8. Marco
MARCO
T he bond has settled into something that feels less like compulsion and more like absolute truth. Marco understands now that Dante is his soulmate in ways that go beyond the physical, beyond the basic mechanics of biological compatibility.
This is why he brought Dante into his life. This is what their biology intended when it marked them as an undeniable match.
They are lying in bed, Dante curled against Marco's chest, his head tucked securely under the alpha's chin.
Marco's massive, heavy hand is splayed flat across Dante's lower belly, and he is thinking about the future, about the implications of the deepening bond, about what it means when a fated pair fully integrates.
"What is this?" Dante asks quietly, his finger tracing a thick scar on Marco's chest—a knife wound from an old ambush years ago, a reminder of a time when Marco was still learning how to survive the city's brutal underworld. "The bond. What does it actually mean to you?"
Marco remains quiet for a long moment, considering the question deeply. He is a man built on silence and sudden, lethal action; he is not used to explaining himself to anyone, nor is he accustomed to being vulnerable in conversation.
But Dante has already shattered every defense Marco ever constructed, so vulnerability feels entirely inevitable now.
"It means our biology decided we are meant for each other," Marco says finally, his gravelly voice vibrating against Dante’s cheek.
"Our DNA matches in ways that create an absolute chemical compulsion.
The bond forces us to need each other, to crave each other, to be essential to each other's survival. "
"That sounds like a cage," Dante says, though there is no fear left in his voice, only a soft, heavy resignation.
"It is a cage," Marco agrees bluntly. "But it's a cage we both chose, even if our base instincts forced our hands at first. The biological bond doesn't automatically create love. It just creates the perfect mechanism for love to develop if both people are willing to submit to it."
"Are you willing?" Dante asks, looking up through his lashes.
Marco pulls him closer, burying his nose into the scent gland at Dante's neck, breathing in the rich aroma of his omega, feeling the primal pull that marks this man as his.
"I would burn this entire mafia empire down to the ground for you. I would execute anyone who dared to threaten you. I would destroy myself before I let anyone hurt you. So yes, I'm willing. I'm more than willing."
Dante doesn't respond immediately, but his hand comes up to touch Marco's face, tracing the sharp line of the scar that runs from his temple to his jaw. It's a touch that is gentle and deeply possessive simultaneously—claiming and worshiping in a single, quiet motion.
"I want to bond you properly," Marco says, and he can feel the immediate, instinctual recognition in Dante's body, the way the omega's breathing stutters and shifts at the suggestion.
"In front of the entire family council. I want to mark you at a level that no made man will ever dare to question.
I want to make it absolutely clear to the commission that you're not just my spouse, not just a beautiful omega asset, but my fated mate.
Essential, irreplaceable, and lethal to touch. "
"A permanent mating bite?" Dante asks, a note of nervous excitement bleeding into his scent.
"A permanent mating bite," Marco confirms, his grip tightening around Dante’s waist. "Followed by an absolute claim that will bind us at every level.
It will hurt. It will leave a heavy scar that will be visible to anyone who looks at you.
But afterward, every rival family and every alpha in Crime City will know without a single doubt that you are my personal property. "
* * *
Dante
The grand mahogany dining table is flanked by the high-ranking soldiers and capos of the Vitale crime family. Silverware clinks against porcelain, and the air is thick with the scent of red wine, roasted meat, and the heavy, oppressive undercurrent of dominant alpha pheromones.
Dante sits stiffly at Marco’s right hand, his thighs trembling beneath the formal linen cloth. He can feel the hard, cold weight of the steel butt plug locked inside his core, its subtle vibrations controlled entirely by the remote resting in Marco’s jacket pocket.
Every few minutes, Marco presses the button, sending a sharp jolt of friction through Dante’s stretched opening that makes his breath catch.
They are all watching me, Dante thinks, his hands gripping his napkin as his scent shifts into a sweet, anxious cloud of honey and smoke. They are waiting to see if I break .
Marco stands up suddenly, the heavy wooden chair scraping loudly against the marble floor.
The entire room instantly goes dead silent.
The capos stop chewing, their eyes locking onto the Don.
Marco’s expression is hard, his dark eyes dilated with a brutal, territorial hunger that signals his inner alpha is completely front-facing.
"Two weeks ago, I took this omega to cement an alliance," Marco’s voice booms through the hall, rough and unyielding. "Tonight, I show you that he is not a diplomatic asset. He is my property. Permanently."
Before Dante can process the words, Marco grabs him by the hair, yanking his head back. Dante lets out a sharp gasp, his lips parting as Marco descends on him with a brutal, crushing kiss.
Marco’s tongue forces its way inside, claiming Dante’s mouth with a savage intensity that tastes of dark wine and dominant intent.
Marco’s large hands grip the collar of Dante’s custom silk shirt and pull outward with immense force.
The fabric tears open with a loud rip, buttons snapping off and bouncing across the mahogany table into the plates of stunned capos.
"Stand up," Marco growls against Dante's lips, pulling him out of the chair by his upper arms.
Marco shoves the crystal glasses and silver platters aside, clearing a massive space in the center of the dining table. He lifts Dante bodily, slamming him onto his back across the polished wood. The cold mahogany burns against Dante’s bare skin.
Marco rips Dante’s trousers away with two rough tugs, completely exposing the omega’s trembling body to the entire room. Dante’s opening is already slick, weeping a thick stream of transparent lubrication that mixes with the silicone lubricant from the toy.
"Look at him," Marco commands his men, his voice dropping into a dark register. "Look at my omega. See how he leaks for his alpha."
Dante covers his face with his arm, his cheeks burning with intense heat. He’s exposing me. In front of everyone . But the sheer humiliation sends a massive spike of arousal straight to his core, his walls contracting violently around the vibrating plug.
Marco reaches down, his large, calloused fingers gripping the base of the metal plug. With one harsh motion, he yanks it out. Dante lets out a loud, wet whine as his opening pops open, instantly weeping a fresh flood of thick, aromatic slick onto the dark wood of the table.
Marco doesn't give him a second to recover. He unbuckles his heavy leather belt, drops his trousers, and frees his massive, rigid length.
Marco grabs Dante by his ankles, pushing his knees all the way back to his chest to maximize the exposure. He positions the heavy head of his cock right against the weeping entrance.
Without a shred of hesitation, Marco leans his entire weight forward, driving his massive length deep inside Dante's core in one unyielding thrust.
The sudden stretch makes Dante scream, the sound echoing off the high ceilings of the dining hall. The friction is immense, a sharp, burning ache that stretches his tight walls to the absolute limit.
Marco pins Dante’s wrists flat against the table on either side of his head, his heavy chest crushing down on Dante's torso. He begins to fuck him with a relentless, punishing rhythm, each hard slam of his hips rattling the silverware on the table.
"You are my whore, Rossi," Marco growls, slapping Dante’s inner thigh with a loud smack that leaves a red mark. "Tell my capos who owns this body."
"Marco... you do. Ah! You own me," Dante cries out, his head thrashing against the wood as Marco’s cock hits his sweet spot with brutal accuracy. The wet, squelching sound of the penetration fills the silent room, completely unapologetic and savage.
Marco’s pace becomes faster, more feral, his territorial instincts entirely taking over. He opens his jaws, his sharp teeth bared as he hovers over the sensitive junction where Dante’s neck meets his shoulder.
He finds the exact spot of the fated mating gland. With a sudden, violent lunge, Marco sinks his teeth deep into the flesh, tearing through the skin to execute a permanent mating bite.
The agonizing pain of the bite shatters Dante's remaining control. He lets out a high, fractured shriek, his entire body convulsing violently as an immediate, intense orgasm tears through him. His release jets out blindly, coating his own stomach and the polished wood of the table.
The sudden, violent clenching of Dante’s inner walls pushes Marco over the edge. The base of Marco's cock begins to swell rapidly, the knot expanding to twice its size inside Dante's fully stretched core.
Marco groans loudly, his body locked completely flush against Dante’s trembling form as the knot anchors them together.
He releases a massive, hot wave of seed deep inside the omega's womb, marking him from the inside out while the blood from the fresh mating bite streaks down Dante’s pale shoulder.
The capos look down at their plates, the dominance of the Don firmly established.