Submit to me
I'm on my knees in the mud before I realise Akir has let go.
Kael is already wading in, blood and battlefield filth swirling away from his body in dark ribbons.
He doesn't look back.
"Get in," he commanded.
My legs won't hold me. The cold rolling off the water is the only thing keeping me conscious.
He turns then, water lapping at his hips, moonlight cutting every line of muscle into silver and shadow.
"Changed my mind, little moon. You don't get my mark tonight."He smiles, slow. "But you do get to watch me wash their blood off before I decide what's left of you is worth touching. Right, Akir?"
Akir. So that was his name.
"Or we could help her undress, my lord. Save her the trouble."
Kael's eyes flick to me—golden, amused, utterly cruel.
"Would you like that, wife? Akir's hands instead of mine?"
I shake my head, tears and lake mist blurring everything.
"Then strip," he says softly. "Or I let him do it. Slowly."
My fingers clutched the fabric at my chest as I dipped one toe into the black water. It lapped at my skin like something alive, cold and silken.
"Surely," the Alpha drawled, his eyes fixed on me, "you don't plan to swim in the waters with your clothes on."
I flinched at the low chuckle that followed, not from him — but from Akir.
"She's shy," Akir murmured, his voice playful, dangerous. "I don't think she's ever been undressed under moonlight before."
The Alpha tilted his head, water glistening down his shoulders. "Undress," he said simply.
"I can't—"
He moved closer, the water barely slowing him. When he reached the shore, droplets clung to his hair, his jaw, running down his chest like silver beads.
"What is it?"
"Does he have to be here?" I blurted, voice trembling but sharp.
"So you're modest." The Alpha Lord commented. He tilted his head toward Akir, who lounged like a panther on the shore. "Can you believe that, Akir? Me, the Alpha Lord… cursed with such a soft and delicate Luna."
"Are you mocking me?"
The Alpha let out a sharp whistle, water dripping from his hair as he circled closer. "Why would I, my wife?" His voice dipped lower, teasing, dangerous. "Akir is here for my protection. Would you have me send my sword away while I'm bare and vulnerable?"
"You?" I scoffed despite the heat crawling up my neck. "Vulnerable?"
He looks impatient now.
"Fine. How do you want to have it?"
How do I… survive this? My cheeks burned. Think fast, Naomi.
Then a daring thought flashed. I bit my lip, voice trembling but sharp. "Turn around, Akir."
Akir snorted before I saw him turning around. If I lose my dignity tonight, then I am only going to lose it to one man.
To this cruel alpha who is now feasting me with his eyes.
I am undressing myself for a monster. A predator. A lord who could crush me without a thought… and yet, I can't look away.
When the last of the fabric reaches the earth, I've sealed my fate.
He said nothing at first.
Only those golden eyes, quicksilver and sharp as a blade forged in forgotten times, held me captive.
I stood, barely breathing, heart a frantic drum in the hollow of my chest, as if the moon itself had paused to watch.
Then, impossibly, he rose upon the water, shoulders strong as carved marble.
How… how can a man be like this?
How can this be my fate? That I, Naomi of Silverthorne, should be claimed by such a creature, a predator born of moon and shadow?
The Alpha Lord stood before me. Only a tilt of his head — and his lips were already crushing into mine.
I had never been kissed like this.
A shudder tore through me, involuntary, as his hands roamed my sides, tilting me flush against him.
"My…lord!"
His kiss was so enticing I almost forgot how to breathe, but the Alpha Lord chased my lips before I could even find air.
I could barely think. My breaths came in shuddering gasps now.
When he finally tore his mouth from mine, I noticed his eyes.
"Your eyes…" I whispered, voice trembling, almost drowned by the wind and the lap of water. "They… they're red. No… no human—no alpha—has eyes like that."
"I have taken a thousand lives, Naomi," he said, voice low as tide and twice as inevitable. "Does that… bother you?"
I don't know what game he's playing. I don't know how to breathe around him.
"Are… are you going to kill my people too?"
A slow smile spread, but it never reached his eyes. "Do you want me to kill them—all of them my wife?"
"No!" I snapped, more fierce than I felt. The word tore out of me, raw and immediate. "No — never. Don't— I won't let you. I would sooner die myself."
"Very well, then. Let's come back to the water now, shall we?"
"I…" I don't want to go to the water with him.
His gaze pinned me. "…am already waiting."
"Do you always command your brides to drown with you, my lord?" I whispered.
"Drown? Don't give me ideas, Silverthorne. Akir!"
The Beta turned, a slow, teasing grin spreading across his face.
I didn't wait for their amusement.
With a leap that made my heart lurch, I plunged into the lake, splashing cold water over my thighs.
My arms instinctively clutched my chest, pressing myself against the chill, desperate to hide what little remained uncovered.
The Alpha's laughter rolled across the surface, low and dangerous. "Clever little Luna," he murmured, eyes glinting like knives in the moonlight. "Hiding from me already?"
I sank a fraction lower, letting the water swallow me, willing it to shield my shame. Why does he have to see? Why does the moon, the lake, the night… all conspire to make me this exposed?
The Alpha's gaze slid to his Beta like a blade drawn from its sheath.
"Leave me and my wife, Akir," he said. "We have to… consummate our marriage."
Consummate? Here? Now?
Akir's soft purr drifted across the lake, teasing, almost cruel. "Good luck, my lord," he murmured before vanishing into the dark.
Suddenly, it was just us.
Oh Goddess… I have to get as far away from this man.
I didn't know what had seized me, what reckless spark had taken hold, but before my thoughts could settle I saw myself moving.
"…you want to play, little Silverthorne?"
"Stay away from me!"
My chest rose and fell, lungs burning, mind racing. He can't possibly catch me… can he?
Before I could twist or dive, strong hands closed around my waist, dragging me backward with a force that stole my breath. I shrieked, splashing wildly, heart hammering against my ribs.
"Did you think you could escape, little Luna?"
This… this is my fate. I am utterly at his mercy. And gods… I've never wanted to be trapped like this in all my life.
In a flash of desperation, a wild defiance I couldn't quite control, I bit his arm.
"You little… insolent Luna," he hissed, eyes darkening like blood under moonlight. His hands clamped around my waist, lifting me against him so suddenly I gasped. "You dare bite me?"
He's mad. He's a monster. The moon must have cursed me, I thought, trembling.
"Now… I am really pissed," he growled, molten eyes locking onto mine.
Before I can react, strong hands wrap around my waist, lifting me effortlessly from the water.
"What… what are you doing?!" I sputter, voice shrill, panic twisting my chest.
He stops, tilts his head, and then — a low, guttural howl tears from his chest. Fangs glint in the moonlight, sharp and merciless.
"I'm doing," he growls, voice dark velvet and steel, "…what I should've done hours ago."
He leans close, teeth grazing my ear, lips brushing my neck, and whispers, " I am marking you, my wife, I am sinking my fangs on you so you will not think of running anymore."
He's going to bite me…
Before he could close the distance, Akir's voice came.
"We have to leave, my lord! Someone is attacking the pack!"
What?
I pushed the alpha Lord and saw Akir panting on the ground.
"What did you say?"
Akir's face was grave. "We should leave. The cavalry waits beyond the ridge — they don't know we're here."
The Alpha's head turns with the slow, lazy certainty of a sun shifting in the sky.
My father… the keep… the cavalry—if they ride now, perhaps they can save what remains.
I can hear the howls of my people outside and I try to get away but he yanks me back.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Those are my people, my pack! I will not abandon them."
"It's a pack of warriors, my lord. We have to move!"
No.
My gaze found his eyes. "Save them. Please."
The Alpha Lord straightens, his gaze flicking past me. "Akir," he snaps. "Get her ready for transport. I'll save what I can."
"But, my lord—"
"Do it."
There's no way he'll fight alone…
The Alpha Lord nodded and turned to make his way back to the pack when he suddenly stopped and glanced at me.
"Ah…" he says, "Before I forget. This is my first war betrothed." A smile spreads across his face "Care to kiss your husband, wife?"