Elara sat curled against the headboard, knees drawn to her chest, the oversized shirt swallowed around her like a shield. Her face was pale, eyes red rimmed, but the tears had slowed to silent tracks down her cheeks. She stared at Kai as if seeing him for the first time the man who had lived inside her body for weeks, who had knotted her until she saw stars, who had just grown fangs and claws in front of her. Kai stayed on the floor, giving her space, elbows resting on his bent knees.
The early morning light filtered through the curtains, painting soft gold across the wrecked bed and the faint bruises on her thighs that peeked from under the shirt hem."I know this is too much," he said quietly. "I know you need time. But I'm not going anywhere, Elara. Ask me anything. Yell at me. Hit me if it helps. Just... don't shut me out."She swallowed hard, voice barely above a whisper. "Is the baby... like you?"He shook his head slowly. "Not necessarily. Sometimes it skips generations. Sometimes it doesn't. But the pup is healthy. Strong. I can hear the heartbeat when it's quiet fast and steady, like a hummingbird."Her hand moved instinctively to the soft curve of her lower belly, fingers trembling over the place where their child grew. A fresh wave of tears spilled, but this time they were quieter, more wondering than terrified."I've been so scared," she admitted, voice cracking. "Alone with it for months. Thinking you were only here because the sex was insane. Thinking if I told you about the baby, you'd feel trapped... or worse, that you'd take it away."Kai's chest tightened. He rose slowly and sat on the edge of the bed, close but not touching yet. "I've been here since the moment I smelled our pup on you in that shop. The sex is insane because you're my mate.
Elara, My wolf knew it that first night under the blood moon. I knew it the second your scent hit me. I was just waiting praying for you to choose me back."She looked at him then, really looked, green eyes searching silver gray. "Mate?" The word came out soft, almost reverent. "Werewolves have one true mate," he explained, voice low and steady. "The one person who fits. Body, soul, everything. It's rare to find them. Some wolves live their whole lives without it. When we do... it's like the world narrows to that one scent, that one heartbeat. You're mine. And I've been yours since the storm."A long silence stretched.
Outside, birds began to call in the quiet street below. Inside, the air was thick with the lingering scent of last night's sex come and slick dried on their skin, the faint salt of tears, the warm herbal note that was only Elara.She unfolded her legs inch by inch, scooted closer until her knee brushed his thigh. "I'm terrified," she whispered. "But I don't want you to leave. Not ever."Relief flooded his face, raw and unguarded. He opened his arms, and she went into them without hesitation, curling into his lap like she belonged there because she did. He wrapped her up completely, one big hands played possessively over her belly, the other stroking slow paths through her tangled hair. They stayed like that for a long time, breathing each other in, hearts slowing together. Eventually she pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. "Tell me everything," she said, voice stronger now. "Your pack. The rivals. Your family. All of it. I want to understand the world my baby is going to be born into."So he told her.He started with the Blackthorn pack generations deep in these mountains, guardians of ancient lines.
He described the hidden lodge nestled in a valley no human map showed, the ring of cabins around a central fire pit where they gathered on full moons, the vast territory marked by scent and claw. He told her about Liora, the silver-haired healer who had raised him and his brother Thorne after their parents were killed in a border skirmish with Silverfang wolves fifteen years ago. "She's more mother than aunt," he said softly. "Taught me everything about herbs, healing, the old songs. She'll love you on sight."Then Thorne the younger brother by three years, cocky and lethal, with a grin that hid scars deeper than most. "He was only seventeen when our parents died," Kai said, voice roughening. "I became alpha at twenty-five, but Thorne... he threw himself into being enforcer. Took every dangerous patrol, every fight. Nearly got himself killed more times than I can count. He flirts and jokes to keep people at arm's lenath, but he's the one I trust with my life. With yours."Elara listened, wide eyed, sometimes shaking her head in disbelief, sometimes leaning forward in quiet amazement when he described the shift bones reshaping painlessly under the moon, the rush of four legs through pine needles, senses so sharp you could taste the wind.
He told her about pack life the hierarchy, the loyalty, the way they protected their own with tooth and claw. And then the darker side territory wars that had simmered for decades, Ronan Silverfang's growing ambition, how the scent of a pregnant mate had turned simmering into boiling. "Ronan wants an heir he can control," Kai said, jaw tight. "Or leverage to force concession of land. He won't stop until he has one or the other."Elara's fingers tightened around his. "And if he comes for me?""Then he dies," Kai said simply, silver flashing in his eyes. "I'll burn his pack to the ground first."She searched his face, saw the truth there, and something in her chest unclenched. When the words ran out, silence fell again softer this time. Elara shifted in his lap, thighs parting to straddle him fully. The shirt rode high, baring her completely. She wasn't wearing anything underneath, and the soft, swollen lips of her pussy brushed the hard line straining against his jeans. Kai's breath caught, hands sliding up her thighs to grip the curve of her ass."Elara...""I need you," she whispered against his mouth, voice trembling with leftover emotion and fresh want. "Slow this time. I need to feel connected. I need to feel you inside me, knowing everything."He kissed her gentle at first, lips brushing feather light, tasting the salt of dried tears and the warm sweetness underneath. Then deeper, tongues sliding slow and deliberate, exploring like they had all the time in the world.
His scent cedar, rain, dark male heat wrapped around her, grounding her. She rocked against him, juices already gathering in response to his nearness, coating the denim in a warm sheen. The friction against her bare clit drew a soft gasp from her throat.Kai lifted her just enough to strip off his henley in one smooth motion, then eased his jeans down, freeing his dick. It sprang up thick and flushed, veins prominent along the shaft, the broad head already glistening with precum that beaded and dripped slowly down.He didn't rush. He guided her back down with infinite care, letting the flared crown part her wet folds, sliding through wet heat until she sank onto him inch by agonizing inch. They both moaned, foreheads pressed together, eyes locked.She was tender from last night, walls swollen and sensitive, and the stretch was exquisite a slow, burning fullness that made her inner muscles flutter around him. He filled her so completely she could feel every ridge, every pulse, the heavy weight of his balls nestled against her ass when she finally seated herself fully."God, Kai..." Her voice broke on a shuddering exhale as she adjusted to the depth, the head nudging deep against her cervix in a way that sent sparks up her spine. He held her hips still, thumbs stroking soothing circles on her skin. "Feel me, baby," he murmured, voice gravel rough. "Every inch. This is us now. Nothing hidden. Nothing between us."The room filled with the intimate sounds of their joining the soft, wet slide as she began to move in slow rolls of her hips, rising until only the head remained inside, then sinking back down with a wet, filthy squelch that made them both shiver. Her arousal coated him generously, dripping down over his balls, soaking the sheets beneath them in a growing wet spot. The scent of it was heady her sweet, fertile juices, his darker musk, the faint salt of sweat gathering between their bodies.
Kai's hands roamed reverently cupping the heavy weight of her breasts through the shirt at first, thumbs circling dark, aching nipples until they peaked hard and visible against the fabric. He pushed the shirt up slowly, exposing her to the cool air, and took one nipple into his mouth with a low groan. He sucked slow and firm, tongue flicking the sensitive tip in lazy circles, drawing the bead of early milk onto his tongue. The faint sweetness made him growl against her skin, sucking harder, teeth grazing just enough to send bolts of pleasure straight to her clit. Elara's fingers tangled in his thick hair, holding him to her breast as she rode him with increasing need deeper grinds, faster lifts, the wet slap of skin growing louder, more urgent.
Her pussy fluttered around him constantly now, inner walls rippling in tiny spasms that pulled ragged groans from his chest. He released her nipple with a wet pop, moved to the other, lavishing the same slow worship while his hand slid down her belly pausing to splay wide over the faint swell, thumb stroking the skin with something like awe before continuing lower. His thumb found her swollen clit, rubbing slow, firm circles that matched the rhythm of her hips. The dual sensation his dick dragging over every sensitive spot inside, his thumb on her clit built the pressure unbearably sweet."Look at you," he rasped, pulling off her nipple to watch her face, silver eyes dark with possession and tenderness. "So fucking beautiful like this. Taking me so deep. These perfect tits leaking for me. This body carrying my pup... made for me."The words unraveled her.Her orgasm rolled through her slow and devastating pussy clamping down hard in long, milking waves, juices gushing hot around his buried dick, soaking his thighs and the bed beneath them. She cried out his name, nails digging into his shoulders, body trembling as pleasure pulsed from her core outward in endless ripples. Kai followed moments later hips snapping up once, twice, burying himself to the pussy as his dick throbbed and released. Thick, heavy ropes of cum flooded her, painting her walls, spilling deep in hot pulses that seemed to go on forever. The sensation of being filled so completely drew soft aftershocks from her, her pussy fluttering greedily around him. The knot swelled gradually not frantic, but deliberate and perfect stretching her tender walls further, locking them together in intimate stillness. It prolonged their climaxes until she was sobbing softly into his neck from overstimulation and sheer connection.
They stayed tied for a long time, breathing hard, sweat wet skin pressed close, hearts thundering in tandem. He stroked her back in slow paths, kissed her temple, her cheek, her lips soft, lingering presses that tasted of salt and sex and promises. When the knot finally receded and he slipped free with a wet, creamy sound, a rush of their mixed release followed, coating her thighs and his. He didn't let her go far just laid her back gently on the pillows, cleaned her with the discarded shirt in tender swipes, then curled around her from behind, hand splayed protectively over her belly."I'll keep you both safe," he murmured into her hair, voice rough with emotion. "I swear on my life, on my pack, on everything I am."Elara turned in his arms, pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his jaw."I believe you," she whispered. "And I'm still scared... but I'm not alone anymore. We'll do this together."
Outside, the town stirred to life. Inside, they held each other in the quiet aftermath, two souls finally woven into the same truth. But in the alley below the shop, a tall figure in a dark coat paused, nostrils flaring as he scented the air.Ronan Silverfang smiled, cold and sharp. The game had begun...