Reunited

AURELIA

“Where is she?” Alastair’s voice echoed through the cabin as soon as he arrived, his gaze landing on his Beta.

“My king.” The Beta bowed instantly.

The two warrior wolves who had accompanied Alastair on his journey quickly dispersed to guard the house, leaving the king and his second-in-command alone.

Alastair had been away from his mate for too long. It was almost as if he missed her. The constant pull at his heart was driving him to the brink of madness.

“She’s sleeping in your chambers, my king. She’s been nothing but obedient.”

The news both disappointed and irritated Alastair. She was his mate, yet she defied him at every turn. Now, Laurent was saying she was obedient.

Without thinking, he stormed into the cabin, charging up the stairs to his chambers. There, he found his beautiful mate, waking from her sleep in a robe.

His eyes immediately dropped to her legs, as any man’s would. He forgot his royal demeanor and was instantly consumed by desire. She didn’t seem surprised by his sudden entrance.

Aurelia had barely had time to settle in since returning, but she knew his arrival was imminent. The moment she crossed the boundary, their connection intensified.

It felt like a weight was pressing down on her, punishing her for the distance between her and the king.

It was unbearable. She wondered why she hadn’t felt it as strongly on the other side of the border.

Maybe it was the boundary spell. Or something more. But now, she wanted him. She wanted him and she wanted to kill him. What a strange feeling.

“My king, I’m glad to see you’re safe after the attack. Would you like to bathe after your travels?”

Alastair was taken aback by her words, so submissive and servile. It was as if she had become obedient in the past few days.

She rarely addressed him as “my king”—as if he was never her king.

But his arrogant king personality reveled in his mate’s sudden desire to please him and be the subservient queen.

“Would you join me?” he asked, his voice husky and seductive.

“If you wish, my king,” she replied, her voice sultry.

He froze. And he thought.

His time away from her could have amplified her desire for him.

Or... she was playing a game. She was young, incredibly so compared to him. He wouldn’t be made a fool by a pup. But was she even smart enough to try something?

“Playing games with me, little wolf?” he asked, moving closer to her.

He lifted her chin with his finger and thumb. “Laurent tells me you’ve been an angel. But I find that hard to believe.”

“I followed your orders, my king. I thought you’d be pleased,” she said, her eyes softening as she looked at him.

Alastair growled, his eyes flashing gold as his wolf pushed into his mind.

“You should be careful, little girl,” he warned.

“I want to make you happy,” she whispered, her eyes growing softer and a thin layer of tears forming. “I thought it was what you wanted.”

He supposed it was. He supposed this was everything he asked of her. To fully submit to him, to do anything to satisfy him.

But somehow, he felt uneasy, like he was walking on a tightrope, like the jesters who used to perform at his court thousands of years ago.

Her delicate fingers brushed against his clothes, unpinning his fur-shouldered brown cloak and disarming him.

He watched her. Every slight movement. She laid his cloak across the wooden chair in the corner of the room.

“You should bathe, my king,” she said gently. She undressed him, leaving him in all his naked glory. Her eyes never strayed lower to his private area.

This moment wasn’t sexual, it was caring. A queen caring for her king. And the king went along with it, driven by something more than lust.

Aurelia led her mate to the large bath and he stepped in. She let her robe fall, revealing a body he hadn’t seen before.

She seemed so willing to show herself, so eager to please him. She teased him as if she knew what she was doing. And he didn’t try to take it any further than she was willing to go.

He was curious to see how far she would go. What she was willing to do to satisfy him.

She picked up a cloth from the side and waded through the water toward him. Lifting his arm, she began to wash him with a determined focus.

He instinctively gripped her waist, not fully aware of what he was doing.

What was she doing to him? Her movements were like a graceful dance, a dance he hadn’t experienced since his youth, which was many moons ago.

Since then, his life had been filled with nothing but pain and abuse. And then... nothing. As if he didn’t feel anything at all.

Of course, he was filled with kingly stubbornness and pride, a quick temper for those who disobeyed, a hardened heart for treacherous beings who begged for mercy. But it was all a facade.

Not for anything softer. Not for anything kinder. It was for nothing. Nothing but a consuming darkness that had torn him apart. A darkness that consumed his entire being.

That was him.

But ever since his mate arrived, something had stirred within him. Maybe, ever since her birth.

Over the past couple of decades, he had changed. His wolf had strangely awakened from the depths where it had been caged.

He had become more easily angered, more impatient, more merciless. He felt something inside of him. He fed that feeling into the darkness, only to be fueled with more emotion.

Now, in this bath, with their bare skin touching, the beast inside of him was content, as if it had found a worthy partner in her.

His wolf wasn’t alone in there. But it was Aurelia who soothed both of them at this moment.

“My king?” He held her close to him, their bare bodies pressed against each other. She embraced him back, though her mind was far from peaceful.

She couldn’t afford to be shy or disgusted by his touch, though she should have been.

She didn’t like the plan Cathan had come up with, but as he explained how it would unfold, it seemed like her only chance.

The only one who had even the slightest chance of taking down the king was his mate. Aurelia.

Aurelia had to play him, to make him believe she was falling for him, all while keeping her own emotions in check. It was a daunting task, especially when every touch from him felt like a firework exploding on her skin. It was as if he had set her on fire with a hunger and need that was insatiable. But she knew it was all the mate bond. None of it was real.

Why would the moon goddess be so cruel as to create feelings that wouldn’t exist otherwise?

If she hadn’t been his mate, the king wouldn’t have given her a second glance. And Aurelia could have had the adventure she’d always dreamed of, a happy one.

She’d never had a problem with the idea of mates until she met the king.

The concept was sweet, the moon goddess pairing soulmates, igniting the flame of lust and desire only when they found their one true match.

But she’d thought there would be real feelings involved. Now she knew better.

Or maybe she and the king were the only mistake?

Just a few hours ago, she’d been plotting to kill the king, to finally end his reign.

Was that how soulmates were supposed to feel about each other? Did they want to destroy each other?

The king wanted to crush Aurelia’s spirit, to turn her into a submissive shell of her former self.

Aurelia wanted the king gone. His reign of tyranny had lasted long enough.

They both wanted to destroy each other. How healthy.

But then again, they were similar in that way.

When he growled in her ear, she knew she had to pull away, even though she loved the feel of her body against his. Their eyes met and her lips parted.

She wasn’t used to acting so submissive. She needed to figure out how to please him without giving herself to him.

And then there was the constant battle with the mate bond that made their intimate moments so pleasurable.

Impulsively, she kissed him, letting the king take control without even realizing it.

His fingers dug into her skin, breaking the surface, but it was sensual. She gasped, giving him access to her mouth without him having to force his way in.

She could feel his hard cock pressing against her thigh as they floated in the water. Her body, her wolf, everything about her except her mind, wanted him.

But she held herself back. The king, however, didn’t.

For such a calculated man, he acted impulsively as he lifted her out of the water, carried her to their bed, and looked at her without any shame.

Just his gaze was enough to make her climax. He loved watching her squirm, her teeth biting her bottom lip.

He moved toward her—slow, dominant, breathtaking. His naked body was a sight to behold; maybe he really was a god.

His red eyes flashed at her, settling into the color as if he was possessed. But she didn’t feel scared. This was him. The demon, the beast, the unknown; it was all a part of him.

“Are you scared, little wolf?” he growled, his fangs growing long and sharp as he bared his teeth. Was he going to eat her?

This wasn’t the plan. The plan was to keep him happy, to act submissive, to manipulate him into not wanting sex. Now, she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

“No,” she whimpered. He pushed her down with force and crawled on top of her, spreading her legs.

Summoning the last of her willpower, she wriggled out of his hold and moved further onto the bed. Her body ached to touch him, to be taken by him.

But instead of grabbing her and fucking her like she thought he would, and secretly hoped he would, he smirked. He took her hand, pulled her toward him, and caressed her face.

Suddenly, he was choking her lightly, looking down at her without the anger he usually had.

His lips moved toward hers again, ready to claim her, but instead, they found her neck, which he exposed with his grip.

He sucked on her neck slowly and passionately, and she barely felt his fangs against her skin.

Until they pierced her skin.

Pain shot through her body, as if her neck was on fire. She tried to scream, but she was too dazed to make a sound. Then the pain turned into pleasure.

He was marking her. He was starting the mating process. He was trapping her there.

Going to the fae kingdom would be even harder now, with her body craving him even more to complete the mating process.

Maybe she’d underestimated him. Maybe he knew what she was planning.

Or maybe he just wanted her.