GIDEON
Holy crap, grief was a loud thing, and my wife was exceptionally talented at it.
If Elowen cried any harder, the walls of the Goldbane estate might start bleeding along with her. She mourned dramatically and endlessly, as if the entire world were obligated to pause because she was hurting. Spoiled little thing. I didn't have the luxury of pausing, and I sure as hell wasn't about to let her useless sorrow cost me everything I'd worked hard for.
The Council's ultimatum replayed in my head: One year. One year to produce an heir, or I would be stripped of the Alpha seat I'd just secured. One year to prove the Goldbane bloodline would continue—preferably with a boy—so the pack could sleep at night knowing power would eventually return to a "proper" Alpha family.
I flexed my jaw, staring at the monitor in Aurelius's study. I was cleaning up his mess now? scrubbing the digital breadcrumbs of that thirty-two-million-dollar "discrepancy" he'd almost hung me with. The man had been paranoid in life and careless in death.
The door creaked, but I didn't turn. I already knew the scent. Coffee and vanilla—the only thing in this house that didn't smell like mourning.
"She's gone," Marisol's voice slid into the room with a purr.
I finally spun the leather chair around. Marisol had already shed that submissive, wide-eyed maid persona. She kicked the door shut with her heel and leaned against it with a wicked smirk on her lips.
"Gone?" I asked, arching a brow.
"Snuck out through the delivery docks like a little thief," Marisol laughed, walking toward me with a sway in her hips that Elowen could never hope to mimic. "I personally escorted her to the servant's passage. The poor thing was so grateful, she almost cried. She begged me not to tell you, Gideon. She thinks she's being so brave, going to that clinic in the human city to 'save' your legacy."
I chuckled, snagged her wrist, and pulled her onto my lap. "The little martyr. She really thinks she's the one who discovered the solution. The reverse psychology worked better than I expected. I told her surrogacy was 'beneath her,' and now she's willing to risk her life to prove me wrong."
Marisol laughed maniacally. "She called me 'sister,' Gideon. She sat on the edge of that bed, sobbing into my apron, telling me her womb was a graveyard. It was almost hard not to laugh. She really thinks I'm the only friend she has left in this house."
"You played her perfectly," I grinned, my hands sliding down to her waist. "The TV segment, the flyer in the garden... it was a masterpiece of a nudge."
"It had to be," Marisol said, her eyes darkening with an ambition that matched my own. She hadn't been born with a silver spoon; she'd survived the gutters of the pack, just like I had. She deserved more than to pour tea and bow her head.
"The elders want an heir. If we don't give them one, they'll hand everything to the Vanes like Aurelius never existed." She finished.
"They're traditional vultures," I agreed, leaning back. "Which is why the plan has to be flawless. She'll go to the human clinic. She'll think she's being 'noble' and 'secretive.' And when the time comes to choose a surrogate..."
Mariso elongated her fangs and grazed the tip of my ears. "She'll choose me… because I'm the only one she trusts. Because I'm 'family.'"
I cupped her face, marveling at the fire Elowen never had. "You're stronger than any Goldbane broodmare. You'll give me a son who can rule. And Elowen? She'll tell herself the whole thing was her idea. She always does."
"I can't wait to watch her sign her own downfall," Marisol whispered, her fingers undoing my tie. "She'll raise my child, call it a Goldbane, and never realize she's nursing the wolf that's going to take her throne."
I crushed my mouth to hers, drawing her into the maelstrom of my desired. Gods, I hated pretending we didn't exist. But the payoff was so close I could taste it.
"How about you moan your anticipation to me, sweetie?" I growled against her skin. "Your confidence always makes me so fucking hard."
Marisol's nails dug into my shoulders as she ground her hips against my throbbing cock. "Oh, Gideon. I'm dripping for you already, thinking about pumping out your heir while that pathetic bitch plays house."
I gripped her ass hard, flipping her off my lap and bending her over the desk in one swift motion. Papers scattered, the monitor wobbling as her tits pressed flat against the polished wood. She arched her back, spreading her legs wide, her skirt hiked up to expose the soaked lace panties clinging to her pussy.
"That's it, show me how ready you are," I snarled, yanking the fabric aside. My fingers plunged into her slick heat, two at once, pumping deep and fast. She gasped, bucking against my hand, her walls clenching greedily around me. "Fuck, you're soaked. This cunt was made for breeding."
Marisol pushed back. "Then fill it, Alpha. Ram that thick cock into me and fuck an heir right here." Her words were fuel for my dick that was already straining against my pants. I unzipped, freeing my hard length, the head already leaking pre-cum.
Aurelius, are you watching? Yes! The useless omega's son is pumping his cock into your daughter's maid right in your study, I thought to myself, almost bursting with pleasure just at the irony.
I lined up and thrust into Marisol hard, burying myself balls-deep in one brutal stroke. She cried out, her pussy gripping me hot and wet and perfect. I didn't give her time to adjust as I grabbed her hips and pounded into her, the desk creaking under the force. Each slam drove her forward, her ass cheeks lapping with the impact.
"Harder," she demanded, reaching back to claw at my thigh. "Fuck me like you own me, Gideon. Make me scream so the whole estate knows I'm your real queen."
I obliged, rutting into her relentlessly, my balls slapping against her clit. Sweat beaded on her skin as I reached around, pinching her nipple through her blouse until she whimpered. Her moans turned to desperate pleas, her body trembling as I hit that spot deep inside, over and over.
"Cum for me, Marisol," I growled, feeling my own release building. "Milk my cock and imagine my seed taking root."
She shattered first, her pussy spasming around me, juices flooding down her thighs as she wailed my name. I followed with a roar, slamming in deep and unloading, hot spurts of cum flooding her womb. We stayed locked like that, panting, until I pulled out, watching my seed drip from her swollen lips.
"That's just the start," I murmured, slapping her ass lightly. "Soon, it'll be for real. And Elowen will thank you for it."
Marisol straightened, smirking over her shoulder, wiping a trickle of cum from her thigh. "Can't wait to see her face when the truth hits."