Valentino
He awoke to birdsong, to the whisper of the ocean brushing against the shoreline, to the most gorgeous of dawns, of pink bruised tangerines and cotton candy blues.
He awoke to nirvana.
It's early. Light stretching thin over skin like silk. Body warm on sun-slicked sheets, the blankets tangled around his ankles. But it was the sharp imprint of the fresh bite that made him smile. And he winced when he moved, twisting over to look at his mate with a palm to his neck. His fingers ran over the dips of her teeth in his skin, and he shivered.
The ache was blindingly good.
Valentino's glowing, glowing from the inside out. His tails, having lost their incorporeal form, were now a fat and glossy teal. They slithered over the sheets, creeping towards her with the twitching mischief of a kitten.
They were symbolic of his mental state.
Rue, his soulmate, had accepted him, had taken him, had truly and utterly claimed him. With her mouth on the curve of his throat, with her hands digging into the meat of his hips as if she could mould him to her desire. She had taken him right before his Alphas like he was her little bitch. And she'd sunk her teeth so deeply into his skin, it had triumphed over his pack Alpha's.
And that felt good.
Ridiculously good.
He had always been hers.
He was hers first, hers before pack, hers before Altair. Rue was his Aphrodite, his soulmate. She was everything. He was hers from the moment he'd first met her in the hallway at school. From the moment his eyes had settled upon her smaller frame. The quiver of pursed lips kissing the air, the angry little scowl of thin brows, the silk of her hair and the sweetness of her eyes.
Gold.
Sweet honey gold.
Valentino had been star-struck by an alien that was just as melancholically beautiful as the shimmering actors in avant-garde high-grade porn. And when she'd smacked him down with the filthiest mouth, he'd almost creamed himself then, had clenched so hard his cheeks and ears had burned.
Tuition with her was a fucking nightmare of self-control.
His heart had been captured forever.
He finally got what he wanted, what he needed. He waited so fucking long for this. He'd been pining over her, salivating over her. How lucky he was to have her.
His Alpha was quiet now, sated, purring in the cradle of his chest. For the first time in forever, there was no need for his beast to snarl, to battle with the need to claim, to gnaw and demand that he take the final puzzle to his pack. The moment she sank her teeth into his skin, the tether had snapped taut and strong, turned from thread to steel.
It was complete.
His incisors itched, mouth filling with water for her neck, already bruised from another's bite. His vision tunnelled. But his pack Alpha had already claimed her, had already clamped her to his soul. There was no real need for Valentino to take her again. If only to bring her to a deeper orgasm when he wanted her to cum. Her blood on his tongue would be euphoric. His own orgasm would bring him to the stars.
But it did not matter.
Valentino's soul was already completed.
His phone purred on the nightstand. He ignored it, choosing to stare at his deeply slumbering Omega. Because what the fuck could be more important than this? What could be more important than waking up marked, aching, and so blissfully tethered to the woman who completed his soul?
His phone hissed, vibrating so hard it danced to the edge, teetered at the cliff. It clattered to the ground. Valentino scowled. He knew he was being selfish, being shameless. But Valentino did not give a flying fuck about his pack.
They would understand.
They felt it too.
The bond.
They'd all spent three awful days thinking she was dead. And it had been three of the worst days of his life. He'd spent those hours as a mere shell of himself, a ghost of his past, a wraith amongst the living. He spent three days thinking of nothing but being with her, of doing anything to be with her. He spent three days with thoughts so dark that it had been retching into a bowl. It taught him a lot. It made him understand his priorities. His wishes. His goals.
There was only one person who mattered more than his life.
Rue.
His happiness, Rue's happiness, he would put it all first.
He'd been eager, had swept her gently into his planet, painted in Van Gogh stars and Monet strokes. He knew he wouldn't get a night of lovemaking, not with how she trembled in his arms, sullen and biting down sobs. She wasn't happy. He needed her to be happy. He wouldn't satiate his appetite until she was happy.
His orders were made quickly, with monstrous tails that had fanned out, writhed and ravaged the halls they'd passed. His gaze had shattered any doubt his servants had of the woman in his arms. They knew his temper, and they knew his stubborn nature. He was going to kill anyone who defied his orders.
They were quick to clear out the space, to put them both in one of his isolated resort homes on the prettiest beach on Five. A crash of his tail upon the portal had them all understanding the need to isolate the entire planet. Transport would be down for a while, at least until she was ready.
And for that, she'd allowed him the generous privilege of spooning her in his arms all night. He'd been euphoric from the completed connection singing between skin, had purred like a storm, with his chest against her back. Her tears dried quickly when he kissed them away. Her burnt sugar scent grew only sweeter.
His Alpha had been pleased.
And now he loved the way the salty breeze seemed to kiss his bite, the way the winds licked at his skin, raising a thousand goosebumps. The pain was good; it made his Alpha purr and groan. The heat running up his cheeks, tenting between his thighs, burning in his ears. His hand was now spanning her waist, thumb on the bend of her hip. It felt good to be accepted, to be claimed, to be loved, to be cherished, to be hers forever.
His smile was sharp, beamingly wide.
He was so lucky.
His Omega.
She was now his Omega.
It had once been an option to keep her caged and chained, but now Valentino had no interest in doing anything that might turn his skittish lover away from him. If she wanted to parade around his people with him perched on her arm, he would allow her to do so. There would be no eros who could go against his will.
He was now the emperor.
This was his planet.
His territory.
His rule.
Maybe he did care for his reputation in the past, maybe he did once believe that his pride was more important than she was. Maybe he did give a damn about what his fathers thought of him. But Valentino did not give a flying fuck what others thought of now.
He just wanted her, and the thought sat at the forefront of his mind, a weight that made everything insignificant. He just wanted her, wanted to fill himself up with her, wanted to unmake himself with her. And he wanted it so much it made his eyes burn.
She would be his most loved empress.
No one could stop that.
He was strong enough for that.
He didn't fucking care what everyone else thought of him.
He had her. He'd been waiting for a lifetime. He would not let her slip between his fingers again. He would not let her go. He would not let her die. He was melting into goo, infatuation so deep it seemed to burn through his head and his heart.
She turned to look at him then, blinking sleep from her eyes, shivering slightly. He pulled her closer, a smile on his cheek, their noses brushing, breath mingling sweetly. Her answering pulse of expletives from her tongue had him chuckling. But he could taste her eagerness in the rough trembling breath, thick with trepidation, hot with blushing anticipation. She was blooming with his influence.
And as an eros, he would make her blossom.
"What would you like to do today?" he whispered, knowing to drawled out his words, to let the fog of himself consume her. His seduction was at its maximum. There was an answering twitch in her eyes. His tails pulsed eagerly. "We could do anything."
"Mhm," she hummed. The sound seemed to set his nerves on fire. Gods, Valentino was weakening with desperation.
"Anything you want," he groaned, body too warm, pleasure too fucking much. The ache was always there, blooming and hungry. He was always so hungry for her. And the burn had been like ice and death when he believed her dead. But her return was golden and sweet, warm like treacle. It now made the pulse within him feel so much more precious.
How deliciously happy he was to be claimed first.
The others would follow suit soon.
Valentino knew it.
He knew it when his bond had ricocheted and burned in his chest, when the pheromones had roared in that room. When his mates had looked at him with everything. Everything and jealousy. Jealousy would make them come running. And when they understood how good Valentino had it as her mate, they would come crawling.
Dante would come begging.
There was a startled wideness in her eyes then, and she drew away too quickly. His scent must be growing muskier, sweeter, needier. He swallowed it all back, tails pulling back from her skin. Her words were slower now, more careful. His mate was nervous and flighty. And right now, he was her only Alpha. He had to act like one. Her words came out stiff. "I'd like to explore."
Valentino hummed. No sex. "Only the best for you."
"Will it be a problem?" There was a flicker of a test in her voice, and her scrutiny made his chest puff up.
"Not at all," he beamed, more endeared by her than dejected. He would wait until she was ready. He had all the time to cultivate and sweeten their bond, and he'd relish its sugar when their love was ripe for his taking. "We'll look around after breakfast. My home is yours now, my sweet mate." Her cheeks touched the colours of dawn, and his beam only grew wider. There would be no pain when she was with him.
Valentino was impatient, stubborn, and needy. But right now, he was sure that love was always the best choice, that listening to his heart was the best fucking choice.
And already there was an aircraft soaring through the sky, ghosting at the rim of his planet. A flick of his hand on a panel was enough to tell his people to chase them away, to leave them alone.
His pack was going to have to beg.
And for now, Valentino would relish in his victory.
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