24. Sloan
“T his way, petal.”
Ivy’s hand is so delicate—a perfect fit in mine as I thread our fingers together. My heart is fit to fucking burst at how easily she accepts my touch.
Soon after she accepted my request to spend the night together, I convinced Ivy to go on a bit of an adventure outside the castle. Under the cover of darkness, we have less of a chance of being spotted together. Though we might come across a guard or two, I have no worries about their discretion as someone who’s long worked beside them. Besides, they aren’t the ones we have to convince about the merits of pack living.
“How soon until we’re there?” she asks, squinting to see in the darkness. Her gown drags, likely heavy, as we trudge through the clover fields.
“I offered to carry you, little omega. Are your legs getting tired?”
“Perhaps I would have agreed to being carried if I’d known we were walking to the end of the world.” Her indignant huffing and puffing brings a smile to my lips, though I dare not laugh for fear of her tiny fists. She seems the type to use them when teased.
“You have quite the active imagination,” I remark, peering down at her with a sly grin.
“An exceptional quality, if I do say so myself,” Ivy quips, and I’m so tempted to throw her over my shoulder for the short remainder of our walk. Not only to save her the unnecessary steps, but I’d love to hear her cursing me while her sweet cunt is so near to my face.
I’m only human and I’ve been hard as fucking stone ever since my mate rubbed herself all over me in the nest.
“You are exceptional. There’s no denying that.” I laugh, kissing her knuckles. Her lip quirks when she squeezes my fingers, and I can’t help the pride swelling in my chest. After such a spectacularly awful start to the night, I’m glad I could make my mate smile.
After a few minutes longer, we reach our destination: a secluded pond meant for the king’s private use. The calm water shines like sparkling silver under the light of the pale moon. Water lilies float atop the crystalline surface, perfuming the crisp air with their light sweetness.
Such beauty lies before us, but all of it pales in comparison to Ivy. She is otherworldly—a shooting star I’ve wished upon for countless nights.
Ivy regards the scene before us with wonder in her eyes, as if I’ve presented her with something precious. Though it may not be some grand ballroom, the night sky serves as a perfect backdrop for romance.
Luckily, I had the good sense to grab some of the blankets from Ivy’s nest before we left. I let her look her fill as I spread them at the base of the grand oak tree near the water’s edge. Whatever comes next, be it holding her under the stars, talking for hours on end, or… something more , I want my omega as comfortable as can be.
“Is this where you take all the omegas you mean to woo, alpha?” Ivy’s tone speaks to lightheartedness, but I know a trap when I see one.
Under no circumstances will I be talking to my scent-matched omega—especially one on the verge of her first heat—about any intimate experiences I’ve had before her. They don’t matter anymore.
Since I knew Ivy existed, the rest of the world ceased to. She gives me a sense of purpose, a reason to go through life. All I want is to care for her, pour love into her, and watch in awe as she binds her alphas together. Our omega is the one who will make us a family, and nothing is so precious as that.
“You think so little of me, do you?” I chuckle as I settle onto our makeshift nest. Resting my back against the trunk of the oak, I hold a hand out to her in invitation.
“Hard to think little of you when you’re so large.” Ivy giggles, amused by her own wisecrack. “I’m simply a realist. An alpha like you—I’m sure you’ve had your fair share of entanglements.”
More traps.
I lean forward, grabbing her wrist to encourage her to join me. I’ll endure all her teasing so long as she lets me hold her close. “Whatever I’ve had before pales in comparison to you.”
Ivy’s answering smile is soft, her body lax as she drops to the blankets and allows me to pull her into my embrace.
“That was rather sweet,” she mumbles. With her back against my chest, I can’t see her face well. But I can hear the shy smile in her voice.
“Must be your scent rubbing off on me.” I kiss the top of her head, taking in the fragrance of sugar, cinnamon, and honey-soaked apples. She smells of something I could sink my teeth right into.
Ivy turns her head to regard me, a question in her eyes. “I’ve wondered, alpha…why does it feel so easy around you? It’s as though I’ve known you five years—not five minutes.”
Be still, my heart.
My little omega doesn’t even realize how her words affect me. What a gift she’s given me by admitting her spirit feels at ease with me.
“Would you prefer it to be difficult? I can try to be less charming if that suits you better.”
She scoffs, fighting a smile. “You’re teasing me.”
“That I am, my sweet omega. Could tease you more, if you ask nicely.”
Ivy gasps, lust entering her lidded stare. I could kiss her now; I know she’d let me. I could touch her pretty cunt and make her come apart on my fingers. Her scent is so telling of all the things she craves—of all she’s yet to explore that I could give to her. But as much as I want her naked and beneath me, there’s time for that yet.
“I feel it too, you know?” I admit in an attempt to steer my mind back to important matters. “This pull to each other is how it should be between mates—part of Fate’s gift to remind us that we’re destined. I try not to overthink the whys of it all. Love doesn’t have to be some difficult thing.”
Ivy shifts in my lap, furrowing her brow as she looks up at me. “You don’t know me well enough to love me.”
I shrug, running my fingers through the silk of her earthen hair. “I’ve known about you for a year—watched you long before you ever noticed me. When you were gone, I thought of you every day and every night. I’ve been learning your heart for so long and I’m eager to show you mine.”
Ivy’s lip trembles, tears forming in her eyes. “I’m honored,” she whispers, unsure. “But love?”
I hum, tracing the length of the button nose I desperately want to kiss. My sweet, beautiful girl is so confined by these ideas of what she should and shouldn’t do. I don’t need her to love me yet—just want her to leave room for it to blossom.
“Love isn’t some finite thing. Today it may be a seed, but I’ll water it. Tomorrow I’ll do the same, and the next day, and the next—until it grows into something as grand and mighty as this oak tree. Love has to start somewhere, and I won’t deny what I feel because there’s work to be done.”
We fall into silence then, her watching me—those mesmerizing ocean eyes wild with wonder as she catalogs each of my features. I cup her cheek, stroking with my thumb and fighting every instinct that begs me to kiss her sweet mouth. I want to touch her— possess her— body and mind. But I won’t cross that line until she’s sure of her desires.
“You’re quite the poet,” she says in a soft exhalation.
I chuckle because it couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m not a man of many words, preferring actions to empty promises. But I’ll be anything she wants, so long as she’ll be mine. “It’s easy when I’ve got the perfect muse.”
“You’re too sweet, alpha. My teeth are practically aching,” Ivy quips, smiling.
I groan —she has no fucking idea.
“Not too sweet. I want to do very wicked things to you, omega.”
She bites her plush bottom lip, looking up at me from beneath long lashes. I’m such a fucking goner for her.
“I think I might want that, too?—”
“Be certain, Ivy,” I interject, desperate. “Because if you give yourself to me, I’m never letting go.”
The soft sound of my mate’s breathing hangs heavily in the charged silence between us. Her blue eyes gleam with unguarded interest as the covetous promise of my claim settles on her skin.
“ Sloan ,” she breathes. Her heady scent and heaving chest are answers in their own right. She won’t deny me, but I need her to?—
“Say it.” I whisper the command, pulling her onto my lap so her thighs frame my hips. I’ve never been so close to a fucking rut in all my days. Every agonizing moment spent waiting propels me closer to submission—the call of my instincts too strong to ignore.
“ Please .”
Ivy’s skin is so warm, her scent so decadent as she threads her hands into my hair. Our lips brush in a teasing touch that makes all the blood rush from my head. Her heat is spiking again—I can taste her need on my tongue. If I lose myself to this rut, I can’t be sure of what will happen.
“You want your alpha to lay you down and have his wicked way with you, omega? Hmm? Want me to knot your slick cunt and make you mine?” My voice is rough—a barely suppressed hunger evident in every word.
“Yes,” she pants against my waiting mouth. “I’m yours.”
Fuck . Nothing has ever sounded so sweet.
With her concession, I close the distance and press her lips to mine. This is no delicate kiss, but an alpha taking his fated omega in the most primal of ways. Teeth clash; my tongue slides against hers, tasting—savoring—as needy little whimpers escape her throat.
I’m as powerless to the whims of Fate as I am to the goddess in my arms. My hands traverse the lush expanse of her soft body, pulling her off her gown—her pretty underthings—until she’s beautifully bare and on her back for me.
Every inch of skin is a temptation meant to lead me down the path of madness. I’m lost in the fog of her apple-cinnamon scent—the only path forward clear.
Touch her.
Taste her.
Claim her.
And when my omega parts her pretty thighs in offering—welcoming me into the wet wonderland of her glistening cunt—I finally surrender.
The haze of rut settles over my consciousness, pulling me under so the alpha within can take control. My aching teeth and throbbing knot are eager to breach the tender parts of my mate, and I’m finally ready to let my instincts lead.