Months had passed since Isabella first set foot in Lycanthra. Months of restraint. Months of hunger burning slow and silent beneath her skin. But tonight, the quiet broke.
The bond pulsed — sharp, demanding, electric. It curled around her senses like smoke, tugging her toward one presence. One heartbeat. One scent.
Ryan.
She tried to resist. Truly, she did. But the hunger had grown too strong.
In the blink of an eye, she moved.A blur of shadow and silk.
She jumped, her smaller body colliding against his solid frame. Ryan staggered back half a step, hands instinctively catching her waist—but her lips were already at his throat, pressed to the heated skin just above his pulse.
For one suspended breath, Ryan froze.
Then the bond hit him.
Gods. Isabella—His thoughts fractured, pleasure racing through him in a violent rush.Her mouth was warm—too warm.Her breath trembled against his skin.
His wolf surged up inside him, not with aggression but with pure, primal surrender.
Let her.Let her take what she needs.Ours.
Her fangs grazed him.
A shiver tore through his spine.
And when she bit—
Ryan's mind went white.
The pleasure was overwhelming, raw, unfiltered. His knees nearly buckled; his grip on her waist tightened only to keep himself upright. The pull of the mate bond magnified everything — every drag of her lips, every slow swallow, every tremor of her body against his.
She's feeding… on me.And it feels—gods—Isabella… don't stop.
He didn't recognize the sound he made — a low, guttural noise pulled straight from instinct. His wolf was melting into her touch, into her hunger, into the bond that bound their souls.
His pulse quickened, then faltered.
His strength flickered.
Too much… she's taking too much—But I can't tell her to stop.I don't want to.
Her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt, steadying herself as she drank. Ryan could feel her hunger easing with each pull, her body softening as the months of restraint dissolved.
She was beautiful like this — wild, unmasked, honest.
He wanted to touch her face.He wanted to whisper her name.
But he couldn't move.Not with the pleasure burning through him.Not with the bond pulling him deeper, deeper, deeper—
Then suddenly, she tore herself away.
The absence of her lips was like a cold blade. Ryan's breath hitched, his vision swaying as weakness washed over him.
"Isabella…" he murmured, reaching blindly for her.
Her eyes widened in horror.
"Ryan," she whispered, voice trembling. "No. You're too weak."
He tried to step forward, but his legs betrayed him, strength draining faster than he could summon it. The pleasure had left him defenseless, open, exposed. He could hardly think — except for the echo of her touch on his skin.
She cupped his temples.
"Sleep."
Her voice wrapped around his mind like velvet — a hypnotic command laced with magic.
His wolf resisted for the briefest heartbeat, growling low.
But his body was already falling.Already surrendering.
Isabella… don't… leave me—
His last coherent thought drifted into darkness as he collapsed gently into her waiting arms.
She eased him onto the bed, panic sharp in her chest. The bite marks had already begun to close, but the memory of how close she came — how easily she had overpowered him — sent a cold tremor down her spine.
She rose, straightened, and walked to the door.
Two guards snapped to attention.
"No one," she said, voice like steel wrapped in shadow, "enters this room. Not even his brothers. Not even the council."A beat."Not even me, unless I command it."
The guards bowed immediately, sensing the storm in her tone.
Isabella glanced back once — at the Alpha King sleeping under the force of her will, the mate bond humming furiously beneath their skin.
She pressed a hand to her lips, tasting the last trace of him.
Then she turned and vanished into the corridor, leaving the door locked behind her.