JAXON
The moment I set my eyes on her, I knew with terrifying clarity that something was profoundly wrong with me.
This was wrong. I shouldn't be feeling anything for someone like her. She was a damn disgusting omega. But then her scent had me wrapped around her fingers even before I set my eyes on her. And her face, those green eyes. She was exotic and it was intoxicating.
I turned to face her and felt my control fracture further. She stood with her hands clasped nervously in front of her, eyes bright and uncertain. She did not look triumphant or calculating, as so many others would have. She looked overwhelmed. But her smile was genuine and inviting.
It made my wolf restless, pacing hard inside my chest, snarling for release. I had brought her here to look at her. That was what I told myself. But the longer I stood the more that lie unraveled.
Mine. My wolf purred repeatedly.
I crossed the space between us without remembering the decision to move. My hand came up to her face, cupping her cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath my palm. I had touched countless women before. None of them had ever felt like this.
She looked up at me, lips parted slightly, her pulse fluttering visibly at her throat. I could hear her heartbeat. Her body was already answering a call she did not yet understand.
And gods help me, I wanted to be the only one she ever answered to.
I kissed her again, this time forgoing all my previous restraint. I needed more and I demanded it from her lips. She tasted sweet and succulent and I deepened the kiss instinctively, my hand sliding into her hair, tilting her head back to claim her mouth properly.
She made a small surprised sound and then she melted into me.
Her hands came to my chest, clutching the fabric of my shirt. I growled softly without meaning to, my wolf pressing hard against my control.
Her scent intensified with her arousal, wrapping around me, sinking into my lungs, my blood, my bones. It clouded my thoughts, made it harder to remember the rules I had lived by my entire life.
I had never lost control like this.
I guided her backward, step by step, my mouth never leaving hers. Her soft breathless laughter sent a sharp, possessive satisfaction through me.
When her knees brushed the edge of the bed, I paused again, forcing myself to look at her properly. She was flushed, eyes bright, lips swollen from my kisses. Beautiful did not begin to cover it.
"Are you sure?" I asked, though part of me already knew the answer and knew I would not like it if she said no.
"Yes," she said without hesitation, smiling up at me. "I want this."
That smile sealed my fate.
I lay her back carefully, following her down, my weight braced so I did not overwhelm her. I kissed her temple, her cheek, the corner of her mouth, memorizing every expression, every sound she made. Each quiet gasp fed the fire inside me, urging me to take more, claim more.
"Look at you," I murmured. "So small. So perfect."
My fingers trailed her body, until I pulled off her bodice. With her clothes gone, my eyes and fingers roved shamelessly from the swell of her breasts to how wet she was for me.
She whimpered and shivered under my touch, crying, "A-Alpha"
"No," I growled. "Jaxon. I want to hear it from your lips."
"Jaxon," she moaned.
The sound of my name on her lips rushed straight to my blood. I lost it as I pulled off my clothes, ripping them off, before finding her lips again.
Her fingers traced my muscles, and she lifted her lips in demand.
"Sweet girl," I breathed against her mouth as I finally sank into her. "So sweet."
My kisses swallowed her gasp. She fit against me like she had been shaped for me. She was so tight that I thought I was going to explode if I didn't move.
"Alpha… Jaxon," she whimpered, trying to move.
I pulled back just enough to look at her. Her lips were swollen, her cheeks flushed, her eyes glassy with want. Kissing her again, I began to move.
"You're doing so well," I murmured, brushing my thumb over her lower lip. "So good for me."
Her breath hitched. "Jaxon…"
Hearing my name on her lips nearly undid me. My pace automatically increased. My eyes were blinded with lust.
I kissed along her jaw, down to her throat, inhaling deeply. Her pulse raced beneath my mouth. I wanted to feel it everywhere. I wanted to memorize every reaction, every sound she made.
"You smell incredible," I growled. "I can't think straight when you're this close."
"Jaxon," she moaned, jerking.
"Good," I whispered. "That's it. You're perfect like this."
Her fingers pressed into my back, and her eyes fluttered closed. I became incoherent, completely focused on the sensation that was building within me and nearing its peak. I loved how she moved with me, her pace and reaction were an exact mirror of mine. Soon she came, and my release followed immediately after.
I collapsed beside her, lungs burning, sweat cooling on my skin as the last shudder left my body.
For a moment, I stared at the ceiling, my mind blank, my wolf restless instead of satisfied. That unsettled me. It had never happened before. Release was supposed to end hunger, not increase it.
I turned my head toward her.
Lilith lay curled against my side, her body loose with exhaustion, her breathing slow and even. Her skin glowed faintly in the moonlight, her lashes resting softly against her cheeks. One of her hands rested lightly on my chest.
Mine, my wolf snarled again. I wanted to pull her closer, sink my teeth into her skin. I wanted to mark her, to bind her to me so deeply that no force could tear her away.
I reached for her without thinking, pulling her closer, inhaling her scent. It filled my chest. My teeth ached with the instinct to mark her, to make the world understand she belonged to me.
This was not enough. One night would never be enough. Sighing, she shifted slightly in her sleep, nestling closer.
And reality crashed down on me.
She was an Omega.
I stared at her again, as if the truth might change if I looked long enough. She was weak in the eyes of the pack and completely unfit to stand beside me. She would never survive as my Luna. She wasn't worthy of it.
I wasn't foolish enough to ignore how she would become a thorn in my flesh and my only weakness.
Disgust curled in my stomach. Why was she a filthy Omega? Cleaning her up and making her wear pretty clothes only affect her appearance, not the weak dependence within. I never imagined having a Luna and even if I did she was supposed to be powerful not a weak puny excuse for a werewolf. Why did I even want something so low and beneath my standards?
How would the world look at me? This was embarrassing.
I carefully disentangled myself from her warmth and stood. Annoyingly the absence of her touch was already irritating me. I paced the room once, twice, dragging a hand through my hair.
Her scent clung to me, as if it were testing me. Resentment began to build within me. Was the Moon Goddess mocking me? How dare she?
I shoved the balcony doors open and stepped into the night, gripping the railing.
"This cannot happen," I muttered.
She would ruin me.
No matter how good she felt or how easily she had slipped beneath my skin, she could never be my Luna.
Sentiment was weakness and every weakness had to be destroyed.
I knew what to do.