, not the polished halls where we rule here or in England. No. These walls belong to something older. Wilder. Without barriers or rules.
His gaze finds mine again, tender and full of need. “A den.”
I nod. “A sanctuary. A special place where you never have to hold back.”
“You built me a place to lose control.” Xadiel takes in a deep breath again, chest expanding as he swallows hard. Furs and stone, the faint sweetness of jasmine threaded through it, while a woodsy note rounds out the scent. “And you made it beautiful.”
“I love you, Xadiel.”
“You are my heart.” Holding me close to his chest, he walks toward the running stream and drops to one knee.
He situates me on his raised thigh, grip careful as one arm cradles my back and the other hand washes my feet with reverence.
Slowly, he cleans one, then the other, before moving us to the bed.
There, he retakes his place on the floor in front of me, using an old shirt I pilfered from his hamper—it’s unwashed and smells of him after a workout.
I’d tucked the white piece next to my favorite fuzzy blanket, and now that scent is being dragged over me from my feet to my legs until it’s dropped and my thighs are parted.
Large, clawed hands grip my thighs, the tips breaking skin as I’m pulled to the edge.
The sting drags a soft whine from me—a sound that pulls at the beast lurking just beneath his surface.
And like I yanked his chain; Xadiel answers the call.
One heartbeat, he’s my loving mate; the next, he’s a beast born of hunger and the need to claim.
His wife. His female. Me.
“Look at me,” he rumbles, voice roughened by restraint.
His eyes are dark again, no gold this time, and the black staring back at me is all-consuming.
My wolf. Even on his knees, while I sit on the bed, he towers over me—crowds and overwhelms—but I love it.
It makes me feel small and delicate against his much harsher planes.
“Every breath you take belongs to me tonight, Little Moon. Every sound.” His timbre drops again, vibrating through me.
“I own your pleasure. Your pulse. Your heart.”
“I’m yours.”
“Forever mine.” One of his large hands skims from my thigh to ribcage, his touch almost featherlight, until he grips my hair and yanks my head back. My lips part on a gasp, the sting settling where I’m most sensitive, but that quickly turns into a moan when his lips smash to mine.
This kiss is possessive. Dominant and all-consuming.
My alpha kisses me hard enough to steal the breath from my lungs—demanding my surrender, one that I give willingly. I moan, a keening sound he responds to with a grunt, while those clawed fingers wrap around my red hair—grip tight.
Another pull, the pain mingling with the pleasure of his tongue, a sensation I’m helplessly addicted to. His taste is no different. Purely male. Pure him.
Xadiel tilts my head to his liking; his fangs drag across my kiss-swollen lips. The sharp canines break the skin, and a few drops of blood pool there, but before they fall, he licks each one. His growl at the taste is deep and guttural, like a predator savoring his prey.
Because that’s what I am.
At his mercy. Here to serve.
“More,” I whimper, leaning in to steal another kiss, when he tsks and pulls back. When his eyes meet mine, I find pride with a hint of amusement in his expression.
He’s reveling in my desire for him.
“Tell me, my luna. Tell your male what you need.”
Goddess, his voice alone…
“Please, Xadiel.” I try to lean in for another kiss, but he shakes his head.
“Tell me.” He licks his right fang, his muscles bulging from restraint. “Before I use you like nothing more than a hole for my pleasure. Beg me to please you, my love, instead of breeding you like a whore.”