Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Khorrek’s eyes found hers across the fire. Black. Feral. Triumphant.
The mate bond pulsed between them, hot and possessive, and Thea stopped thinking altogether. Her feet carried her towards him, drawn like a moth to a flame, and she met him at the edge of the training area.
“Enjoy the show?” His voice was rough, breathless.
“That was…” She couldn’t find words so she settled for truth. “Incredibly hot.”
His pupils dilated. “Hot?”
“I had no idea fighting could look like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like dancing. Like art.” Her hands slid up his chest and felt the rapid beat of his heart beneath her palms. “Like pure power and grace combined.”
He made a low, possessive noise and then his mouth was on hers, claiming, demanding, and she gave herself over to sensation.
This. This is what I’ve been missing my whole life.
Not just physical pleasure—though that was certainly part of it.
But connection. Belonging. The bone-deep certainty that she was exactly where she was meant to be. With him. Forever.
When he pulled back, his eyes were still black, his Beast close to the surface.
“Take me away from here,” she whispered.
He didn’t hesitate. He swept her into his arms with the casual strength that always left her breathless. Ignoring the knowing laughter from the Windrunners, he carried her past the fire and past the tents into the grasslands beyond the camp.
The night air was cool against her flushed skin, and countless stars blazed overhead.
I’ve never seen so many stars.
Even the best dark sky preserves on Earth couldn’t compare to the brilliant display above them.
He kept walking until the sounds of the camp faded to distant murmurs and they were alone beneath the vast expanse of sky. He set her down gently, despite the urgency she could feel thrumming through him.
“You’re sure?” His voice was strained. “Out here?”
“Yes,” she said, equally urgent. She helped him strip off her clothes then fumbled impatiently at the hem of his leather tunic.
He growled and yanked it off, revealing the raw strength of his warrior’s body and the scars that mapped his life.
She leaned in, catching one of his flat nipples in her mouth and startling a growl out of him as she worked to free his erection.
He felt huge and heavy, pulsing with life against her palm, and her own body responded with a flood of heat and moisture.
Her fingers closed around him and he shuddered, a guttural noise escaping his throat.
She took a moment to explore the silken skin, the heavy weight of him, the thick band of flesh around the base that marked his knot.
He groaned and reached for her, but she bent her head and licked him instead. Gods, he tasted good.
His whole body shuddered as she ran her tongue over the ridges and veins, memorizing his shape and taste.
The sheer masculine power he exuded, and the way he surrendered to her touch, was the most intoxicating thing she had ever known.
She’d never done this before, and she couldn’t take much more than the tip of that enormous cock into her mouth but it didn’t seem to matter.
a low continuous growl came from his lips as she licked and sucked and took as much of him as she could.
“Thea…”
Her name was barely recognizable, and she looked up to find the eyes fixed on her face were solid black, an almost feral expression on his face. He looked utterly destroyed, completely undone by what she was doing.
“Let go, Khorrek,” she whispered.
He didn’t answer, but he fisted his hands in her hair, urging her on as his hips rocked against her. She worked him with her mouth, using her hands to cover the rest of that thick shaft, desperate to see him fall apart. She wanted to be the one who gave him this pleasure.
His hips jerked erratically, his breath coming in harsh pants.
The possessive growls deepened, until he finally broke with a hoarse cry, his release hot and salty against her tongue.
She swallowed as much as she could but there was just so much and it dripped down onto her breasts as she gentled him, stroking his thighs, his hips, the sensitive skin beneath his knot as she licked up the last of his release.
He stumbled back, dropping to his knees in the grass before her. His chest heaved, his eyes still pure black. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed kisses to his sweat-damp skin.
“Thea,” he said again, his voice raw. “You shouldn’t have… I didn’t want…”
“Stop it,” she whispered. “That was for me as much as it was for you.”
He tightened his arms around her, pulling her flush against his body, burying his face in her neck. She could feel the frantic pounding of his heart against her breast.
“I want you,” he said thickly. “All of you. Now.”
“Good,” she whispered, and he laid her back in the grass, his hands already working on her body as his mouth claimed hers.
Slickness covered her breasts and she realized he was massaging his seed into her skin before his fingers tugged urgently at her nipples.
He wasn’t being gentle, but she didn’t want gentle, she wanted fast and hard and powerful.
She wanted him to lose control with her.
He slid his hand between her legs, thrusting two fingers inside her with no preamble.
She gasped, arching up into his touch as he stretched and filled her. It felt like heaven, but it wasn’t enough. She needed more.
He added a third finger, his thumb rubbing tight circles around her clit, and she splintered apart with a soft cry. He didn’t stop, working her through the orgasm until she was trembling and writhing beneath him, until she was so sensitive she thought she might die from the pleasure.
“Khorrek,” she gasped. “Please.”
He moved up her body, his knees parting her thighs, his body a hot weight that pinned her in the most wonderful way possible. He braced himself on his elbows, his huge erection nudging against her slick entrance.
“Look at me,” he commanded. “You’re mine.”
“I’m yours,” she agreed, without an instant’s hesitation.
He drove into her with a single, powerful thrust that stole her breath. He was big, stretching her almost to the point of pain, but it was an exquisite counterpoint to the pleasure of being so full, his knot pressed tight against her entrance.
“Too much?” he asked, his voice strained.
“No,” she gasped. “Don’t you dare stop.”
He groaned, a sound of relief and overwhelming need and began to move, a slow, deep rhythm that built a fire inside her.
Each withdrawal left her empty and wanting, each thrust sent sparks of pleasure shooting through her.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, lifting her hips to meet him, wanting more, needing more.
She felt him begin to lose control, his rhythm growing faster, harder, more urgent, his thick cock pistoning into her, his heavy balls slapping against her with each stroke. His hands tangled in her hair, his mouth finding hers again in a desperate, devouring kiss.
This was what she wanted. This was what she needed. To be possessed, taken, claimed by the male who had come to mean everything to her.
His knot began to swell, stretching her further, and she shuddered through another orgasm, her body milking his cock as his movements became more urgent. He looked down at her, his eyes still black with his Beast, his expression fierce and possessive.
“Mine,” he growled, and drove into her one last time, burying himself deep as his knot locked them together. He came with a roar, his hot seed flooding her, claiming her from the inside out. It felt like coming home. Like finding a piece of herself she hadn’t even known was missing.
He collapsed beside her, but he didn’t pull out. They remained locked together, his knot keeping them joined. He rolled to his side, pulling her with him, and tucked her head under his chin. Her body was sore and sated, her mind blissfully quiet.
For a long time they lay there, tangled together, their breathing slowly returning to normal, the sweat cooling on their skin. The stars wheeled overhead, indifferent and eternal.
She traced idle patterns on his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath her palm.
“Are we doing the right thing?” The question escaped before she could stop it and she felt him tense.
“What do you mean?”
“This. All of this.” She gestured vaguely toward the distant camp. “Riding toward a ritual I barely understand. Trusting in gods I didn’t believe in a month ago. Risking everything on faith and instinct.”
His arms tightened around her.
“Yes. We’re doing the right thing.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because Lasseran is wrong. Everything he promised. Everything he taught. It was all lies built on blood and suffering.” His voice was rough, but certain. “The Five Kingdoms need balance. They need healing. And you’re the only one who can provide it.”
Tears pricked her eyes. “I don’t deserve you.”
“You deserve everything. And I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you.”
She kissed him softly, pouring all of her love into the connection. When she pulled back, she saw the question in his eyes.
“Do you miss your old world?” he asked softly.
She thought about her old life. Her apartment. Her university office. Her carefully organized research.
It all seemed so distant. Like a dream she’d once had.
“No,” she said, surprised at how true it felt. “I had work. Colleagues. Academic pursuits. But no family. No close friends.”
“You weren’t happy.”
“I wasn’t unhappy.” She settled back against his chest. “I loved my research. My work. But it never felt like living. More like… observing life from the outside.”
“And now?”
“Now I’m terrified. Confused. Completely out of my depth.” She laughed softly. “And more alive than I’ve ever been.”
His arms tightened around her protectively.
“You’ll never observe from the outside again. You’re part of this world now. Part of me.”
“Promise?”
“Always.”
This is right, she thought. This is where I belong.
Not in the sterile halls of academia. Not in the safe, predictable routine of her old life. But here in this wild, dangerous, magnificent world with this fierce, damaged, beautiful male who’d claimed her heart.
“Tell me about the Five Kingdoms,” she said. “The way they should be. The way Lasseran promised before he corrupted everything.”
He made a thoughtful noise.
“I don’t know if they were ever truly united. The history Lasseran taught was… selective. But he promised that the kingdoms would live harmoniously under his rule. Of course what he really wanted was control with every kingdom bowing to his will.”
“Power corrupts.”
“It does. But that doesn’t mean the original vision was wrong. Just… poorly executed.”
She turned the idea over in her mind.
A truly united Five Kingdoms. Not through conquest and subjugation. But through cooperation. Mutual respect.
Balance.
“That’s what we’re fighting for,” she said. “Not just to stop Lasseran. But to create something better.”
“Yes.”
“And you believe it’s possible?”
“I have to. Otherwise, what’s the point?” His hand stroked through her hair. “Besides, I’ve seen what’s possible. Ulric and Jessamin. Egon and Lyric. Humans and orcs working together. Building something new.”
“Found family.”
“What?”
“That’s what they have. Not family by blood but by choice. By loyalty and love.” She smiled. “Like us.”
“Like us,” he agreed, his voice rough with emotion.
Tears pricked her eyes, happy tears, because despite everything—despite the fear and uncertainty and impossible odds—she had this. She had him and she had a purpose that mattered.
“Tell me something about your world you do miss,” he said suddenly.
She considered it, trying to summon nostalgia for coffee shops and central heating and reliable internet, but all she felt was… distance.
“I miss libraries,” she said finally. “Proper ones. With climate control and cataloging systems and unlimited research access.”
He laughed, low and amused. “Of course you do.”
“What? Libraries are important.”
“I’m not arguing. Just… you’re remarkably consistent.”
“I also miss hot showers. And chocolate. And my glasses not constantly sliding down my nose because they weren’t designed for this much physical activity.” She sighed. “I worry about what will happen if I break them.”
“Perhaps we could ask a glassmaker to make you another pair,” he said thoughtfully.
“With what money?”
“I’ll figure it out. Maybe Ulric pays his warriors.”
“You’re not Ulric’s warrior.”
“Not yet. But if we survive this?” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’ll need employment and Ulric seems like a decent leader, one worth serving.”
The casual mention of the future warmed her. The assumption they’d survive. That they’d have a life beyond the next few days.
Hope. He’s learned hope.
“What else?” he prompted.
“Temperature control. Modern medicine.” She paused. “But honestly? None of it matters as much as I thought it would.”
“No?”
“No. Because I have something here I never had there.”
“What’s that?”
“You.” She turned and met his gaze. “Purpose. Belonging. Love.” She pushed her glasses up her nose. “Turns out those things are worth more than convenience.”
His expression softened, a fierce protective love shining in his amber eyes.
“I’ll give you all of that. And when this is over, I’ll find a way to give you the other things too. Comfort. Safety. A real home.”
“A tent is a real home if you’re in it.”
“Thea—”
“I mean it. I spent years living in a beautiful apartment. All the modern conveniences. Perfectly organized.” She smiled. “And I was lonely. Isolated. Going through the motions of existence.”
“And now?”
“Now I’m sleeping on the ground. Riding until my thighs are raw. Terrified half the time.” She laughed. “And I’ve never been happier.”
“You’re insane.”
“Probably. But you’re stuck with me.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
He kissed her again, soft and lingering, and the mate bond pulsed between them.
This. This is real.
Not the academic accolades or research breakthroughs she’d spent her life chasing, but the grass beneath them. The stars above them. The male holding her close.
“We should get back,” he said reluctantly, gently separating their bodies now that his knot had subsided. “You need proper rest before we reach the stone circle.”
“Five more minutes.”
“Thea—”
“Please. Just let me hold onto this a little longer.”
He sighed, but settled back down and pulled her closer.
“Five minutes. Then we’re going back.”
“Deal.”
She closed her eyes, breathed in his scent, and memorized this moment. Because soon they’d reach the stone circle and the real danger would begin.
But tonight?
Tonight she had this. She had him and she had hope.