Noah couldn't breathe he didn't want to. The air was thick with smoke, blood, and the raw scent of Theron. Not the Alpha who ruled from a throne of control, but the beast the feral, snarling, blood dripping creature that had just ripped through a dozen rogues like they were nothing but leaves in a storm.
And yet, those same claws now trembled as they dragged along Noah's waist, slicing through the shredded fabric of his clothes, baring him under the moonlight.
"No more running," Theron growled, his voice soaked in hunger. "No more hiding from me, omega."
Noah, trembling, didn't answer. Couldn't. His back hit a tree, bark scraping across his shoulder blades as Theron stalked forward, blood smeared along his jawline, pupils blown wide. There was something unhinged in his gaze. Unfiltered. Dangerous.
And Noah craved it.
Theron's hands pinned him one above his head, the other gripping his jaw, forcing eye contact. "Tell me to stop," he whispered, voice like gravel dragged over silk. "Give me a reason to walk away, Noah."
"F....Fuck," Noah gasped, licking his lips. "You think I want you to stop?"
That was the last thread holding Theron's restraint together.
He crashed into him with a kiss so brutal Noah whimpered against his mouth. Teeth clashed. Blood smeared between their lips neither of them sure whose. Theron's hand dropped, ripping the rest of Noah's shirt free, his nails grazing skin hard enough to leave raised lines that would sting for days.
"You smell like sex and war," Theron rasped, lips trailing down Noah's throat, biting just hard enough to bruise. "Like mine."
Noah's hips jerked forward, only to be caught and pinned again. "Then take me," he hissed. "Do it, you coward. Or are you scared you'll fall apart when you feel how good I make you lose control?"
Theron's growl vibrated through Noah's chest.
And then he turned Noah around, pressing his cheek to the rough bark, hands spreading him apart. He didn't waste time not tonight. Not when his heart was pounding like war drums and the scent of Noah's arousal had soaked the forest floor.
He spit into his hand, slicked himself, then dragged the head of his cock down Noah's cleft. "I'm going to ruin you," he warned, voice dark, cracked, trembling with restraint.
"Then ruin me," Noah whispered, shivering.
And he did.
Theron thrust into him in one brutal, claiming stroke, both of them crying out Noah from the stretch, the burn, the overwhelming fullness Theron from the way Noah clenched around him like he was made to be filled this way.
"Fuck Noah," Theron bit out, burying his face in the back of Noah's neck, panting like a madman. "So fucking tight. So hot. You shit, you were made for me."
Noah could barely hold himself up, fingers clawing at the bark as Theron began to move hard, deep, feral. Each thrust slammed him forward, his toes curling in the dirt, his mouth open in a silent scream.
"More...Theron don't you dare stop"
"I can't stop," Theron growled, fangs grazing the shell of Noah's ear. "You're mine now. You hear me? No one else will ever get this. Only me."
His hand snaked around Noah's waist, jerking him off in time with his thrusts, the double sensation overwhelming white hot pleasure coiling tight in Noah's belly, threatening to explode.
"Say it," Theron demanded. "Say you're mine."
"I'm yours!" Noah gasped. "Fucking yours, Alpha!"
That did it.
Theron snapped his hips forward one last time, grinding deep as he bit down on Noah's neck, hard enough to break skin. Marking him. Claiming him in every way that mattered.
Noah came with a scream, the world going white, his entire body shuddering as Theron spilled inside him, heat blooming deep and possessive.
They stayed like that, panting, trembling, Theron's arms wrapped tight around Noah's body like he was afraid he'd vanish.
And maybe he would. Because something had shifted.
Not just sex.
Not just a claim.
But a bond neither of them could undo.